Send an Email When a WordPress Post Is Updated

When someone edits a published post, your team often needs to know — especially on important articles or pages several people maintain. Zapify sends that alert for you: the free A post is updated trigger fires whenever an existing post is saved with changes, and the Send an email action delivers the notification. No code, and both steps are free.

What this automation does

This automation pairs one free trigger with one free action:

• Trigger: A post is updated (WP_POST_UPDATED)
• Action: Send an email (WP_SEND_EMAIL)

The trigger fires when an existing post is updated. It ignores the first save of a brand-new post (that is a creation, not an update) and post revisions, so you only get a notification for genuine edits.

Build the automation

Every Zapify automation follows the same flow: Zapify → Automations → Add New → pick a trigger → add an action → map fields → set the steps Live → Save.

Step 1: Create a new automation

Go to Zapify → Automations and click Add New to open the builder. Name it clearly, for example Notify team when a post is updated.

Step 2: Choose the trigger

Click Add Trigger, choose WordPress, then select A post is updated.

Step 3: Configure the trigger

The A post is updated trigger has two optional fields that narrow which edits it reacts to — both free:

Field	What it does
Post type	Limit to one post type (for example only standard posts)
Post ID	Watch a single specific post, or leave it as any to watch all

Set these to match the content you want to monitor, or leave them at any to catch every post update.

Step 4: Add the Send an email action

Click Add Action, choose WordPress, then select Send an email.

Step 5: Configure the email

Fill in the Send an email fields:

• To — the recipient. Separate several addresses with commas, and use Cc or Bcc for more. Use the {} token button and the Post author email token to reach the author.
• Subject — for example A post was updated: {Post title}.
• Body — for example "{Post title}" was updated. Please review the changes at {Post URL}.
• Format — HTML or Plain text. Optionally set From name, From email, and Reply to.

Step 6: Set the steps Live and save

Each step has its own Live / Off / Draft switch, and a new automation starts as a Draft. Set both the trigger and the Send an email action to Live, then Save.

Step 7: Test it

Open a test post, make a small change, and update it. Zapify runs the automation and sends the email. Check the recipient's inbox, then open Zapify → Logs to confirm the run and the email action succeeded.

Available trigger tokens

The A post is updated trigger exposes the post, its author, and what changed:

Token	What it holds
Post ID	The post's numeric ID
Post title	The current post title
Post URL	The post's permalink
Post type / Post status	The type and current status
Post content / Post excerpt	The body and excerpt
Post date	The publish date
Post author ID / Post author email	The author's ID and email
Featured image URL	The featured image, if set
Previous post title	The title before the update
Previous post status	The status before the update

Conclusion

With the free A post is updated trigger and Send an email action, your team hears about content edits automatically — no manual monitoring, no code. Next, see how to send an email when a post is published, or browse the full triggers and actions reference.

FAQs

Does the trigger fire when a brand-new post is created?

No. The A post is updated trigger ignores the first save of a new post (that counts as a creation) and post revisions, so it only fires on genuine edits to existing posts. To act when a post first goes live instead, use the A post is published trigger, covered in send an email when a post is published.

Can I limit this to specific posts?

Yes, and it is free. The A post is updated trigger has a post type field and a post field, so you can watch only one post type or a single specific post. Leave both at any to catch every update. Filtering the trigger is free; adding conditions on the action is a PRO feature.

Can I include the post title and link in the email?

Yes. The trigger exposes Post title, Post URL, and more as tokens, plus Previous post title and Previous post status so you can show what changed. Click the {} button in the Subject or Body field, pick a token, and Zapify replaces it with the real value when the automation runs.

Can I notify more than one person?

Yes. In the To field, separate several addresses with commas, and use the Cc and Bcc fields for additional recipients. You can also insert the Post author email token so the person who wrote the post is notified alongside a fixed team address.

Is this automation free?

Yes. Both the A post is updated trigger and the Send an email action are included in the free version of Zapify. You can build and run this without a PRO license. Only optional refinements such as action conditions and step delays require Zapify PRO.