WordPress content approval with Make
A draft can change after someone approves it. Norml scopes a WordPress and Airtable approval workflow that records who reviewed the content, which version they saw and what should happen next. Make coordinates the agreed state changes, while WordPress remains the publishing system and your editor keeps ownership of the release decision.
A few clients we’ve worked with
What we do
Track WordPress drafts through Airtable review with Make, tying approval to the reviewed revision and keeping publication behind an explicit decision.
Tie approval to the content reviewed
A general content sync copies fields. This workflow defines editorial states and the evidence needed before a draft can move forward.
- Solution
- Automations
- Tools
- WordPress, Airtable, Make
- Trigger
- An included WordPress draft is submitted for review, or an authorized reviewer records an approval or revision request in Airtable.
- Outcome
- Maintain the review record, route revision requests and allow the agreed publishing step only when the current draft matches its recorded approval.
- Create a review recordMatch the WordPress post ID to one Airtable record and copy the agreed review fields and preview reference. Assign a reviewer and make the submission state explicit so saving a draft does not repeatedly request approval.01
- Record the editorial decisionDefine submitted, changes requested, approved and published states. Store the reviewer, decision time and a revision identifier or content fingerprint that the implementation can reliably compare.02
- Guard publication after editsCheck the current draft against the approved version before an automated publishing step. A material content change invalidates approval and returns the item to review. The fields covered by that check must include any custom content in the agreed scope.03
Client reviews
“Norml Studio's professionalism and responsiveness were impressive.”
“They were proactive in suggesting improvements we hadn't considered.”
“They delivered what they said they would, on time.”
“They focused on how to make our daily operations easier, not just on building features for the sake of it.”
“They understood that the app needed to be practical for someone sitting in a car, not just look good on a desktop.”
“Their level of dedication to the success of the project and GoPetZen's business as a whole is unique.”
Define authority before connecting the workflow
- Choose the publishing ownerDecide whether approval merely marks a post ready for an editor or authorizes a narrowly scoped publish action. The default review queue does not give every Airtable collaborator authority to publish.01
- Confirm content and access coverageReview the post types, custom fields, preview access and WordPress roles. The Make WordPress connector needs its supported setup, and custom fields must be exposed appropriately. Approval of a title and excerpt cannot stand in for review of an entire page.02
Build an editorial state map
- [Map one draft through review]Step 01
Document who submits, reviews, requests changes and publishes. Decide how scheduled posts, rejected drafts and withdrawn submissions should behave.
- [Verify version and field handling]Step 02
Inspect the accessible WordPress revision data and Airtable fields. Choose a reliable version comparison and record source and destination IDs so retries update the same review record.
- [Test stale approvals and failures]Step 03
Approve a draft, edit it and verify that the old approval cannot publish the new version. Repeat events, test an unauthorized decision and interrupt a state update. Document how the editor reconciles a mismatch.
The people who do this work.
Meet the whole teamNo account layer between you and them. These are the Norml specialists this work runs through.
Let's chat
“I've spent 10 years working across development and marketing. I started as a developer, but design, SEO and advertising were already part of the job. That taught me to treat a website as one system: the business, the content, the design and the code have to work together. At Norml, I lead the architecture behind our work and stay involved wherever strategy, design, development and search meet.”
Max TymoshynFounder & Architect
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From the Norml blog.
Content approval questions
Does approval automatically publish the WordPress post?
Only if that is the explicitly agreed workflow. We can stop at an approved queue for a WordPress editor. Automatic publication needs separate permission checks and a final comparison with the approved content.
What happens if someone edits an approved draft?
The approval must be invalidated when a covered field changes. The post returns to review instead of inheriting approval for content the reviewer never saw. We define the covered fields and reliable change signal during discovery.
Can we review custom post types and fields?
We first verify their API exposure and preview behavior. Standard post access does not guarantee that every custom field or page-builder value is available. Unsupported content requires a different connection or a narrower documented review scope.
Can editors still publish directly in WordPress?
That depends on their WordPress permissions. A Make scenario is not a security boundary for users who can publish directly. Enforcing the gate across all publishing routes requires a separately verified WordPress permission or application control.
Define your editorial approval path
Share a representative draft and the people who review and publish it. We will map the states, content coverage and publishing authority before connecting the systems.