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Speechable transforms your WordPress content into natural-sounding audio using AI-powered text-to-speech technology. Speechable uses Piper TTS, an open-source neural text-to-speech engine that runs in your browser.
<h4>Third-Party Service</h4>
This plugin uses the following third-party services for text-to-speech functionality:
Piper TTS Web Library
<ul>
<li>Service Provider: <a href="https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/piper-tts-web" rel="nofollow ugc">Mintplex Labs</a></li>
<li>Library CDN: jsDelivr (https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@mintplex-labs/piper-tts-web)</li>
<li>ONNX Runtime CDN: Cloudflare (https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/onnxruntime-web)</li>
<li>WASM Phonemizer CDN: jsDelivr (https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@diffusionstudio/piper-wasm)</li>
<li>Voice Models: Downloaded from <a href="https://huggingface.co/diffusionstudio/piper-voices" rel="nofollow ugc">Hugging Face</a></li>
<li>Terms of Service: <a href="https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/piper-tts-web/blob/main/LICENSE" rel="nofollow ugc">MIT License</a></li>
</ul>
Whisper (Word Timestamps)
<ul>
<li>Service Provider: <a href="https://huggingface.co/docs/transformers.js" rel="nofollow ugc">Hugging Face Transformers.js</a></li>
<li>Library CDN: jsDelivr (https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@huggingface/transformers)</li>
<li>Model: Xenova/whisper-tiny.en (~75MB, downloaded on first use)</li>
<li>Purpose: Provides accurate word-level timestamps for synchronized highlighting</li>
<li>Terms of Service: <a href="https://github.com/huggingface/transformers.js/blob/main/LICENSE" rel="nofollow ugc">Apache 2.0 License</a></li>
</ul>
What data is transmitted:
<ul>
<li>The TTS library and ONNX runtime are loaded from CDN when generating audio</li>
<li>Voice model files are downloaded from Hugging Face when first using a voice</li>
<li>Whisper model is downloaded for word timestamp extraction (first use only)</li>
<li>Your content text is processed locally in your browser and is NOT sent to any external server</li>
<li>Once downloaded, all resources are cached locally in your browser</li>
</ul>
Why external resources are required:
The text-to-speech engine requires machine learning runtime (ONNX) and voice models that are too large to bundle with the plugin. These are loaded on-demand from CDN services, similar to how Google Fonts or other web services work. This is a service-based approach that keeps the plugin lightweight while providing high-quality AI voices.
<h4>Key Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>AI-Powered Voices – Natural-sounding speech using Piper TTS neural network models</li>
<li>Accurate Word Highlighting – Whisper-powered word timestamps for precise synchronization</li>
<li>12 Languages – English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean</li>
<li>Customizable Player – Match your theme with custom colors and styling</li>
<li>Download Audio – Let visitors download audio files for offline listening</li>
<li>Voice Presets – Quick effects like Radio, Stadium, Cave, Chipmunk, Robot, and more</li>
<li>Free – No premium version, no limits, no hidden costs</li>
</ul>
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<ol>
<li>Install and activate the plugin</li>
<li>Go to Settings → Speechable to configure your preferences</li>
<li>Edit any post and click “Generate Audio” in the sidebar</li>
<li>The audio player automatically appears on your published posts</li>
</ol>
<h4>Voice Presets</h4>
Transform your audio with one-click presets:
<ul>
<li>Default – Natural voice</li>
<li>Radio – Broadcast quality</li>
<li>Stadium – Echo effect</li>
<li>Cave – Deep reverb</li>
<li>Chipmunk – High-pitched fun</li>
<li>Deep – Low bass voice</li>
<li>Robot – Mechanical tone</li>
<li>Telephone – Phone quality</li>
<li>Megaphone – Announcement style</li>
<li>Giant – Booming voice</li>
<li>Fairy – Magical high voice</li>
<li>Narrator – Audiobook style</li>
</ul>
<h4>Perfect For</h4>
<ul>
<li>Bloggers – Give readers an audio option</li>
<li>News Sites – Accessibility for all visitors</li>
<li>Educational Content – Help students learn</li>
<li>Accessibility – Support visually impaired users</li>
<li>Podcasters – Quick audio versions of written content</li>
</ul>
<h4>Privacy</h4>
Your content is processed locally in the browser. Text is not sent to external servers. Voice models are downloaded once and cached locally.
<h3>Usage</h3>
<h4>Getting Started</h4>
<ol>
<li>After activation, go to Settings → Speechable to configure your default options</li>
<li>Select your preferred language and voice</li>
<li>Choose which post types should have audio (posts, pages, etc.)</li>
<li>Customize the player colors to match your theme</li>
</ol>
<h4>Generating Audio for a Post</h4>
Method 1: Block Editor (Single Post)
<ol>
