Reading Time WP

Reading Time WP is a WordPress plugin that automatically calculates an estimated reading time and word count for blog posts and page content. It’s the perfect plugin for displaying reading time information to visitors on articles and posts.

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What We Think:

94%

Very highly recommended!

Reading Time WP: A Comprehensive Review

Reading Time WP is a powerful and easy-to-use WordPress plugin designed to display an estimated reading time at the beginning of all posts on your website. The plugin works by calculating the total reading time of your content based on the average reading speed of an adult, using characters, words and images in the post to make an accurate estimation. The plugin is a great addition to any WordPress website, as it gives readers an insight into how much time they need to dedicate to their reading. This helps readers determine whether they have the available time to read your content and can increase readership on your website.

Reading Time WP: Breakdown

An example of an estimated reading time entered before "the_content".

Reading Time WP is incredibly easy to install and setup on your WordPress website. The plugin only requires you to activate it from within the settings panel, and upon activation it automatically adds an estimated reading time to the top of every post on your website. The plugin is also configurable in the settings panel, where you can enable or disable the plugins features and determine what type of content the plugin should consider when calculating the reading time. You can set the plugin to count characters, words and/or images as a reference when calculating the estimated reading time.

The plugin also provides a number of customization options so that you can customize the look and feel of the estimated reading time box. Users can customize the text that appears in the box and the font size, color, and style. The plugin also allows you to enable or disable the box on pages or posts individually. This helps you make sure that the reading time box is only displayed where it is applicable and desired.

Furthermore, Reading Time WP is fully compatible with any WordPress theme. Meaning that when customizing the look and feel of the estimated reading time box you can ensure that the box will look great no matter what theme you are using. This makes the plugin a great choice for any WordPress website looking to provide their readers with an estimated reading time of their content, regardless of the theme they are using.

Finally, Reading Time WP is an incredibly lightweight and fast plugin, meaning that it won’t slow down or bog down your website. It uses only a minimal amount of resources, ensuring that your website will remain fast and responsive even with the plugin installed. Additionally, it is regularly updated and supports multiple languages, making it a great plugin for any WordPress website.

Pros of Using Reading Time WP

Increased Reader Engagement: Installing Reading Time WP helps make it easier for readers to determine how much time they would need to spend in order to read the entire article. This convinces them to give your post a chance and increases reader engagement. Also, readers feel more comfortable since they have a better idea of how long it’ll take them to read the content.

Reader Awareness: It’s no surprise that most readers determine whether they have the time and motivation to read through the entire article simply by looking at it. However, with Reading Time WP, readers would be able to get an estimated time figure so that they know exactly what awaits them. This lets them make an informed decision whether they have adequate time and desire to read your content or not.

Unexpected Time Estimates Situations: Without an external plugin like Reading Time WP, users would have to manually estimate how long a piece of content would take to read based on their individual reading capacity. With an estimated time figure given at the start, readers would be able to better clarify if they can complete the content within the time frame.

Higher Rankings: Google rewards content creators for providing content that are user-friendly and comprehensive. If you configure Reading Time WP appropriately,you’ll be able to provide reader estimated reading time on your content, and that is a great user experience Google loves. This, in turn, helps boost your rankings on the platform.

Improved Bounce Rates: When readers visit your post or page, they’ll get an immediate visual cue about how long it’ll take them to read it. This would make them understand the amount of commitment required for reading the entire piece and lessen the chances of them bouncing away from the content. This improves your bounce rate and helps you to boost your authority on the web.

Cons of Using Reading Time WP

Inadequate Customization Capabilities: The Reading Time WP plugin does not allow for great customization. This means that one cannot customize the visuals of the reading time feature nor can they customize the plugin display itself (the colors, words, etc.). Therefore, one will have to settle with the plugin’s limited settings.

Plugin May Not Be Compatible With Theme: Although Reading Time WP is designed to be compatible with most WordPress themes, it is not certain that the plugin will actually be compatible with every single theme available. As a result, depending on the theme, the plugin may not be able to function properly.

Feature Limitation: Reading Time WP is a simple plugin and it has limited features. This includes only having the reading time feature and no other ones like an estimated read-time feature and other features available with more robust plugins. Therefore, users may be unable to access certain features they need.

Not The Most User-Friendly: Another drawback of Reading Time WP is that it is not the most user-friendly plugin. The plugin is somewhat complex to install and the options for changing settings are limited. Therefore, one may need to be familiar with WordPress, plugin installation, and basic code to be able to make certain changes.

Settings Are Not Intuitive: Finally, the plugin settings are not the most intuitive. The layout for the settings is off-putting and users may find it difficult to get used to. As a result, they may take longer to figure out how to customize the plugin as desired.

94% Very highly recommended!

In conclusion

Reading Time WP is a great WordPress plugin and a great addition to any WordPress website. It is incredibly easy to install and setup and provides a number of customization and configuration options to ensure that the estimated reading time displays correctly. The plugin is also lightweight, regularly updated, and multi-lingual. Whether you want to help your readers determine how much time they need to dedicate to their reading, or just display an estimated reading time, Reading Time WP is an excellent plugin to help you achieve your goals quickly and easily.

Plugin Specifications

Version: 2.0.15
Last Updated: 9 months ago
Installs: 20,000+
WP Version: 3.0.1+
Tested Until: 6.3.2
PHP Version: N/A

Use Case Examples

Add an Estimated Reading Time to Blog Posts
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The Reading Time WP plugin can be used to automatically generate a reading time estimate on blog posts, allowing readers to quickly determine how long it will take them to read a post. The plugin calculates the estimated time based off the number of words in the post or can be set to display a set time period that will be used for the length of all posts. This plugin can be used to boost engagement on your site by giving readers an indication of how long a post is and giving them the freedom to decide if they want to take the time to read it or not.
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