Post scheduling
Scheduling a post might sound simple — pick a time and you’re done, right? Not quite. In Fedica, users have multiple ways to schedule posts, and each method has its own logic and edge cases.
Option 1: Pipelines
One way to schedule a post is to send it to a pipeline — essentially a queue with specific conditions: which networks to post to, how many posts per day, posting windows, etc.
You can have more than one pipeline. But visually, that’s not obvious — especially since the scrollbar may only appear on hover.
Option 2: Specific date + "Best Time"
This lets users pick a date, and Fedica chooses the best time to post — based on when followers are likely to be online. You can override it by adding your own preferred time slots.
Option 3: Specific date + Exact time
This is the most manual method: user selects the exact date and exact time for publishing. Straightforward and useful when precision matters.
Rethinking the scheduling form
Right now, Fedica includes pipelines and specific dates — but the UX could be clearer. “Specific Date” hides two sub-options: “Best Time” and “Exact Time.” That structure feels buried.
A better approach: move all three methods to the top level. That makes the logic easier to grasp and the form easier to use. Also, renaming "optimized time" to Best Time makes the language more human.
Pipeline edge case
There’s a weird edge case: when a user has only one pipeline, the UI shows the date/time form — but disables it — while still labeling the button as Add to Pipeline.
It’s a confusing mismatch: visual context says “schedule by date,” but the action says “pipeline.”
What we need instead is a dedicated pipeline form, regardless of whether the user has one or many pipelines.
Should the UI look different if there’s only one pipeline? No. Always use a dropdown — even if it has just one option.
Showing a dropdown with one item sets the expectation that more pipelines can be added later.
Also, we can show pipeline metadata: color, status, posts/day, etc. Even when there’s just a default pipeline, it’s useful context.
Here’s how the default state might look:
And here’s the dropdown when open:
Indeed. We should also take into account where we show the form. For example, imagine we use it in a modal.
If we have a couple of pipelines, everything's fine, and we can display them right away along with radio buttons for selecting a pipeline.
If we have quite a few pipelines, then both the dropdown and scrollable area won't be a perfect solution. A scrollable area inside a modal can be problematic, while dropdowns in modals might offer a slightly better solution..
In any case, it greatly depends on the rest of the page. For the time being, I opted for a dropdown menu as I am uncertain about the context in which the form will find its use.
Best Time
This option lets users pick a date and then select the “best” time to post — either by using Fedica’s suggestions or adding their own time slots.
The phrase Best Time sounds more natural than “optimized hours” — less technical, more user-friendly.
Exact Time
Self-explanatory: the user picks the exact date and time for publishing. Simple, precise.
