ReadBar – Smart Reading Time & Dynamic Progress Bar

ReadBar tells readers how long an article will take and shows them how far through it they are. Both parts are optional, both are configurable, and neither adds a request to any external service.

Reading time

• Estimates from a words-per-minute figure you control.
• Multibyte-safe word counting, so Bengali, Hindi, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean articles are measured correctly rather than reported as zero.
• Optionally adds time for images, videos, embeds and lines of code, because a photo essay reads slower than its word count suggests.
• Ignores shortcodes, script and style blocks, so a gallery shortcode no longer inflates the estimate.
• Shows above the title, above the content, below the content, in archive excerpts, in a block, or anywhere via shortcode.
• Optional clock icon, full control over colour, alignment, font size, margin and padding.

Reading progress bar

• Fixed to the top or bottom of the screen, with independent positions for mobile, tablet and desktop.
• Flat, rounded, gradient or glow styles, and any height from 1 to 40 pixels.
• Optional floating circular indicator, with a scroll percentage and an optional “back to top” action.
• Measures the article rather than the whole document, so the bar reaches 100% at the end of the text instead of at the bottom of the comments and footer. You can point it at any CSS selector.
• Written in plain JavaScript with no jQuery dependency, batched into a single animation frame per scroll, and it respects the visitor’s reduced-motion preference.
• Exposes role="progressbar" with a live aria-valuenow, so screen readers can report progress.

Blocks and shortcode

• Reading Time block — use it in a post or in a Site Editor template.
• Reading Progress Bar block — switch the bar on for exactly the entries a template covers.
• [read_bar_reading_time] shortcode with show_on, align, content, font_size, text_color, bg_color, prefix, postfix, show_icon and post_id.
• A ReadBar box on every post and page for a manual minute count, or to hide ReadBar on that one entry.

Privacy and data

ReadBar contacts no external server unless you explicitly allow it.

After activation you are shown a setup screen with two buttons: Allow & finish setup and Finish without sharing. Neither is pre-selected, no feature is withheld either way, and the answer is stored in the noorwork0625readbar_consent option. You can change it at any time on ReadBar → Settings → Privacy; unticking the box stops every outbound request immediately.

If you allow it, ReadBar sends the following to https://license.noorwork.com/wp-json/codelocker/v1/lead when it is activated, updated or deactivated:

• Your site address, WordPress version, PHP version and active theme name
• Site language, timezone, and whether the site is multisite
• The ReadBar version, which ReadBar features are switched on, and the install date
• The contact email you entered, if you entered one
• The reason you select in the deactivation dialog, and any note you add to it

ReadBar never sends your post content, your visitors or any analytics about them, IP addresses, user accounts, passwords or licence keys.

The deactivation dialog is shown whether or not you allowed reporting. If you did not allow it, pressing “Send & deactivate” transmits that single message — your reason plus the ReadBar, WordPress and PHP versions and your site address — and nothing after it. “Skip & deactivate” and the close button send nothing at all, and deactivation proceeds either way.

Service provider: NoorWork, https://noorwork.com. Privacy policy: https://noorwork.com/privacy-policy/