Get Started

ReadTime 1.6 adds an automatic reading estimate and an accessible reading-progress bar to Joomla articles. It can also show word count, estimated finish time, and an image-reading allowance in Plain, Rounded Badge, or Information Card layouts.

• Joomla 4, 5, and 6 compatible
• No jQuery dependency
• Unicode-aware counting with CJK fallback
• Article-aware or full-page progress
• Multiple {readtime} shortcodes per article
• Per-shortcode overrides without changing backend defaults
• Category, menu, article, and view exclusions
• Reduced-motion, print, mobile, and accessibility support

Requirements

• Joomla 4, 5, or 6
• PHP 8.1 or later recommended

Install

1. Open System > Install > Extensions.
2. Upload plg_content_readtime_1.6.zip.
3. Open System > Manage > Plugins.
4. Search for Content - ReadTime.
5. Configure the plugin and set Status to Enabled.
6. Clear Joomla and browser cache after upgrading.

Upgrade from 1.5

Version 1.6 preserves the 1.5 parameter names and defaults. New settings use safe defaults: article progress, Plain layout, Clock icon, no word count, no finish time, and no percentage label.

• Minimum Words Per Minute (min_wpm) — lower reading-speed value used in the average. Range: 50–1000; step: 10; default: 200.
• Maximum Words Per Minute (max_wpm) — upper reading-speed value. Range: 50–1000; step: 10; default: 300. Reversed values are normalized automatically.
• Show in Seconds (show_in_seconds) — displays seconds instead of minutes. Default: No; useful for micro-content.
• Show Progress Bar (show_progress_bar) — loads and displays the fixed reading-progress indicator. Default: Yes.
• Minimum Word Count (minimum_words) — hides ReadTime when content is shorter than this threshold. Range: 0–10000; default: 0.
• Seconds per Image (image_seconds) — adds reading time for each article image. Range: 0–60; default: 0.

The estimate uses the average of Minimum and Maximum WPM, plus the configured image allowance.

• Reading Time Label (reading_time_text) — text before the estimate. Default: Reading Time:.
• Singular Minute Text (singular_minute_text) — default: minute.
• Plural Minutes Text (plural_minutes_text) — default: minutes.
• Singular Second Text (singular_second_text) — default: second.
• Plural Seconds Text (plural_seconds_text) — default: seconds.
• Show Word Count (show_word_count) — adds the calculated count. Default: No.
• Word Count Label (word_count_text) — shown after the count when enabled. Default: words.
• Show Estimated Finish Time (show_finish_time) — adds an estimated completion clock time. Default: No.
• Finish Time Label (finish_time_text) — default: Finish by.

All visible text is escaped safely and can be customized for the site language.

Display Position (display_position)

• Before Article — prepends the indicator.
• After Article — appends it.
• Shortcode {readtime} — replaces one or more shortcode tokens exactly where entered. If no token exists, ReadTime falls back to Before Article.

Display Layout (display_layout)

• Plain — minimal single-line treatment.
• Rounded Badge — compact pill for blogs and cards.
• Information Card — full-width highlighted summary.

Display Icon (display_icon)

• No Icon
• Clock — default accessible decorative SVG.
• Open Book — alternative SVG.

Style Preset (style_preset)

• Custom — exposes all custom style fields.
• Default — dark, 16px, regular.
• Subtle — muted gray, 14px, regular.
• Bold — dark, 18px, bold.
• Minimal — muted gray, 12px, light.
• Highlighted — blue, 16px, semibold.

Custom-only fields

• Text Color (reading_time_color) — default #000000.
• Font Size (reading_time_font_size) — accepts px, em, rem, or percent; default 16px.
• Font Weight (reading_time_font_weight) — Normal, Bold, Bolder, Lighter, or 300–700; default Normal.
• Text Alignment (reading_time_alignment) — Left, Center, or Right; default Left.

• Bar Thickness (bar_thickness) — fixed bar height; default 5px.
• Bar Color (bar_color) — completed progress colour; default #2299ee.
• Bar Position (bar_position) — Top or Bottom of screen; default Top.
• Progress Scope (progress_scope) — Article Content measures only the article; Entire Page includes header, footer, and other page content. Default: Article Content.
• Track Color (bar_track_color) — remaining progress colour; default #e5e7eb.
• Show Progress Percentage (show_progress_percentage) — shows a compact live percentage label. Default: No.

