8 Top Read Progress Bar WordPress plugins (Most Are Free)

Want to add an ability to read progress bars in WordPress?

A bar for reading progress is a great way to improve your site's user experience through providing readers with a visually-based indicator of how they're progressing throughout a piece of content.

In this blog this post, we've put together 8 of the top alternatives, six of which are totally free.

We'll provide the specifics for each plugin along with a quick description of how progress bars work , and the reasons they're beneficial to your site.

What exactly is What is a Reading Progress Bar?

Typically, you'll stick an horizontal bar at the bottom or top of the page. As users scroll through your post, the bar is likely to "fill up" to show how close they are close to finishing the content.

Some plugins also give you the possibility of creating an oblique progress bar to either side of the content. In these cases, it appears like scroll bars. But the main difference is that the progress bar is based on the size of the actual page, unlike the scroll bar for browsers, which will be based on the complete length of the webpage.

These are real examples of the typical way websites use progress reading bars...

Thrive Themes features the green progress bar for reading that is visible beneath the header that is sticky:

But, you are able to experiment with different progress bar placements depending on the website you're using.

Why Add a Reading Progress Bar to WordPress?

Let's start by discussing user experience in general.

The majority of people would like to be aware of what they're into before investing the time to read your article. Are you writing a five-minute piece you can glance over in between work or long and 20 minutes in length which requires a lot of focus?

The progress bar provides readers with an idea of what to be expecting from your article when they begin to read. For this reason some websites include an estimate of the reading time as well as a progress bar, which several of the plugins below support.

After your viewers begin to read, the progress bar can be a good way to encourage them to complete the entire article. In the example above, if readers see that they've already made it through 80% of text, they'll feel compelled to read the remaining 20% because they've already finished the bulk of the post.

The improvements to user experience can result in positive changes to two key measures:

• Dwell Time by encouraging users to complete a page when they've read it and you'll be able to improve the amount of time readers spend on the site.

8 Top Read Progress Bar WordPress Plugins

Let's dive into the best 8 progress bars for WordPress plugins that will assist you in adding a reading progress bar to your website.

There are many simple progress bar plug-ins which allow you to create an individual progress bar to suit any purpose, this article is specifically focused on plugins that add reading progress indicators based on the length of the page's content.

Regarding pricing, 6 from these plug-ins are completely free, while the 2 remaining ones are priced reasonably as well as provide additional flexibility that isn't found in most of the free options.

Read Meter

This plugin allows you to automatically add a reading progress bar, which can be positioned to the very middle or the top on the webpage. You also have the option to display the blog's estimated reading time along with an indicator of progress.

Here's everything that you'll get from Read Meter

• Bottom or top position Displays the progress bar on the either the top or bottom of the user's display.
• Read-time- automatically add the expected read time to different parts of the post (e.g. under in the post's title) or manually add it using a shortcode.

Price: Read Meter is 100% free.

Reading Progressbar

Along with Read Meter, Reading progressbar is another popular progress bar plugins at WordPress.org. In contrast to Read Meter, however, this plugin does not provide the possibility to include the reading duration - it's just used for the progress bar.

However, it does give an additional flexibility in targeting which Read Meter doesn't offer. In particular, it lets you target your progress bar to certain templates as well as post-type specificity.

Here's everything that you'll get with Reading Progressbar:

• Modifiable designYou can alter the height and colors of your progress bar to be in line with your website.

Pricing: Reading progressbar is 100% gratis.

A Must Read

Worth the read is one of the progress bars that can be customized to suit your needs. WordPress plugins. It can be a good choice for those who find previous plugins to be too restrictive.

It comes with unique location and targeting options that most other plugins aren't able to offer as well as more unique options. Additionally, it gives users the ability to include an estimate of the reading time, if preferred.

What you will get when you purchase Worth the Read:

• Horizontal and vertical position options Include the horizontal progress bar located at the bottom or top of the screen OR a vertical progress bar on either side or right. Vertical positioning is unique as most other plugins don't support this feature.
• Post type targetedYou can only add your progress reading bar on specific types of posts.
• Targeting devicesYou have the option to turn off the progress bar on tablets and mobile phones (or desktops).
• RTL supports RTL It's among the few plugins that lets you change to RTL and could be ideal for websites in RTL languages.
• Style optionscan be customized to match the color and thickness, as well as the opacity and so on. If you've enabled the comments option, you could even select a separate color to indicate when the comment section begins by displaying a progress bar.
• Reading time estimationWhen you turn on reading time, you can customize its functionality and place it either automatically or by hand with a shortcode.

