How to show estimated reading time on your posts

BySupport Admin

Showing an estimated reading time helps your visitors decide if they have enough time to read your post right now. It builds trust and improves the user experience by setting clear expectations before a customer starts reading your latest update or guide.

How to enable reading time

Since WooShop is built with Kadence, this feature is built directly into your site settings. You don’t need any extra plugins.

  1. Log in to your WooShop dashboard and go to Appearance > Customize.

  2. Click on Post Layout.

  3. Select Single Post Layout.

  4. Look for the Post Title Area section in the left sidebar.

  5. Under Meta Items, find Reading Time.

  6. Click the eye icon next to Reading Time to make it visible.

  7. To change where it appears (like before or after the date), click and drag the six dots next to the label to move it up or down the list.

  8. Click Publish at the top of the screen to save your changes.

Customizing the reading speed

If you want to adjust how the time is calculated, click the gear icon next to the Reading Time label in that same menu. You can change the "Words Per Minute" setting. Most readers average about 200 to 250 words per minute. You can also edit the "Reading Time Prefix" if you want it to say something specific, like "Takes about" instead of just "Reading Time."

When to use reading time

  • Detailed Product Guides: If you write long-form content explaining how to use your products, a reading time helps customers carve out a few minutes to learn.

  • Recipe Blogs: For restaurant owners sharing recipes, a quick 3-minute reading time tells the user the instructions are concise and easy to follow.

  • Company News: For short updates, a "1 minute read" badge encourages people to click because they know it won’t take much effort.

Troubleshooting

  • The reading time isn’t appearing: Double-check that the "Meta" section is toggled to "on" (the eye icon) in your Single Post Layout settings. Also, ensure you are looking at an actual blog post, as reading time usually doesn’t show on your main shop pages or the homepage.

  • The time seems too short or too long: Check your Words Per Minute setting. If it’s set to 500, the time will look very short; if it’s set to 100, it will look much longer. 225 is generally the sweet spot.

  • It’s crowded near the date: If your post header looks cluttered, try dragging the Reading Time meta item to a different position or hiding other items like "Author" or "Categories" to clean up the look.

Next steps

Adding reading time is a small detail that makes your WooShop site feel more polished and professional. If you want to improve your posts even further, you might want to look into:

  • How to add a Table of Contents to long posts

  • Changing your blog post header layout

  • Customizing your "Related Posts" section

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