Archive every published WordPress post as a PDF in Google Drive
When a WordPress post goes live, PDF Builder renders a PDF from your saved template and the file is uploaded to Google Drive, building an archive of what you publish outside your site.
WordPress
PDF Builder
Google Drive3 steps Setup ~5 min Used on 3.0k sites Content Ops Free to import
What this workflow does
Your posts live in the WordPress database, and a plugin conflict, a bad update or an editor's overwrite can change or lose them. A PDF copy of each post in Google Drive gives you a fixed record of what went live, readable without WordPress and easy to share with legal, clients or an editor.
The WordPress New Post trigger starts a run a single time per post, at the moment it first becomes published. Pages don't fire it, and edits to a post that is already live don't either. Custom post types do, unless you limit the trigger to one type.
The PDF Builder step renders one of your saved PDF templates and stores the file in the Media Library. Two things need attention after import. Template ID 12 is a placeholder, so choose your own template. And nothing from the post is mapped into the template yet, so map the title, content, author and permalink into its parameters, or every PDF shows the template's sample data.
The file name is set to post- followed by {wordpress1.post_id}, but New Post sends the post's ID under the key ID, so that part arrives empty. Change it to the ID field to get names like post-123. Finally, Google Drive uploads the PDF from its Media Library URL to the folder you select.
Compliance record for regulated content
A financial adviser's blog keeps a PDF of every article as it was published, so the firm can show exactly what readers saw on the day.
Portfolio of a writer's published work
A freelance writer who publishes on a client's WordPress site collects each new post as a PDF in their own Drive folder.
Offline reading for a review board
A nonprofit shares a Drive folder of PDF copies of its news posts with board members who prefer to read documents rather than browse the site.
How this workflow runs
What happens at each step once the workflow is on, and what you need before you import it.
WordPress New PostRuns the first time a post's status becomes published, with one run per post. The post's ID, title, content, excerpt, author ID, permalink, taxonomies and featured image are passed on. Pages and later edits don't start a run.
- PDF Builder Generate PDF from Template
Renders a PDF from a saved PDF Builder template into the Media Library. Pick your template, map the post fields into it, and change the file name's post_id value to the post's ID field.
- Google Drive Upload a File
Uploads the PDF to Google Drive using the file URL from PDF Builder. Connect your Google account and choose the folder that should hold the archive.
What you need
- FlowMatticCore
- Google Drive AccountAccount
After importing, map your own data. To keep the template universal, not every step is pre-filled. Open each step in the builder and connect your accounts and fields (channels, lists, sheets, recipients) before you switch the workflow on.
Make it yours
Changes worth making after you import it.
- Map the publish date into the PDF template as well as the title, so each archived copy shows when the post went live.
- If only one post type belongs in the archive, set the New Post trigger's post type to it, so other types published on the site don't produce PDFs.
- Put the post's permalink into the PDF template, which lets anyone holding the PDF find the live version on your site.
Questions about this workflow
Do updates to a published WordPress post create a new PDF?
No. New Post fires only when a post first moves to published. Later edits to a live post don't start the workflow, so the Drive PDF reflects the version that first went live.
Will the PDF contain the post's text right after import?
Not until you map it. The PDF Builder step has no post fields mapped into the template, so the file shows the template's sample data. Map the title and content into the template's parameters.
Why don't the archived PDF file names include the post ID?
The file name uses post_id, which the New Post trigger doesn't send. It sends the post ID as ID. Swap the value in the file name field to that and the names include the post number.
Are WordPress pages archived to Google Drive too?
No. The New Post trigger ignores pages. Posts and custom post types are archived when first published.
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Import this workflow into your WordPress site
Download the JSON, import it from the Workflows screen and connect your accounts. Every run stays on your server, with no per-task fees.
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