Publish Google Docs and Files to WordPress

Publish a Google Doc or upload a Word DOCX, Markdown, or text file to WordPress. Choose the destination, add your content, and review the publishing settings before confirming. You can create a draft first to check the result.

For your first export, follow the first-draft walkthrough. It explains how to check that the result will stay a draft before confirming.

Make sure you have:

• At least one WordPress site connected to Tenwrite (see How to Connect Your WordPress Site)
• A Google Doc or a supported local file ready to publish

Selecting Google Docs needs Google files access. Uploading a file from your computer does not need that connection.

Prefer a quick walkthrough? This 42-second video shows three places to control your WordPress export settings: the manual export form, a frontmatter table in your Google Doc, and Google Sheets automation.

Open the WordPress export settings video walkthrough, or watch it on YouTube.

Follow the steps below for a manual export, or see the guides for WordPress frontmatter and Sheet Automation if you set your options in a document or spreadsheet.

Open the Tenwrite add-on or the Web Dashboard, then click WordPress > New Export.

At the top of the export form, choose whether WordPress should create a Post (standard blog content) or a Page (static standalone content). You can change this at any point before starting the export.

Select the WordPress site you want to publish to. This applies to all documents in the batch.

Choose Google Docs or upload a file in Google Docs or local files. In the guided first export, this section is called Choose a document.

Click Google Docs, allow Google files access if asked, and choose your document in the picker. The standard export form also accepts Word .docx files from Drive. Saving frontmatter changes through Tenwrite requires a native Google Doc; convert a Word file in Google Docs first if you need that workflow.

1. Under Upload a file, open the file chooser.
2. Select a Word .docx, Markdown .md or .markdown, or plain text .txt file.
3. Wait for preparation to finish and check any warnings before continuing.

DOCX files can be up to 25 MiB each. Markdown and text files can be up to 5 MiB each and must use UTF-8 text. Empty files are not accepted. Complex files can fail conversion even when they are within the size limit.

The standard form accepts up to 20 items per batch, combining Google files and uploads, within your export allowance. Use the same buttons again to add more items, or remove an unwanted row. The guided first export handles one item at a time.

A prepared upload expires 24 hours after preparation. If it expires before Tenwrite starts the export, upload the file again and review its settings. Keep the original file on your computer. Expiry does not remove content already published to WordPress or cancel a schedule already saved there.

Set publishing details in the form for uploaded files. A recognized Tenwrite frontmatter table in an uploaded DOCX, or a leading YAML header in Markdown, is removed with a warning; it does not control the export settings. Text files are treated as plain text. Markdown images need public HTTP(S) URLs; relative image paths such as images/photo.png are not supported.

See upload limits and common problems for help with expired uploads, preparation limits, and images.

Tenwrite shows per-document settings for each file you’ve added. If you added multiple documents, use Prev and Next to move through them.

For every document, you can set:

• Title (required)
• Custom URL Slug
• Excerpt
• Status — Draft, Publish, Pending, Private, or Scheduled
• Publish Date (only when Status is Scheduled)
• Discussion — open or close comments
• Pingbacks & trackbacks

For Posts, you can also set categories, tags, and sticky.

For Pages, you can also set parent page and menu order.

If the selected Google Doc already contains frontmatter, Tenwrite shows a notice and Edit existing frontmatter. Filled fields—including categories, tags, and an explicit status—are read-only in the export form and marked Already set in frontmatter. Edit or remove the value in frontmatter to change it; empty fields use the form values. Without frontmatter, use the form normally; no table is needed or inserted. If Tenwrite cannot read or validate frontmatter, correct the problem before exporting. See WordPress frontmatter for scheduling and keeping dated posts as drafts.

If your self-hosted WordPress site has the Tenwrite plugin installed, Step 3 can also include SEO controls for:

• SEO title
• meta description
• focus keyword
• canonical URL
• noindex
• nofollow

If the selected Google Doc already sets any of those values in WordPress frontmatter, Tenwrite treats those matching SEO fields as controlled by the document.

