[Resolved] Estimated Reading Time in Minutes and Seconds

[Melvin]

Hi,

I’ve followed the instructions here and added estimated reading time to my site successfully.

However, most of my posts are between 45 seconds to 1 minute 20 seconds. As a result, the Estimated Reading Time is always 1 minutes.

Firstly, 1 minutes (instead of the singular minute) is already grammatically incorrect. Secondly, if the result is always 1 minute, it’s as good as not showing.

Is there a way to show the estimated reading time in minutes and seconds? Like 45 seconds, 1 minute 30 seconds, or 2 minutes 10 seconds?

[Fernando]

Hi Melvin,

I see. If that’s the case, can you try this code instead and see if it works for you?:

function tu_estimated_reading_time() {
    $post = get_post();
    $content = $post->post_content;
    $wpm = 300; // How many words per minute.

    $clean_content = strip_shortcodes( $content );
    $clean_content = strip_tags( $clean_content );
    $word_count = str_word_count( $clean_content );
	$m = floor($word_count / 200);
    $s = floor($word_count % $wpm / ($wpm / 60));
	$time = $m . ' minute' . ($m == 1 ? '' : 's') . ', ' . $s . ' second' . ($s == 1 ? '' : 's');
    return $time;
}

add_filter( 'generate_post_date_output', function( $output ) {
    $output .= '<div class="read-time">Reading time: ' . tu_estimated_reading_time() . '</div>';

    return $output;
} );

Kindly let us know how it goes. 🙂

[Melvin]

Hey Fernando,

Thanks for the quick response. It works!

However, is there a way to change minutes to minute if it’s 0?

Like “0 minute, 42 seconds” instead of “0 minutes, 42 seconds”?

[Melvin]

Hey Fernando,

If it’s too difficult, don’t bother. I’ll just use “m” and “s” instead. Like 0m:42s. No need to stress with singular and plural. 🙂

[Fernando]

I see.

Can you try this instead?:

function tu_estimated_reading_time() {
    $post = get_post();
    $content = $post->post_content;
    $wpm = 300; // How many words per minute.

    $clean_content = strip_shortcodes( $content );
    $clean_content = strip_tags( $clean_content );
    $word_count = str_word_count( $clean_content );
	$m = floor($word_count / 200);
    $s = floor($word_count % $wpm / ($wpm / 60));
	$time = $m . ' minute' . ($m <= 1 ? '' : 's') . ', ' . $s . ' second' . ($s <= 1 ? '' : 's');
    return $time;
}

add_filter( 'generate_post_date_output', function( $output ) {
    $output .= '<div class="read-time">Reading time: ' . tu_estimated_reading_time() . '</div>';

    return $output;
} );

Kindly let us know how it goes. 🙂

[Melvin]

Hey Fernando,

Yes, it worked perfectly!

Thank you so much for your help. I appreciate you.

Best regards,
Melvin Neo

[Fernando]

You’re welcome Melvin! Glad that worked! Feel free to reach out anytime if you’ll need assistance with anything else. 🙂

[Author]

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