Essentials – Essential Elements for WordPress

Essential Elements adds the small features most WordPress sites end up needing, without installing a separate plugin for each one. Every feature is a module you switch on or off from one screen. Disabled modules load nothing at all, and enabled modules only load a few kilobytes of CSS and plain JavaScript, with no jQuery and no external requests. 🚀 Upgrade to Pro | 💻 Live Demo Site | 📄 Documentation | 🎧 Support ⬆️ Scroll to Top Button Add a button that takes visitors back to the top of long pages.

• Bottom left or bottom right position, with adjustable offsets
• Four icon presets, three shapes and a custom size
• Icon, background and hover colors
• Show it after a set scroll distance, and optionally hide it on mobile
• Accessible: a real keyboard-focusable button with a screen-reader label
• Respects the visitor's "reduce motion" setting

📊 Reading Progress Bar Show how far a visitor has scrolled through the page.

• Top or bottom of the screen (sits below the admin bar when logged in)
• Thickness, bar color and an optional gradient
• Percentage label you can show or hide
• Show it everywhere, or only on selected post types

⏱️ Reading Time Display "1,240 words, 7 minutes read time" on your posts.

• Insert automatically before or after the content
• Long ("7 minutes read time") or short ("7 min read") format
• Choose which post types show it, and optionally show it in blog, archive and search listings
• [esse_reading_time] shortcode to place it anywhere
• Set the reading speed (words per minute) and an optional label
• Word counting works with every language, including Bengali, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese and Japanese
• Reading Time block to place it anywhere, including inside a Query Loop

🎨 Custom Scroll Bar Match the browser scroll bar to your brand.

• Track, thumb and hover colors, with ready-made presets
• Scroll bar width and thumb radius
• Live preview while you edit

💎 Essential Elements Pro Essential Elements Pro adds premium modules to the same dashboard:

• Announcement Bar: a top or bottom notice bar with a call to action button, scheduling, a countdown timer and dismiss memory.
• Click to Chat: floating WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram, phone, SMS and email buttons with business hours.
• Content Protection: discourage copying with right-click, text selection and copy shortcut protection, with an optional "Read more at" link on copied text.

Import & export Move your enabled modules and all their settings to another site with a JSON file, from Essentials → Settings. Developer friendly

• esse_modules_list filter to register your own modules; entries with a class and a settings class (extending EssentialElements\Admin\ModuleSettings) are loaded automatically
• esse_module_{id}_sections filter to add settings fields to a module, and esse_module_{id}_output filters to change a module's markup
• esse_export_settings filter and esse_import_settings action to include your own settings in import and export
• esse_init action that fires once all modules are loaded
• esse_screen_ids filter to load the admin styles on your own pages

1.3.4 (4th November 2026)

• New: Added live demo site link for users to try the plugin before upgrading to Pro.

1.3.2 (19 October 2026)

• New: Admin notices for plugin announcements and offers, with "Remind Me Later" and "Dismiss" options.

1.3.0 (14 October 2026)

• New: Scroll to Top icon presets, shape, size, offsets, a "show after" scroll distance, and an option to hide it on mobile.
• New: Progress Bar thickness, gradient, option to hide the percentage, and an option to show it only on selected post types.
• New: Reading Time [esse_reading_time] shortcode, a short "X min read" format, and an option to show it in blog, archive and search listings.
• New: Custom Scroll Bar color presets, thumb radius and a live preview.
• New: Import and export all settings as a JSON file.
• New: Filter the Modules screen by category.
• New: Color pickers and a "Settings saved" notice on module settings pages.
• Dev: Shared module settings framework, registry-driven module loading, and new filters and actions for extensions.
• Fix: Admin styles now load when the "Essentials" menu title is translated.
• Fix: Module on/off notices are translatable, and a failed change is undone instead of looking saved.
• Fix: An invalid color no longer saves an empty value.

1.2.9 (14 October 2026)

• New: Modules screen now shows the modules available in Essential Elements Pro.
• New: esse_init action and esse_icons filter for extensions.
• Fix: Scroll to Top button was loading the wrong stylesheet and appeared unstyled.
• Fix: Re-activating the plugin no longer resets module settings to their defaults.
• Fix: Turning a module on or off could store the wrong state.
• Fix: Reading Time now counts words correctly in non-Latin languages.
• Fix: Progress bar placed at the top no longer hides behind the admin bar.
• Improvement: Scroll to Top is now a keyboard-accessible button with a screen-reader label.
• Improvement: Frontend scripts rewritten without jQuery and throttled for smoother scrolling.
• Improvement: Reading Time styles only load on the post types where it is shown.
• Improvement: Removed the duplicate "Enable" option from each module's settings page; use the Modules screen instead.
• Improvement: Color settings are validated as hex colors.

1.2.5 – 1.2.8

• Maintenance: Routine compatibility releases.

1.2.4 (21 August 2026)

• Compatibility: Ensured compatibility with the latest version of WordPress 7.1.

1.2.1 (14 July 2026)

• Fix: Fixed few known issues and bugs.

1.2.0 (19 June 2026)

• New: Update plugin UI and settings page for better user experience and easier navigation.
• New: Reading Time Estimation module - automatically displays "X words, Y minute read time" before or after your post content, with configurable post types, reading speed, label, and word count.
• New: Reading Time block - place the estimated reading time anywhere in the editor with options for reading speed, word count, icon, and label.
• Fix: Fixed some bugs and issues.
• Compatibility: Ensured compatibility with the latest version of WordPress 7.0.

1.1.0 (19 May 2026)

• Fix: Addressed some bugs and issues.

1.0.1 (11 February 2026)

• New: Added new features and improvements.
• Fix: Fixed some bugs and issues.

1.0.0 (11 April 2025)

• Initial release of the plugin.