Article Read Time

Article Read Time is a lightweight and customizable WordPress plugin that automatically calculates and displays the estimated reading time for posts and pages. Adding reading time to your articles improves user experience, increases engagement, and helps visitors quickly decide whether they have enough time to read your content. Many modern blogs, news websites, and online magazines display reading time to enhance readability and reduce bounce rates — and now you can easily add this feature to your WordPress site. The plugin calculates the total word count of your post content (excluding HTML and shortcodes) and estimates the reading duration based on your configured Words Per Minute (WPM) setting. You can fully control how the reading time appears using custom formatting options. Why Use Article Read Time?

• Improve user experience (UX)
• Increase content transparency
• Boost blog engagement
• Reduce bounce rate
• Encourage longer session duration
• Support better SEO performance

Key Features

• Display reading time using shortcode
• Display reading time using template tag
• Adjustable Words Per Minute (WPM)
• Min–max interval option (e.g., 10–12 min read)
• Lower-than threshold custom format
• Fully customizable output format using %s placeholder
• Lightweight and performance optimized
• Secure and WordPress coding standards compliant
• Works with posts and pages
• No unnecessary scripts or frontend assets

Flexible Formatting Options You can configure the plugin to display:

• Simple format: 5 min read
• Interval format: 10–12 min read
• Custom format for short articles (using Lower Than Threshold feature)

This makes it perfect for:

• Blogs
• News websites
• Educational content
• Long-form articles
• Magazine-style websites
• Content publishing platforms

Easy to Use

1. Activate the plugin.
2. Configure settings under Settings → Article Read Time.
3. Add the shortcode [article_read_time] in any post or page.

Or use the template tag in your theme files: <?php if ( function_exists( 'article_read_time' ) ) article_read_time(); ?> Article Read Time is built to be fast, secure, and flexible — giving content creators full control over how reading time is calculated and displayed. Features:

• Enable or disable reading time display
• Customizable words per minute (WPM)
• Min–max interval display option (e.g., 10–12 minutes)
• Lower-than threshold format support
• Fully customizable output format
• Shortcode support
• Template tag support
• Lightweight and optimized
• Accessibility-friendly
• SEO-friendly

The plugin calculates word count from post content, removes HTML and shortcodes, and generates accurate reading time estimates based on configured settings.

Follow the instructions to install this plugin on your WordPress website.

1. Upload to the wp-content/plugins/ directory.
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress.
3. Go to Settings → Article Read Time to configure.
4. Add the shortcode [article_read_time] in any post or page.
5. Or use the template tag in theme files: <?php if ( function_exists( 'article_read_time' ) ) article_read_time(); ?>

1.0 – Feb 24th, 2026

• Initial release.