— DOCUMENTATION & HELP CENTER

ReadJutsu – Overview.

ReadJutsu adds an estimated reading-time badge and a scroll progress bar to any WordPress site — before your content, as a Gutenberg block, or as a shortcode. No theme lock-in, no build step, and a lightweight footer script. This page is your 5-minute tour.

Getting started

Note:
ReadJutsu works out of the box on block themes and classic themes. The scroll progress bar is added automatically in the footer; on classic themes a small marker is inserted so the bar can find where your content begins. Minimum requirements: WordPress 6.2 and PHP 7.4.

Download

Free version : Download the free version from the official WordPress plugin directory.

Premium version : Download your premium version after logging in to your account.

Installation

With the WordPress dashboard

1. From the Administration Screen, open the Plugins section
2. Click the Add New sub menu
3. Click Upload Plugin and select the zip file you downloaded
4. Click the Install Now button
5. After installation and activation, a new menu item called ReadJutsu appears

With an SFTP client :

1. Connect to your server
2. Upload the unzipped folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory
3. Activate the plugin from the Plugins menu
4. You will find a new menu item called ReadJutsu

When you activate the premium version, enter your licence key to unlock the Pro features. You receive the key by email after purchase, and it is also available in your account under the Licenses section.

Enable ReadJutsu

ReadJutsu has a master activation toggle in the General tab. Turn the whole plugin on or off here without losing your settings.

Choose where it appears

Each feature has its own Display mode and post types. Set Display to Automatic to let ReadJutsu inject the badge or bar on the content types you pick, or Manual to place them yourself with a block or shortcode.

Reading time settings

Enable reading time badge

Turn the reading-time badge on or off. When on, the estimated minutes-to-read are shown according to your display and style settings.

Words per minute

ReadJutsu estimates reading time from your content word count divided by a reading speed. The default is 238 words per minute; adjust it to match your audience.

Include images

Optionally add reading time for images. Each image adds a few seconds, with a diminishing amount after the tenth image — useful for image-heavy articles.

Badge style

Choose between Pill, Minimal and Inline styles in the free version. Each renders the same reading time with a different look.

Badge position

Place the badge before or after your content when Display is set to Automatic.

Prefix and suffix

Add custom text before and after the time, for example a clock icon as a prefix or the word read as a suffix.

Colors

Set the badge background and text colors to match your brand.

The premium Floating style pins the badge to a corner of the screen. Pick the corner — top-left, top-right, bottom-left or bottom-right — and it follows the reader as they scroll.

Progress bar settings

Enable progress bar

Turn the scroll progress bar on or off.

Display mode

Set the bar to Automatic (injected on the chosen post types) or Manual (placed with a block or shortcode).

Tracking scope

Choose what the bar measures: Content tracks only the article body, Page tracks the whole page from top to bottom.

Position

Anchor the bar at the top or bottom of the viewport.

Bar style

Pick a solid color or a gradient between two colors.

Colors and height

Set the fill color (and a second color for gradients), the background, and the bar height in pixels.

The premium Donut style replaces the bar with a circular progress indicator. You can set its corner position and its size in pixels.

Blocks & shortcodes

Reading time block and shortcode

Add the reading time anywhere with the ReadJutsu – Reading time block, or with its shortcode inside your content. The block is Query Loop aware, so it shows the right time for each post in a loop.

Progress bar block and shortcode

Place the progress bar with the ReadJutsu – Progress bar block or its shortcode. The bar renders once per page no matter how many times it is placed.

Premium adds a per-post panel to force-show or hide the badge and bar on a single post, or set a manual reading time that overrides the calculated value.

Premium adds privacy-first reading analytics: aggregated views, average scroll depth and completion rate per post. No cookies, no IP and no personal data — so no consent banner is required.

Changelog