<li>Edit any post or page in the WordPress block editor</li>
<li>Look for the “Speechable” panel in the right sidebar (under Document settings)</li>
<li>Select your preferred voice and quality settings</li>
<li>Click “Generate Audio” and wait for processing</li>
<li>Once complete, you can preview the audio before publishing</li>
<li>Publish or update your post – the audio player will appear automatically</li>
</ol>
Method 2: Posts List (Quick Access)
<ol>
<li>Go to Posts → All Posts</li>
<li>Hover over any post to see the “Audio” button in the row actions</li>
<li>Click it to open the audio generation modal</li>
<li>Configure settings and click “Generate”</li>
<li>The audio will be saved to that post</li>
</ol>
<h4>Configuring Settings</h4>
Voice Settings
<ul>
<li>Language – Choose from 12 supported languages</li>
<li>Voice – Select a voice for the chosen language (preview available)</li>
<li>Quality – Low (faster), Medium (balanced), or High (best sync accuracy)</li>
<li>Whisper Model – Controls word timestamp accuracy (Tiny is fastest, Small is more accurate)</li>
</ul>
Voice Presets
Click any preset to quickly apply pitch and reverb effects:
<ul>
<li>Default, Warm, Bright, Radio, Narrator, Podcast, Deep, Soft, Room, Hall, Telephone, Vintage</li>
</ul>
Display Settings
<ul>
<li>Post Types – Enable audio for posts, pages, or custom post types</li>
<li>Player Position – Show player before or after content</li>
<li>Word Highlighting – Enable/disable word-by-word highlighting during playback</li>
<li>Auto-scroll – Automatically scroll to keep highlighted word visible</li>
</ul>
Player Appearance
<ul>
<li>Customize background, text, button, progress bar, and highlight colors</li>
<li>Adjust border radius for rounded or square corners</li>
<li>Live preview shows your changes instantly</li>
</ul>
<h4>Managing Audio</h4>
<ul>
<li>Regenerate – Click “Regenerate” in the editor panel to create new audio with different settings</li>
<li>Delete – Remove audio from a post using the “Delete” button</li>
<li>Download – Visitors can download the audio file using the player’s download button</li>
</ul>
<h4>Tips for Best Results</h4>
<ol>
<li>Use High quality for important content where word sync matters</li>
<li>Preview voices in Settings before generating to find the best match</li>
<li>Shorter posts generate faster – consider breaking very long content into parts</li>
<li>First generation takes longer as voice models are downloaded and cached</li>
<li>Word highlighting works best with standard theme content areas</li>
</ol>
<h3>Credits</h3>
<h4>Core Technologies</h4>
<ul>
<li>
Piper TTS – <a href="https://github.com/rhasspy/piper" rel="nofollow ugc">rhasspy/piper</a> by Mike Hansen 
Fast, local neural text-to-speech system (MIT License)
</li>
<li>
Piper TTS Web – <a href="https://github.com/Mintplex-Labs/piper-tts-web" rel="nofollow ugc">Mintplex-Labs/piper-tts-web</a> v1.0.4 
Browser-compatible Piper TTS implementation (MIT License)
</li>
<li>
OpenAI Whisper – <a href="https://github.com/openai/whisper" rel="nofollow ugc">openai/whisper</a> 
Robust speech recognition for word-level timestamps (MIT License)
</li>
<li>
Transformers.js – <a href="https://github.com/huggingface/transformers.js" rel="nofollow ugc">huggingface/transformers.js</a> v3.4.1 
Run Whisper models in the browser by Xenova (Apache 2.0 License)
</li>
<li>
ONNX Runtime Web – <a href="https://github.com/microsoft/onnxruntime" rel="nofollow ugc">microsoft/onnxruntime</a> 
Machine learning inference engine (MIT License)
</li>
<li>
Piper WASM Phonemizer – <a href="https://github.com/diffusionstudio/piper-wasm" rel="nofollow ugc">diffusionstudio/piper-wasm</a> 
WebAssembly phonemizer for text processing (MIT License)
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Voice Models</h4>
<ul>
<li>
Piper Voices – <a href="https://huggingface.co/diffusionstudio/piper-voices" rel="nofollow ugc">diffusionstudio/piper-voices</a> 
High-quality neural voice models hosted on Hugging Face
</li>
<li>
Whisper Models – <a href="https://huggingface.co/Xenova" rel="nofollow ugc">Xenova on Hugging Face</a> 
Optimized Whisper models for browser inference (whisper-tiny.en, whisper-small)
</li>
</ul>
<h4>Infrastructure</h4>
<ul>
<li>jsDelivr CDN – Fast, reliable CDN for npm packages</li>
<li>Cloudflare CDN – ONNX Runtime delivery</li>
<li>Hugging Face – Model hosting and distribution</li>
</ul>
<h4>Design</h4>
<ul>
<li>Lucide Icons – <a href="https://lucide.dev" rel="nofollow ugc">lucide.dev</a> (ISC License) 
Beautiful, consistent icon set</li>
</ul>
<h4>Development</h4>
<ul>
<li>Developer: <a href="https://tanishmittal.com" rel="nofollow ugc">Tanish Mittal</a></li>
<li>Plugin Architecture: WordPress standards-compliant</li>
<li>Browser Compatibility: Modern ES6+ with Web Workers</li>
</ul>

Speechable

Convert your WordPress posts to audio with AI-powered text-to-speech. Works in the browser with word highlighting.

Speechable vs Text To Speech TTS Accessibility