Estimated Publish Date

Display post dates in a friendly, human-readable format like “5 days ago” or “2 weeks ago” instead of traditional date formats. Perfect for blogs and news sites where content freshness matters.

Use Cases#

• Make recent content feel fresh with “3 days ago” instead of a static date
• Improve content calendars with relative time displays
• Show freelancers and contributors when drafts are expected to publish
• Display target publish dates while content awaits review

How It Works#

1. Enable the module in Switchboard
2. Recent posts (within 30 days) automatically show relative dates
3. Older posts continue to show standard date format
4. Use the shortcode anywhere for manual placement

Where to Find It#

Location: Automatically applies to post dates on singular posts. Also available via the [human_date] shortcode.

Automatic Behavior#

When enabled, the module automatically converts dates on single post pages:

The original date still appears as a tooltip when hovering over the relative date.

The Shortcode#

Use the [human_date] shortcode to display relative time anywhere in your content:

[human_date]

This outputs text like “5 days ago” based on the current post’s publish date.

Where to Use It#

• Post templates
• Widget areas
• Custom fields
• Page builder modules

Output Examples#

The module outputs clean, translatable text:

Styling the Output#

The automatic dates are wrapped in a <span> with a title attribute:

<span title="December 28, 2024">4 days ago</span>

Style it with CSS:

/* Subtle styling for relative dates */
time span[title] {
    font-style: italic;
    color: #666;
}

/* Show original date on hover */
time span[title]:hover {
    text-decoration: underline dotted;
}

When Relative Dates Appear#

The module only converts dates on:

• Single post pages (is_singular)
• Frontend views (not admin)
• Posts less than 30 days old

This prevents issues with:

• Archive pages (dates remain static)
• Admin screens (dates stay standard)
• Old content (full dates are more useful)

FAQ#