The bar exposes progressbar semantics and updates aria-valuenow from 0 to 100. Animation is removed when the visitor prefers reduced motion.

Set Display Position to Shortcode {readtime}, then place the token on its own line:

{readtime}

Editor-wrapped markup such as <p>{readtime}</p> is supported. Add several shortcodes to one article to show multiple variants. Every shortcode starts with backend defaults; attributes override only that instance.

Examples

{readtime layout="plain" style="subtle" icon="clock" words="1"}
{readtime layout="badge" style="default" icon="book"}
{readtime layout="card" style="highlighted" words="1" finish="1"}
{readtime layout="badge" seconds="1" label="Quick read:" wpm="300"}

• layout — plain, badge, or card.
• style — custom, default, subtle, bold, minimal, or highlighted.
• icon — none, clock, or book.
• words — show word count.
• finish — show estimated finish time.
• seconds — show estimate in seconds.
• percentage — request the progress percentage.
• label — custom reading-time label, limited to 100 characters and stripped of HTML.
• wpm — fixed reading speed from 50 to 1000 for this shortcode.
• alignment — left, center, or right.
• scope — article or page.
• image_seconds — image allowance from 0 to 60.

Boolean attributes accept 1/0, true/false, yes/no, or on/off. Use quotes around values containing spaces.

• Exclude Categories (excludeCategories) — multi-select categories where ReadTime should not run.
• Exclude Menu Items (excludeMenuItems) — multi-select menu assignments to suppress.
• Exclude Articles (excludeArticles) — repeatable modal article selector.
• Exclude Featured Articles View (exclude_featured) — default No.
• Exclude Blog Layout (exclude_blog) — default No.
• Exclude Category View (exclude_category) — default No.

The plugin runs only for valid com_content articles and avoids content rendered inside unrelated modules.

Minimal Line

{readtime layout="plain" style="subtle" icon="clock" words="1"}

Rounded Badge

{readtime layout="badge" style="default" icon="book"}

Information Card

{readtime layout="card" style="highlighted" words="1" finish="1"}

Seconds Display

{readtime layout="badge" style="bold" icon="none" seconds="1" label="Quick read:" wpm="300"}

These are the four configurations shown on the live demo. They can coexist because each shortcode has isolated display overrides.

• Clock and book icons are inline SVG, decorative, and hidden from assistive technology.
• The complete indicator text is available through an accessible label.
• The fixed progress bar uses role="progressbar", a readable label, and live numeric value.
• Reduced-motion preferences disable progress transitions.
• Print styles hide the progress bar and preserve readable indicator text.
• Scroll work is throttled with requestAnimationFrame.
• Progress uses transform-based updates instead of layout-heavy width animation.
• CSS and JavaScript are registered through Joomla Web Asset Manager.
• No jQuery is loaded.

• Nothing appears

  • Enable Content - ReadTime, confirm the page is a Joomla article, review all exclusion settings, and check Minimum Word Count.

• The shortcode is visible as text

  • Set Display Position to Shortcode and use {readtime} with correctly quoted attributes.

• The shortcode is missing

  • When Shortcode mode has no token, ReadTime intentionally falls back to Before Article.

• Progress is inaccurate

  • Choose Article Content to ignore headers and footers. Use Entire Page only when page-wide progress is intended.

• Old styles remain

  • Clear Joomla, proxy/CDN, and browser caches. Version 1.6 assets use cache-busting.

• Finish time seems different

  • The calculation uses the Joomla site timezone and the current reading estimate.

• Can all options be managed from the backend?

  • Yes. The backend controls every global default. Shortcode attributes are optional per-instance overrides.

• Can one article contain several styles?

  • Yes. Add multiple shortcodes and give each different attributes.

• Does ReadTime support non-Latin content?

  • Yes. It uses Unicode-aware word matching and a character-based fallback for CJK and Thai scripts.

• Does it load jQuery?

  • No. ReadTime uses native JavaScript and Joomla Web Asset Manager.

• Where can I get help?

  • Visit support.joomlax.com and include the Joomla/PHP versions, URL, plugin settings, and browser-console errors.