Title: Idara Reading Time Author: Mohammad Sajid Ansari Published: June 2, 2026 Last modified: June 2, 2026 --- Search plugins ![](https://ps.w.org/idara-reading-time/assets/banner-772x250.png?rev=3557862) ![](https://ps.w.org/idara-reading-time/assets/icon.svg?rev=3557862) # Idara Reading Time By [Mohammad Sajid Ansari](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sajidansari65/) [Download](https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/idara-reading-time.1.0.0.zip) * [Details](https://wordpress.org/plugins/idara-reading-time/#description) * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/plugins/idara-reading-time/#reviews) * [Installation](https://wordpress.org/plugins/idara-reading-time/#installation) * [Development](https://wordpress.org/plugins/idara-reading-time/#developers) [Support](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/idara-reading-time/) ## Description **Idara Reading Time** is a focused, single-purpose Gutenberg block that does one thing well: shows readers how long your post will take. It also offers an optional scroll progress bar — a thin bar pinned to the top or bottom of the page that fills as the visitor scrolls. _Idara (إدارة) is an Arabic word meaning “studio” or “administration” — the brand behind a growing family of carefully crafted, single-purpose Gutenberg blocks._ #### Why this and not a full block suite? Most block plugins ship 30+ blocks you’ll never use, slowing your editor and your frontend. Idara plugins are deliberately small. This one is under 25 KB. CSS and JS load **only on pages where the block is present** — never globally. #### Features * Estimated reading time, calculated server-side from your post content * Display as a single value (“3 min read”) or a friendly range (“2–3 min read”) * Adjustable words-per-minute (50–600) * 4 icon styles: clock, timer, hourglass, or none * Optional scroll progress bar with color, height, and position (top/bottom) * Hide on short posts (e.g. don’t show on anything under 2 minutes) * Custom prefix and suffix text * Inherits theme typography and text color via block supports * Full Site Editing (FSE) compatible — works inside block templates and template parts * Block toolbar shortcuts for icon cycling and range toggle * Semantic, accessible markup with ARIA labels * No tracking, no external requests, no third-party services * Translation-ready #### Use cases * Blog posts where readers want to gauge time investment * Long-form articles where the scroll progress bar improves engagement * Documentation sites * News and magazine layouts ### Development Source code and build tools are available on GitHub: https://github.com/sajid-ansari- 65/idara-reading-time The `src/` directory contains the unminified JavaScript (ES modules, JSX) and SCSS. Run `npm install && npm run build` to compile. ## Screenshots * [[ * Block in the WordPress block inserter — find it by searching “Reading Time” * [[ * Block selected in the editor with toolbar shortcuts for icon cycling and range toggle * [[ * Block settings sidebar — Display, Calculation, Scroll progress bar, and Advanced panels * [[ * Display panel — icon style picker (clock, timer, hourglass, or none), Single/ Range format toggle, and custom prefix/suffix fields * [[ * Calculation panel — adjustable words-per-minute (default 200 WPM) and hide-on- short-posts toggle * [[ * Scroll progress bar panel — enable toggle, live mini-preview, position (top/bottom), height, and color picker * [[ * Frontend — reading time with clock icon displayed in a post, with scroll progress bar visible at the bottom of the page * [[ * Frontend — reading time with hourglass icon displayed below the post title in a blog layout ## Blocks This plugin provides 1 block. * Reading Time Smart reading time block with optional range display and scroll progress bar. ## Installation 1. Upload the plugin folder to `/wp-content/plugins/`, or install via **Plugins Add New Upload Plugin** 2. Activate the plugin through the **Plugins** menu 3. Open any post or page in the block editor 4. Insert the **Reading Time** block where you want it displayed 5. Configure icon, format, and progress bar from the block settings sidebar ## FAQ ### How is reading time calculated? The plugin strips block markup, shortcodes, and HTML from the post content, counts the remaining words, and divides by your chosen words-per-minute setting (default 200). The minimum displayed value is 1 minute. ### Does it work with Full Site Editing block themes? Yes. You can place the block inside any block template or template part — for example, inside a “Single Post” template just below the Post Title block. ### Will this slow down my site? No. The entire plugin is under 25 KB, ships no jQuery, and makes zero external requests. Its CSS and JavaScript are enqueued **only on pages that actually contain the block**— never site-wide — so pages without it load exactly as before. ### Does the scroll progress bar affect performance? The frontend script is a tiny vanilla JavaScript file (under 1 KB) using a passive scroll listener and requestAnimationFrame. It is enqueued only on pages where the block is present. ### Can I style the block? Yes. The block fully supports WordPress block color and typography controls. The frontend uses simple class names: `.idara-rt`, `.idara-rt-icon`, `.idara-rt-text`,`. idara-rt-progress-wrap`, and `.idara-rt-progress-bar`. ### Does this plugin track users or send data anywhere? No. Everything runs locally on your site. No external requests, no analytics, no tracking. ### How do I display reading time as a range? In the block settings sidebar, click the “Range” button under Format. You can then choose how wide the range should be (1 to 5 minutes spread). ## Reviews There are no reviews for this plugin. ## Contributors & Developers “Idara Reading Time” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin. Contributors * [ Mohammad Sajid Ansari ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sajidansari65/) [Translate “Idara Reading Time” into your language.](https://translate.wordpress.org/projects/wp-plugins/idara-reading-time) ### Interested in development? [Browse the code](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/idara-reading-time/), check out the [SVN repository](https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/idara-reading-time/), or subscribe to the [development log](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/idara-reading-time/) by [RSS](https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/log/idara-reading-time/?limit=100&mode=stop_on_copy&format=rss). ## Changelog #### 1.0.0 * Initial release ## Meta * Version **1.0.0** * Last updated **16 hours ago** * Active installations **Fewer than 10** * WordPress version ** 6.4 or higher ** * Tested up to **7.0** * PHP version ** 7.4 or higher ** * Tags * [blog](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/blog/)[fse](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/fse/) [Gutenberg block](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/gutenberg-block/)[progress bar](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/progress-bar/) [reading time](https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/reading-time/) * [Advanced View](https://wordpress.org/plugins/idara-reading-time/advanced/) ## Ratings No reviews have been submitted yet. [Your review](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/idara-reading-time/reviews/#new-post) [See all reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/idara-reading-time/reviews/) ## Contributors * [ Mohammad Sajid Ansari ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sajidansari65/) ## Support Got something to say? Need help? [View support forum](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/idara-reading-time/)