That means:

• those fields appear locked in the export form
• you update or remove them in the Google Doc instead
• frontmatter wins for those matching fields during export

If you want more control over how the content is converted, click Show Advanced Options to reveal Step 4: Content Formatting & Optimization.

Choose how Tenwrite structures the content in WordPress:

• WordPress Blocks — exports in Gutenberg block format. Best for modern block themes and sites actively using the block editor.
• Classic HTML — exports as standard HTML. Use this for classic-editor workflows, older themes, or legacy setups.

Not sure? Start with WordPress Blocks — it works well for most modern WordPress sites.

Controls how much of the source document’s original styling comes through:

• Balanced — strips unnecessary markup while preserving important formatting. This is the recommended default.
• Original — keeps more of the original styling if you need it.

• Balanced (Recommended) — applies a sensible, pre-selected set of transformations. Start here.
• Custom — gives you full control over individual transformation settings.

When you switch to Custom, Tenwrite auto-saves your preferences as a preset.

In the standard form, use Start Export. In the guided first export, use Review export. Before continuing, check that the header shows the right number of documents, the correct destination site, and the right export type (Post or Page).

Either action opens Confirm publication outcome. Nothing is published at this step. Review the actual status, date, and timezone for each document, then click Confirm Export. Choose Back to settings if you need to change anything.

Each row tracks its own status — Pending, Processing, Success, or Error — so you can follow progress in real time.

When a document finishes successfully, Tenwrite shows a toast notification and adds Edit and Preview links to that row.

Use the source that matches the existing post:

• Linked Google Doc: edit the linked document, then use Options > Sync Post on the existing row. Review the outcome and click Confirm Sync. See Sync Post.
• Uploaded file: edit your original file, then open WordPress > Posts, find the existing post or page, and choose Options > Full Edit. Under Upload a file, select the revised file. Check the title, status, date, and other settings, click Update Post, then review the outcome and choose Confirm Export.

A local file is not continuously linked to Tenwrite. Uploading a file with the same name in New Export does not find and update the earlier post. Open its existing row to update it. If you replace a linked Google Doc with an upload in Full Edit, the upload replaces that Google Doc connection.

For other changes, follow Edit a WordPress post or page.

Go to WordPress > My Sites and confirm your sites are connected. If you haven’t connected a site yet, follow How to Connect Your WordPress Site to Tenwrite.

Go to WordPress > My Sites and click Sync Site Content to refresh, then return to the export page.

For a Google Doc access problem in the web app, use Reconnect Google files, or Retry Google access check if the check failed. The Google account must match your Tenwrite account and have access to the document. You do not need to sign out. In the installed add-on, close and reopen the add-on to renew its Google connection.

For a WordPress permission error, check the WordPress connection and the connected WordPress user’s publishing permissions. Reconnecting Google does not repair WordPress access. See Google connections or Connect WordPress, depending on the message.

Check the extension and size against the limits above. An old Word .doc file is not a DOCX file; save it as .docx first. For Markdown images, use public HTTP(S) URLs instead of local or relative paths. Read the displayed error before trying again.

Upload the file again, review its settings, and retry. A prepared upload lasts 24 hours; removing it from the form does not restart that period.

Check the error message shown in the row. Common causes are temporary network issues, WordPress permission problems, or invalid post settings. Try exporting failed items as a smaller batch.

Make sure Status is set to Scheduled and the Publish Date is set to a time in the future (in your timezone). Check WordPress after the scheduled time has passed.

• How to Connect Your WordPress Site to Tenwrite
• WordPress - Manage Sites
• WordPress - Manage Posts
• WordPress - Document Frontmatter
• WordPress Plugin
• Use SEO Fields with the Tenwrite Plugin

If you’re still stuck, email support@tenwrite.com with the steps you took, the error message, and your WordPress site URL.