About this plugin
Creotec Content Expiration Manager adds simple content lifecycle management to WordPress:
- Add an expiration date/time to posts, pages, and public custom post types.
- Choose what happens when content expires:
- Change status to Draft
- Make Private/Password Protect (unpublish)
- Redirect to another URL (301 or 302)
- Replace content with a custom “expired” message
- Display an “Expired” banner at the top of the post
- Move content to the bin/trash
- Optional pre-expiration reminder email to the site admin address.
- Reliable processing:
- Runs on WP-Cron every 10 minutes
- Includes a lightweight fallback check on normal WordPress requests (throttled)
- Admin overview page:
- Expiring Soon (next 30 days)
- Already Expired
- Bulk actions (extend date, disable expiration)
- Reusable templates for redirect, banner, and replacement-content actions.
- Per-post-type enabling/disabling under Settings > Post Expiration.
- List-table indicator icons show which posts have expiration enabled.
No external services, no analytics, no licensing system.
Usage
- Edit any supported post type.
- In the “Expiration” box:
- Check “Enable expiration”.
- Set an “Expiration date & time” (site timezone).
- Optionally choose a reminder email (1/3/7 days before).
- Choose what happens when it expires.
- Update/publish the post.
To manage expirations site-wide:
* Go to WP Admin > Expirations
* Use tabs:
* Expiring Soon (next 30 days)
* Already Expired
* Use bulk actions:
* Extend by 7 days
* Extend by 30 days
* Disable expiration
To choose which post types support expiration:
* Go to Settings > Expirations.
To create reusable expiration templates:
* Go to Settings > Expirations.
* Create templates for redirects, banners, or replacement content.
* When editing a post, choose a template in the relevant expiration action. Template edits are reflected anywhere that template is selected.
Restore original content (Replace action)
When the action is “Replace content with a message”, the plugin saves the original content when the expiration is processed.
After that, a “Restore original content” button appears in the Expiration meta box, allowing you to restore the saved content and disable expiration for that item.
Expiration processing & reliability
This plugin does not rely solely on WP-Cron.
- Primary: WP-Cron runs every 10 minutes to process reminders and expirations.
- Fallback: A lightweight check runs on WordPress requests (throttled via transient) to ensure expirations still trigger even if cron is delayed.
Notes about caching:
* Some full-page caches may serve pages without executing PHP. ).
* On expiration, the plugin triggers an action hook so caching plugins/site code can purge caches:
do_action( ‘creocem_post_expired’, $post_id, $action );
Hooks
- creocem_post_expired – Fires after a post is processed as expired.
- Parameters: (int) $post_id, (string) $action
License
This plugin is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 2 of the License, or
(at your option) any later version.
This plugin is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
Credits
Developed and maintained by Michael Gbadebo @ Creotec Limited.