About this plugin
Elysian Reader adds a modern reading progress indicator and optional floating widget to your WordPress website. Readers can instantly see how far they’ve progressed through an article and view an estimated time remaining, improving the reading experience without intrusive popups or unnecessary distractions.
Everything Included
Elysian Reader is completely free. Every feature is included in this version—there are no premium editions, locked features, upgrade prompts, or subscription requirements.
How It Works
After activation, the plugin automatically displays a reading progress indicator on your site’s singular content. Customize its appearance using professionally designed presets or fine-tune every visual setting through the interactive live preview dashboard.
Optionally enable a floating reading widget that displays reading progress and estimated reading time in multiple visual styles.
Features
- Reading progress bar with four placement options: top, bottom, left, or right.
- Nine professionally designed presets for quick setup.
- Six rendering styles: Solid, Gradient, Segmented, Neon, Glass, and Stripe.
- Optional floating widget available in Pill, Circle, SaaS, and Minimal layouts.
- Adjustable reading speed (100–400 WPM) for more accurate time estimates.
- Optional glow and pulse animation effects.
- Independent color controls for both the progress bar and widget.
- Interactive live preview sandbox with simulated scrolling.
- Automatic settings saving as you customize the plugin.
- Save custom configurations as reusable presets.
- Light and dark interface themes.
- Widget size, spacing, radius, and padding controls.
- Designed to minimize theme conflicts using scoped CSS custom properties.
- Lightweight frontend assets with no jQuery dependency.
- Accessibility support including ARIA attributes, reduced-motion support, and keyboard-friendly controls.
- RTL language support.
- Automatically hidden while printing.
- Compatible with classic themes, block themes, and most page builders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this plugin work with my theme?
Elysian Reader is designed to work with classic themes, block themes, and most page builders. It uses scoped CSS custom properties to help minimize styling conflicts.
Does Elysian Reader require jQuery?
No. The plugin is built using modern vanilla JavaScript and does not load jQuery on the frontend.
Can I customize the colors?
Yes. Customize the primary and secondary colors for both the reading progress bar and the floating widget using built-in color pickers.
Is there a premium version?
No. Every feature is included in this free version. There are no premium editions, feature restrictions, or upgrade prompts.
Does the plugin collect user data?
No. Reading progress calculations are performed entirely within the visitor’s browser. The plugin does not collect personal data, set tracking cookies, or communicate with third-party services.
Can I disable the progress bar?
Yes. The reading progress bar and floating widget can be enabled or disabled independently.
Is the plugin compatible with caching plugins?
Yes. Elysian Reader is designed to work alongside most caching plugins and CDN configurations.
Can I adjust the reading speed?
Yes. Configure the words-per-minute value between 100 and 400 to better match your audience and improve estimated reading times.
Does it support custom post types?
Yes. The plugin works on singular posts, pages, and supported custom post types.
Will it affect my site’s performance?
Elysian Reader is designed with a lightweight frontend footprint and uses efficient browser APIs for smooth progress tracking.
Privacy
Elysian Reader does not collect, store, or transmit personal information.
All reading progress calculations are performed locally within the visitor’s browser. The plugin does not use cookies, analytics services, or external tracking.