When managing a blog, news portal, or online magazine, you may occasionally need to share an unpublished article with another person for review or approval before making it publicly available.
By default, WordPress does not allow visitors to view draft posts. However, the Public Post Preview plugin makes it possible to generate a secure preview link that can be shared with anyone, even if they do not have a WordPress account.
Table of Contents
Installing the Plugin
Step 1
Log in to your WordPress administration panel.
Step 2
Navigate to:
Plugins → Add New
Step 3
In the search field, enter:
Public Post Preview
If you have trouble finding it, you can search for the author’s name:
Dominik Schilling
Step 4
When the plugin appears in the search results, click:
Install Now
Step 5
After installation is complete, click:
Activate
The plugin is now ready to use.
Creating a Public Preview Link
Step 1
Create a new post or edit an existing draft as you normally would.
Step 2
Once your content is ready for review, click:
Save Draft
Step 3
After the draft has been saved, look for the new option in the post settings panel:
Enable Public Preview
Step 4
Enable the option by checking the corresponding box or toggling the switch.
Step 5
A unique preview URL will be generated automatically.
The link will look similar to:
https://yourdomain.com/?p=123&preview=true
Sharing the Preview
You can now send the generated preview link to:
- Interview subjects
- Editors
- Clients
- Marketing teams
- Legal reviewers
- Content contributors
Recipients do not need:
- A WordPress account
- Administrator access
- Editor permissions
They only need the generated URL.
Important Notes
The Post Remains Unpublished
Enabling a public preview does not publish the article.
The post remains in:
Draft
status until you explicitly publish it.
Only the Shared Link Works
Visitors can access the draft only through the generated preview URL.
The article will not appear:
- In search results
- In blog archives
- In category pages
- On your website’s homepage
You Can Disable Access
If you no longer want the draft to be accessible, simply disable the:
Enable Public Preview
option or publish the article.
Common Use Cases
Public previews are particularly useful for:
- Interview approval before publication
- Client content reviews
- Editorial approval workflows
- Legal compliance checks
- Marketing content validation
- Collaborative content creation
Summary
To create a public preview link for an unpublished WordPress post:
- Install and activate the Public Post Preview plugin.
- Create or edit a draft post.
- Save the post as a draft.
- Enable:
Enable Public Preview
- Copy the generated URL.
- Share the link with anyone who needs to review the content.
This allows external reviewers to view and approve articles before they are published without requiring a WordPress user account.