Price is worth reading is completely cost-free.

Catch Scroll Progress Bar

The Catch Scroll Progress Bar is an alternative to include a basic progress bar to your site.

The interface is simple by providing only the bare minimum of options that you need to design and place the progress bar.

What you will get with The Catch Scroll The Progress Bar

• The top or bottom of the page You can stick your progress bar to the bottom or top of the page.
• Post type targetingYou can only attach your progress bar to specific post types.
• Template-targetingfor these post types, you can only display it on specific templates. For example, you could apply it to individual posts but not in the archives page.
• Style and color optionsCustomize the color, opacity, and size of your progress bar.

Price is: The Scroll Progression Bar 100% free.

WP Reading Progress

WP Reading Progress is a different free progress bar WordPress plugin available on WordPress.org.

Similar to the other plugin, this one gives you the minimal settings needed to customize your reading progress bar. But for most people this is all you require making it a solid option.

Here's everything that you'll get when you sign up for WP Reading Progress:

• Post type targetingOnly show the progress bar for certain post types. It is also possible to make archive pages available or not.
• Style modificationallows you to alter the hue and the size of the progress bar. But, you only get to choose a single color , and there aren't any choices for transparency.

Price The price of HTML0 is: WP Reading Progress is 100% absolutely free.

Reading Time

Reading Time is the very first reading-related plugin in this list that comes in a premium version.

But, it's inexpensive and comes with unlimited updates with Envato's CodeCanyon marketplace.

There are two main reasons to consider Reading Time over the free alternatives:

• 8+ preset styles There are unique style options like vertical bars instead of a solid fill inside the progress bar (pictured above).

You also get all of the "standard" options one would expect from a plug-in:

• Flexible positioning Alongside the automatic placement of top and bottom it is also possible to use custom positioning to stick your progress bar onto any CSS selector.
• Style optionsin addition to the eight styles that are pre-set there are also broad options for customizing the colors and height of your progress bar.

Cost: Reading Time costs $15. It includes lifetime updates for a single site and 6 months of service.

Reading Position Indicator

Reading Position Indicate is another lightweight free plugin for progress bars on WordPress.org.

The app doesn't offer a ton of settings However, one feature that is unique is that it lets you apply a gradient of your choice that you can use for your reading progress bar (in place of a standard color).

Here's everything that you'll receive with the Reading Position Indicator:

• Bottom or top position There is no CSS selector targeting but you could include an offset.
• Post type targetingYou can target your progress bar towards particular post types.
• Style options for customizationYou can choose between solid or gradient color styles. You can also adjust the size of the progress bar.

Price: Reading Position Indicator is 100 percent completely free.

ReBar

ReBar is yet another high-end Reading Progress Bar WordPress plugin available through The Envato CodeCanyon marketplace.

In the same way as Reading Time, here are some of the distinct attributes it provides that could be worth investing the cash:

• 8+ styles of presets - you get a number of unique styles which go beyond the traditional colors, like plastic, gradients, iOS-style, and more.
• infinite scroll supportReBar supports infinite scroll support ReBar can still be used with endless scroll layouts making it an excellent option for those sites. The space for scrolling based on CSS selectors, and then generate a unique progression bar for every post that is in endless scroll.

Below are some additional important features to be aware of:

• Horizontal and Vertical styles You can place an horizontal progress bar on the top or bottom of the page OR set a vertical progress indicator on the left or right edge of your page.
• Flexible styles- in addition to the eight styles of preset it is also possible to alter the colors and height/width of your progress bar.
• RTL supports- you can reverse the progress bar for RTL languages.

Price ReBar's price is $15. This includes unlimited updates to only one website and 6 months of support.

Summary

The collection is complete of the 8 best reading progress bars WordPress plugins.

If you want for adding a simple progress bar, you can consider plugins such as Read Meter or Reading progressbar.

However If you're looking for the most customizability for free, you might want to begin with Worth the Read, as it includes a number of distinct options and features which other plugins do not offer.

If you want to go beyond a solid fill color to the progress bar, then you could consider looking at the top options available at CodeCanyon for either Reading Time or ReBar. One of the best features of these plugins is they both have 8+ preset designs and more sophisticated targeting options.

Each plugin comes with their own distinctive twist with regards to design and functions, which is why it's worth exploring them all to find the option that's right for your site.

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