diff --git a/app/controllers/Controller.cfc b/app/controllers/Controller.cfc
index 709b774..8982162 100644
--- a/app/controllers/Controller.cfc
+++ b/app/controllers/Controller.cfc
@@ -102,7 +102,7 @@ component extends="wheels.Controller" {
     // Shared business logic across multiple controllers
     public function getBlogBySlug(required string slug) {
         return model("Blog").findOne(
-            where="blog_posts.slug = '#arguments.slug#' AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+            where="blog_posts.slug = '#arguments.slug#' AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
             include="User,PostStatus",
             cache=10
         );
diff --git a/app/controllers/web/BlogController.cfc b/app/controllers/web/BlogController.cfc
index 719d9a0..68ccb5e 100644
--- a/app/controllers/web/BlogController.cfc
+++ b/app/controllers/web/BlogController.cfc
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
     private function getBlogsByAuthor(required authorId, numeric page=1, numeric perPage=6, boolean isInfiniteScroll=false) {
         var result = {
             query = model("Blog").findAll(
-                where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#' AND blog_posts.createdBy = #arguments.authorId#",
+                where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#' AND blog_posts.createdBy = #arguments.authorId#",
                 include="User",
                 order="COALESCE(post_created_date, blog_posts.createdat) DESC",
                 page = arguments.page,
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         };
 
         result.totalCount = model("Blog").count(
-            where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#' AND blog_posts.createdBy = #arguments.authorId#"
+            where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#' AND blog_posts.createdBy = #arguments.authorId#"
         );
         result.hasMore = (page * perPage) < result.totalCount;
 
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         if (len(trim(searchTerm))) {
             var searchPattern = "%#searchTerm#%";
             var query = model("blog").findAll(
-                where="blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#' AND (blog_posts.slug LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.title LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.content LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR fullname LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR email LIKE '#searchPattern#')",
+                where="blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#' AND (blog_posts.slug LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.title LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.content LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR fullname LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR email LIKE '#searchPattern#')",
                 include="User, PostStatus, PostType",
                 order = "COALESCE(post_created_date, blog_posts.createdat) DESC",
                 page = page,
@@ -328,7 +328,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
             if (isInfiniteScroll) {
                 totalCount = model("blog").count(
                     include="User, PostStatus, PostType",
-                    where="blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#' AND (blog_posts.slug LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.title LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.content LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR fullname LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR email LIKE '#searchPattern#')"
+                    where="blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#' AND (blog_posts.slug LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.title LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR blog_posts.content LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR fullname LIKE '#searchPattern#' OR email LIKE '#searchPattern#')"
                 );
                 hasMore = (page * perPage) < totalCount;
                 isSearched = true;
@@ -771,7 +771,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
     public function feed() {
         // Fetch all blogs
         blogPosts = model("Blog").findAll(
-            where="blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+            where="blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
             include="User",
             order="postDate DESC",
             cache=10
@@ -825,7 +825,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
     private function getAllBlogs(numeric page=1, numeric perPage=6, boolean isInfiniteScroll=false) {
         var result = {
             query = model("Blog").findAll(
-                where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+                where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
                 include="User",
                 order="COALESCE(post_created_date, blog_posts.createdat) DESC",
                 page = arguments.page,
@@ -837,7 +837,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         };
 
         result.totalCount = model("Blog").count(
-            where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+            where="blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
             cache = 5
         );
         result.hasMore = (page * perPage) < result.totalCount;
@@ -852,7 +852,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
 
         var result = {
             query = model("Blog").findAll(
-                where="blog_posts.post_created_date BETWEEN '#startdate#' AND '#enddate#' AND blog_posts.status='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+                where="blog_posts.post_created_date BETWEEN '#startdate#' AND '#enddate#' AND blog_posts.status='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
                 order="postCreatedDate DESC",
                 include="User",
                 returnAs="query",
@@ -864,7 +864,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         };
 
         result.totalCount = model("Blog").count(
-            where="blog_posts.post_created_date BETWEEN '#startdate#' AND '#enddate#' AND blog_posts.status='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'"
+            where="blog_posts.post_created_date BETWEEN '#startdate#' AND '#enddate#' AND blog_posts.status='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'"
         );
         result.hasMore = (page * perPage) < result.totalCount;
 
