Joeri van Veen

The reading progress bar is a great user experience on longreads. Especially if it accurately depicts the reading progress in the article text, and nothing else. This is standard on single blog posts and enabled by default.
Customization:
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Location top of screen, bottom of screen or below a sticky menu.
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Choose color of the reading progress bar.
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Have the bar start at 0% even when part of the article is visible.
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Select post types you wish the bar to appear, or individual posts.
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Behaviour:
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The reading progress bar has smooth initializing since part of the text may already be visible, after that a lightweight update-function ensures quick response while scrolling.
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The bar can attach itself to any (sticky) element that you define as an admin, when there are multiple, the first visible element will be used.
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When there is no (longer a) visible element to attach to, the bar displays at the top.
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If there is no single article identified (by class names or id) it uses the whole page to calculate progress.
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Estimated reading time (beta)
Since 1.6.0 this plugin has rudimentary estimated reading time functionality, for when your theme does not support it out of the box. 
There are some potential issues, some of which cannot be fixed in a plugin. If it does not work for you, switch it off. It will have no effect on the plugin then.
This is my 6th WordPress plugin but my first one freely available to everybody. I hope you enjoy using it as much as I enjoy building it!
Regards, 
Joeri

WP Reading Progress

Light weight fully customizable reading progress bar. Sticks to top, bottom or sticky menu, with fallback for small screens. Includes ert (beta).

NoorWork

ReadBar is a smart and highly customizable plugin that improves user experience by providing estimated reading times and a dynamic reading progress bar for your posts and pages. Enhance content engagement, provide clear expectations, and help your readers easily track their progress through your articles.
Key Features: 
* Smart Reading Time Calculation: Automatically estimates reading time for posts/pages based on configurable words per minute. 
* Dynamic Reading Progress Bar: Displays a smooth, animating progress bar that updates as users scroll through content. 
* Fully Customizable Design: Control colors (text, background, bar), text alignment, font size, margin, and padding to perfectly match your site’s design. 
* Flexible Positioning: Place reading time above title, above content, or below content. The progress bar can be fixed at the top or bottom of the viewport. 
* Device Visibility Control: Independently enable or disable features for mobile, tablet, and desktop devices. 
* Post Type Selection: Choose specific post types where the reading time and progress bar should appear automatically. 
* Reading Time Shortcode: Use <code>[read_bar_reading_time]</code> to insert reading time anywhere, with optional parameters to override global settings for unique placements. 
* Lightweight & Optimized: Built with clean, efficient code to ensure fast page load speeds and optimal performance. 
* SEO-Friendly: Designed to enhance user experience without negatively impacting your search engine rankings. 
* Translation Ready: Fully internationalized for easy translation into any language.
ReadBar helps you provide a better, more informative, and visually engaging reading experience for your audience.

ReadBar – Smart Reading Time & Dynamic Progress Bar


I’ve tried a few reading time plugins, but ReadBar stands out with its clean design, smooth animation, and incredible customization options.



✅ I love how I can adjust the progress bar color, reading speed, and where the reading time appears.✅ Works perfectly across desktop, tablet, and mobile.✅ The shortcode is super handy for custom placements.



Also, the plugin is lightweight and doesn’t slow down my pages at all.



Highly recommended if you care about improving user engagement and time-on-site. Great work by the developer! 👏


Perfect Reading Time Plugin – Lightweight & Beautifully Designed!

Add estimated reading time and a dynamic reading progress bar to your WordPress posts and pages to boost content engagement and improve readability.

WP Reading Progress vs ReadBar – Smart Reading Time & Dynamic Progress Bar