Reading Time
by whiletrue · Uncategorized
Also makes 6 other plugins · 2.6K+ installs across the portfolio →
Reading Time shows the estimated reading time and puts an animated progress bar inside the post.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
B 82/100
Few reviews
Active installs
200+
≈260 estimated
Momentum
+35%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Swap “time” and “word count” for “estimated reading” and “estimated reading time”. “time” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #24. “estimated reading” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “word count” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “estimated reading time” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
82 health vs 58 average across 25,734 Uncategorized plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.3%
of downloads still active
At least 200 of 15.4K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Uncategorized plugin keeps 0.6%, across 17,766 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Uncategorized plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
This plugin shipped 1 release in the last 12 months, and every existing install that updated counted as another download. wp.org publishes no split between first installs and updates, so we show the raw rate rather than guess at one.
Details
Directory ranking optimization
How it's scored →How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.
Excellent listing optimization
Most to gain: Rating quality
Updated 78 days ago
Tested up to WordPress 7.1.4, the current branch or newer
3.7★ over 3 reviews, smoothed to 4.08★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Too few reviews to rank on quality — nudge happy users to leave one.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
35
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 28d
8%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 28d
-0.0
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| estimate time your tag | #2 | #14 | — |
| average reading time | #1 | #6 | 0 |
| reading time your tag | #3 | #15 | 0 |
| reading time estimate | #1 | #4 | 0 |
| estimated reading | #4 | #11 | 0 |
| estimated reading time | #4 | #12 | 0 |
| reading time content | #2 | #16 | 0 |
| reading time count | #2 | #15 | 0 |
| reading your tag | #7 | #19 | down 1 |
| post reading time | #5 | #20 | 0 |
| estimated time | #5 | #19 | 0 |
| reading progress | #9 | #21 | 0 |
| reading time wp | #6 | #23 | up 1 |
| reading bar | #7 | #22 | 0 |
| word count your tag | #22 | #22 | up 2 |
| time your tag | #24 | #24 | 0 |
| animated progress bar | #22 | #24 | 0 |
| reading progress bar | #10 | #23 | down 1 |
| count time | #13 | #24 | down 2 |
| the time | #24 | #24 | 0 |
26 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 20 listed. 6 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words).
What to do about it
- Swap “time” and “word count” for “estimated reading” and “estimated reading time”. “time” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #24. “estimated reading” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. “word count” isn't earning its slot: it only gets you to #22. “estimated reading time” sits at #4 untagged, close enough for a declared tag to move it up. All five slots are taken, so one has to go.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 265 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #11,300 to #12,900, alongside the other plugins at 200+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
Update activity
How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.
Release cadence
Occasionally updatedHow often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.
1
releases in the last 12 months
6mo ago
latest release · v1.2.21 · 17 May 2026
3
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “200+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, which places it about 57% of the way through.
Install history since 22 Apr 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ JustIrinel8.0y ago
It does the right job, I like it, but I suggest to make singular and plural for minute/minutes and second/seconds… I have articles with 1 minute time read and they show as 1 minutes. Good job for the plugin ! This topic was modified 7 years, 8 months ago by JustIrinel.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ezkay11.4y ago
The progress bar just runs thru the end by the defined estimated reading time. So if the estimated reading time is 1 minute, but at the top you stopped scrolling, because you had to wipe your nose for a minute, the progress bar is complete. So it’s just running by the estimated time..! Also the support over here seems to be not that encouraged. Who’s updating this thing than?! ..correct me if I’m wrong – I hate to give bad ratings..
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ corvusmile12.9y ago
I wanted one thing, you gave me that. & a good bonus one like progress bar. 🙂
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.4.3
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
2 of 8 pass · checked 28 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Reading Time shows the estimated reading time and puts an animated progress bar inside the post."
- ! Has a FAQ Only 1 question in the FAQ; 3 or more gives an assistant something to match.
- ! FAQ asks real questions 0 of 1 FAQ entries are headings, not questions ("undefined").
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 0 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 279 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ✓ Tags match the text 3 of 5 tags appear in the text; "estimate time", "word count" do not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-05-28 300+ → 200+ down after 296 days in tier
- 2025-08-05 200+ → 300+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-08-03 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-08-02 200+ → 300+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-07-31 300+ → 200+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-07-30 200+ → 300+ up after 36 days in tier
- 2025-06-24 100+ → 200+ up after 77 days in tier
- 2025-04-08 90+ → 100+ up after 3 days in tier
Competes with
The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).
-
Reading Time WP 20K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A -
Worth The Read 3K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags A -
Just Writing Statistics 1K+ installs · 4.2★ · 2 shared tags C -
Reading Position Indicator 800+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Timify 100+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D -
LP Estimated Reading Time 40+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags D
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Reading Time into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/reading-time" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Reading Time — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Reading Time: 200+ active installs, 3.7★ (3 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/reading-time
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