@@ -886,7 +886,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
 
         var result = {
             query = model("Blog").findAll(
-                where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIdList#) AND categoryId = #category.id# AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+                where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIdList#) AND categoryId = #category.id# AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
                 order="createdAt DESC",
                 include="User,BlogCategory",
                 returnAs="query",
@@ -898,7 +898,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         };
 
         result.totalCount = model("Blog").count(
-            where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIdList#) AND categoryId = #category.id# AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+            where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIdList#) AND categoryId = #category.id# AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
             include="User,BlogCategory"
         );
         result.hasMore = (page * perPage) < result.totalCount;
@@ -926,7 +926,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         
         var result = {
             query = model("Blog").findAll(
-                where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIds#) AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'",
+                where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIds#) AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'",
                 order="createdAt DESC",
                 include="User",
                 returnAs="query",
@@ -937,7 +937,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
             totalCount = 0
         };
 
-        result.totalCount = model("Blog").count(where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIds#) AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#'");
+        result.totalCount = model("Blog").count(where="blog_posts.id IN (#blogIds#) AND blog_posts.status ='Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#'");
         result.hasMore = (page * perPage) < result.totalCount;
 
         return result;
@@ -958,24 +958,29 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         slug = rereplace(slug, "-+", "-", "all");
         blogData.slug = slug;
 
+        // Always set postCreatedDate to UTC now (submission time, UTC)
+        blogData.postCreatedDate = toUTC(now());
 
-        // Determine status based on draft flag and user role
+        // Handle publishedAt and status
         if (blogData.isdraft eq 1) {
-            blogData.statusId = 1; // Draft
+            // Draft: publishedAt is NULL
+            blogData.statusId = 1;
             blogData.status = "";
-            blogData.publishedAt = "";
+            blogData.publishedAt = javaCast("null", "");
         } else if (isUserAdmin()) {
-            // Auto-approve and publish for admin users
+            // Admin: auto-approve and publish
             blogData.statusId = 2;
             blogData.status = "Approved";
-            if (structKeyExists(blogData, "postCreatedDate") && !isNull(blogData.postCreatedDate) && !isEmpty(blogData.postCreatedDate)) {
-                blogData.publishedAt = blogData.postCreatedDate;
+            if (structKeyExists(blogData, "publishedAtInput") && len(blogData.publishedAtInput)) {
+                // User supplied a scheduled date (local time)
+                blogData.publishedAt = toSafeUTC(blogData.publishedAtInput, blogData.userTimezone);
             } else {
-                blogData.publishedAt = now();
-                blogData.postCreatedDate = now();
+                // No date: publish now in UTC
+                blogData.publishedAt = toUTC(now());
             }
         } else {
-            blogData.statusId = 2; // Under Review
+            // Non-admin: under review, publishedAt is NULL
+            blogData.statusId = 2;
             blogData.status = "";
             blogData.publishedAt = "";
         }
@@ -992,8 +997,12 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
                     blog.statusId = blogData.statusId;
                     blog.postTypeId = blogData.postTypeId;
                     blog.slug = blogData.slug;
-                    blog.updatedAt = now();
+                    blog.updatedAt = toUTC(now());
                     blog.updatedBy = GetSignedInUserId();
+                    // Only update publishedAt if explicitly provided
+                    if (structKeyExists(blogData, "publishedAtInput") && len(blogData.publishedAtInput)) {
+                        blog.publishedAt = toSafeUTC(blogData.publishedAtInput, blogData.userTimezone);
+                    }
                     blog.save();
 
                     response.blogId = blog.id;
@@ -1016,20 +1025,16 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
                     newBlog.statusId = blogData.statusId;
                     newBlog.postTypeId = blogData.postTypeId;
                     newBlog.coverImagePath = blogData.coverImagePath;
-                    newBlog.createdAt = now();
-                    newBlog.updatedAt = now();
+                    newBlog.createdAt = toUTC(now());
+                    newBlog.updatedAt = toUTC(now());
                     newBlog.createdBy = GetSignedInUserId();
 
                     // Set approval status fields for admin auto-approval
                     if (structKeyExists(blogData, "status")) {
                         newBlog.status = blogData.status;
                     }
-                    if (structKeyExists(blogData, "postCreatedDate") && !isNull(blogData.postCreatedDate) && !isEmpty(blogData.postCreatedDate)) {
-                        newBlog.publishedAt = blogData.postCreatedDate;
-                        newBlog.postCreatedDate = blogData.postCreatedDate;
-                    } else {
-                        newBlog.postCreatedDate = now();
-                    }
+                    newBlog.publishedAt = blogData.publishedAt;
+                    newBlog.postCreatedDate = blogData.postCreatedDate;
                     newBlog.save();
 
