How to Add Estimated Reading Time to Posts (WordPress)

Estimated reading time helps users decide whether to start reading an article and can improve engagement, especially on content-heavy blogs. The good news is that you can add it to WordPress without a plugin, using a small and reliable snippet.

This guide shows how to calculate reading time, display it safely, and integrate it cleanly into your theme.

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Why Estimated Reading Time Is Useful

• Sets clear expectations for readers
• Improves UX on long-form content
• Commonly used by professional blogs and media sites
• Easy to implement with minimal overhead

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How Reading Time Is Calculated

The standard approach is:

• Average reading speed: 200–250 words per minute
• Count the words in the post content
• Divide by the reading speed
• Round up to the nearest minute

Example:

• 850 words ÷ 200 WPM ≈ 4.25 → 5 min read

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Step 1: Create a Reading Time Helper Function

Add this function to functions.php (or a utility file).

function wpcodetips_get_reading_time( $post_id = null, $wpm = 200 ) {

  $post = get_post( $post_id );
  if ( ! $post ) {
    return '';
  }

  $content = $post->post_content;

  // Remove shortcodes and HTML
  $content = strip_shortcodes( $content );
  $content = wp_strip_all_tags( $content );

  $word_count = str_word_count( $content );
  if ( $word_count === 0 ) {
    return '';
  }

  $minutes = (int) ceil( $word_count / max( 1, (int) $wpm ) );

  return sprintf(
    _n( '%d min read', '%d mins read', $minutes, 'textdomain' ),
    $minutes
  );
}

Why this is safe:

• Ignores HTML and shortcodes
• Handles empty content gracefully
• Avoids division edge cases

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Step 2: Display Reading Time in a Template

You can output reading time anywhere inside the Loop.

Example: Single Post Header

<?php
$reading_time = wpcodetips_get_reading_time();

if ( $reading_time ) : ?>
  <span class="reading-time">
    <?php echo esc_html( $reading_time ); ?>
  </span>
<?php endif; ?>

Common placements:

• Below the post title
• Next to the publish date
• At the top of the content

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Step 3: Add Basic Styling (Optional)

.reading-time {
  font-size: 0.875rem;
  color: #666;
  margin-left: 8px;
  white-space: nowrap;
}

Keep it subtle — reading time is helpful, not dominant.

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Show Reading Time Only on Single Posts

If you want to limit it to single posts:

if ( is_singular( 'post' ) ) {
  echo esc_html( wpcodetips_get_reading_time() );
}

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Adjust Reading Speed (Advanced)

You can tune the words-per-minute value depending on your audience.

• Technical content: 180–200 WPM
• General blog content: 200–230 WPM
• Light content: 240–260 WPM

Example:

echo esc_html( wpcodetips_get_reading_time( get_the_ID(), 220 ) );

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Exclude Certain Content Types

You may not want reading time on short posts or announcements.

if ( is_singular( 'post' ) && str_word_count( wp_strip_all_tags( get_the_content() ) ) > 300 ) {
  echo esc_html( wpcodetips_get_reading_time() );
}

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Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Counting HTML tags or shortcodes as words
• Showing “0 min read” on short posts
• Hardcoding reading time instead of calculating it
• Displaying it everywhere (archives, widgets) without context

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Optional Enhancement Ideas

• Add an
  

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