                     // Retrieve the generated ID by looking up the just-created blog by slug.
diff --git a/app/controllers/web/NewsController.cfc b/app/controllers/web/NewsController.cfc
index c62f0f2..070cd34 100644
--- a/app/controllers/web/NewsController.cfc
+++ b/app/controllers/web/NewsController.cfc
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ component extends="app.Controllers.Controller" {
         try {
             var blogQuery = model("Blog").findAll(
                 select = "title, slug, content, postDate",
-                where  = "blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#now()#' ",
+                where  = "blog_posts.statusId <> 1 AND blog_posts.status = 'Approved' AND blog_posts.publishedAt IS NOT NULL AND blog_posts.publishedAt <= '#toUTC(now())#' ",
                 order  = "createdAt DESC",
                 cache  = 10
             );
diff --git a/app/global/functions.cfm b/app/global/functions.cfm
index 345536a..07c2957 100644
--- a/app/global/functions.cfm
+++ b/app/global/functions.cfm
@@ -3,6 +3,37 @@
 public function GetSignedInUserId(){
     return structKeyExists(session, "userID") ? session.userID : 0
 }
+
+/**
+ * Convert a local datetime to UTC using server's timezone offset
+ * @localTime The datetime to convert to UTC
+ * @return The datetime in UTC
+ */
+public datetime function toUTC(required datetime localTime) {
+    var tzInfo = GetTimeZoneInfo();
+    var offsetSeconds = tzInfo.utcTotalOffset * 60;
+    return dateAdd("s", -offsetSeconds, arguments.localTime);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Safely convert a datetime string from a specific timezone to UTC
+ * @dateTimeStr The datetime string to convert (expected to be ISO format from JavaScript)
+ * @timeZone The timezone identifier (e.g., "America/New_York") - kept for compatibility but not used since JS sends UTC
+ * @return The datetime in UTC
+ */
+public datetime function toSafeUTC(required string dateTimeStr, string timeZone="") {
+    try {
+        // Since JavaScript sends ISO string (already in UTC), just parse it
+        if (len(trim(arguments.dateTimeStr))) {
+            return parseDateTime(arguments.dateTimeStr);
+        } else {
+            return toUTC(now());
+        }
+    } catch (any e) {
+        // Fallback: return current UTC time
+        return toUTC(now());
+    }
+}
 public function GetUserRoleId(){
     return 3;
 }
diff --git a/app/views/layout.cfm b/app/views/layout.cfm
index 3f1293b..d336720 100644
--- a/app/views/layout.cfm
+++ b/app/views/layout.cfm
@@ -17,15 +17,15 @@
 
 	<!--- Set og:image for key public pages --->
 	<cfif isHome>
-		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/images/home-og.png">
+		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/img/home-og.png">
 	<cfelseif isCommunity>
-		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/images/community-og.png">
+		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/img/community-og.png">
 	<cfelseif isGuideDocs>
-		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/images/guides-og.png">
+		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/img/guides-og.png">
 	<cfelseif isDocs>
-		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/images/docs-og.png">
+		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/img/docs-og.png">
 	<cfelseif isApi>
-		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/images/api-og.png">
+		<cfset ogImage = getBaseUrl() & "/img/api-og.png">
 	</cfif>
 
 	<cfset pageTitle = "Wheels - An open source CFML framework inspired by Ruby on Rails">
@@ -806,6 +806,21 @@
 			<script src="/js/swiper.js"></script>
 			<script src="/js/infinite-scroll.pkgd.min.js"></script>
 			<script src="/js/global.js"></script>
+			<script>
+				// Convert UTC dates to local timezone for elements with data-utc attribute
+				document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
+					var utcElements = document.querySelectorAll('[data-utc]');
+					utcElements.forEach(function(el) {
+						var utcDate = el.getAttribute('data-utc');
+						if (utcDate) {
+							var date = new Date(utcDate);
+							if (!isNaN(date.getTime())) {
+								el.textContent = date.toLocaleString();
+							}
+						}
+					});
+				});
+			</script>
 		</body>
 	</html>
 </cfif>
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/app/views/web/BlogController/create.cfm b/app/views/web/BlogController/create.cfm
index b634408..a3f59ef 100644
--- a/app/views/web/BlogController/create.cfm
+++ b/app/views/web/BlogController/create.cfm
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@
                             <label class="form-label mb-1 fs-14 fw-medium">
                                 Publish Date
                             </label>
-                            <input class="form-control fs-14" type="datetime-local" name="postCreatedDate" id="postCreatedDate" value="<cfif isEdit>#dateFormat(blog.postCreatedDate, 'yyyy-mm-dd')#T#timeFormat(blog.postCreatedDate, 'HH:mm')#</cfif>">
+                            <input class="form-control fs-14" type="datetime-local" name="postCreatedDate" id="postCreatedDate" value="<cfif isEdit>#dateFormat(blog.postCreatedDate, 'yyyy-mm-dd')#T#timeFormat(blog.postCreatedDate, 'HH:mm')#</cfif>" data-utc-value="<cfif isEdit>#dateFormat(blog.postCreatedDate, 'yyyy-mm-dd')#T#timeFormat(blog.postCreatedDate, 'HH:mm:ss')#</cfif>">
                             <small class="text-muted mt-1 d-block fs-13">Leave empty to use the current date and time</small>
                         </div>
     
@@ -108,4 +108,50 @@
     </div>
 </cfoutput>
     <script src="/js/createBlog.js"></script>
-</main>
\ No newline at end of file
+    <script>
+        // Convert UTC datetime from server to local time for display in datetime-local input
+        document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", function() {
+            var postCreatedDateInput = document.getElementById('postCreatedDate');
+            if (postCreatedDateInput) {
+                var utcValue = postCreatedDateInput.getAttribute('data-utc-value');
+                if (utcValue) {
+                    // Parse the UTC value from server and convert to local time
+                    var utcDate = new Date(utcValue + 'Z');
+                    if (!isNaN(utcDate.getTime())) {
+                        // Convert to local datetime-local format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm)
+                        var localDate = new Date(utcDate.getTime() - (utcDate.getTimezoneOffset() * 60000));
+                        postCreatedDateInput.value = localDate.toISOString().slice(0, 16);
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+            // Set user's timezone in a hidden field for server-side use
+            var tzField = document.getElementById('userTimezone');
+            if (!tzField) {
+                tzField = document.createElement('input');
+                tzField.type = 'hidden';
+                tzField.name = 'userTimezone';
+                tzField.id = 'userTimezone';
+                document.getElementById('blogForm').appendChild(tzField);
+            }
+            tzField.value = Intl.DateTimeFormat().resolvedOptions().timeZone;
+        });
+
+        // Convert local datetime to UTC before form submission via HTMX
+        document.addEventListener("htmx:configRequest", function(event) {
+            var postCreatedDateInput = document.getElementById('postCreatedDate');
+            if (postCreatedDateInput && postCreatedDateInput.value) {
+                // Parse the local datetime and convert to UTC
+                var localDate = new Date(postCreatedDateInput.value);
+                if (!isNaN(localDate.getTime())) {
+                    // Convert to ISO string (which is in UTC) and update the form parameter
+                    event.detail.parameters.postCreatedDate = localDate.toISOString();
+                }
+            }
+            // Always send user's timezone
+            var tzField = document.getElementById('userTimezone');
+            if (tzField) {
+                event.detail.parameters.userTimezone = tzField.value;
+            }
+        });
+    </script>
+</main>
diff --git a/app/views/web/BlogController/partials/_blogList.cfm b/app/views/web/BlogController/partials/_blogList.cfm
index 25e50b4..22b5af8 100644
--- a/app/views/web/BlogController/partials/_blogList.cfm
+++ b/app/views/web/BlogController/partials/_blogList.cfm
@@ -74,7 +74,7 @@
                                     <p class="text--secondary fw-bold fs-14 m-0 author-name">
                                         #htmlEditFormat(blogs.fullName)#
                                     </p>
-                                    <time class="text--lightGray fs-12 fw-medium" datetime="#dateformat(blogs.postDate, 'yyyy-mm-dd')#">
+                                    <time class="text--lightGray fs-12 fw-medium" datetime="#dateformat(blogs.postDate, 'yyyy-mm-dd')#" data-utc="#dateFormat(blogs.postDate, 'yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss')#">
                                         #formattedDate#
                                     </time>
                                 </button>
diff --git a/app/views/web/BlogController/show.cfm b/app/views/web/BlogController/show.cfm
index af56d5d..4999847 100644
--- a/app/views/web/BlogController/show.cfm
+++ b/app/views/web/BlogController/show.cfm
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@
                             <a href="/blog/edit/#blog.id#" class="btn bg--primary text-white rounded-3" id="editBlogBtn">
                                 <i class="bi bi-pencil"></i> Edit
                             </a> 
-                            <cfif len(trim(blog.publishedAt)) AND blog.publishedAt LTE now()>
+                            <cfif len(trim(blog.publishedAt)) AND blog.publishedAt LTE toUTC(now())>
                                 <button 
                                     class="btn btn-danger rounded-3"
                                     hx-post="/blog/unpublish"
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@
                             <cfif categories.recordCount GT 0 OR tags.recordCount GT 0>
                                 <div class="d-flex flex-wrap justify-content-center flex-grow-1 align-items-end gap-lg-5 gap-2 mt-3">
                                     <!-- Blog date -->
-                                    <p class="fw-medium fs-12 text--lightGray mb-0">
+                                    <p class="fw-medium fs-12 text--lightGray mb-0" data-utc="#dateFormat(blog.getDisplayDate(), 'yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm:ss')#">
                                         #dateformat(blog.getDisplayDate(), 'MMMM DD, YYYY')#
                                     </p>