Display "Estimated Reading Time" on Blog Pages
Want to improve reader engagement on your Shopify blog? This tutorial shows you how to display an estimated reading time, word count included, on each blog post using a simple code snippet, all in a subtle line right below the thumbnail that will make your blog posts feel more sophisticated while giving your clients useful information and the feeling their time is being respected. Knowing how long a post takes to read helps users decide if they have time to dive in — which can increase the chances they’ll actually read it and reduce bounce rates.
Before starting: 👉 Click here to download the code
Step 1: adding the reading time snippet
- From your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes > Actions > Edit Code.
- In the left sidebar, scroll down and open the Snippets folder. Click on the Add a new snippet button and in the popup window that appears:
- Make sure the liquid option is selected.
- Name the file exactly ezfy-reading-time
- Click on the Done button.
- Now, open the file you downloaded earlier. Inside it, you’ll find a file named ezfy-reading-time.txt. Open it and copy all of its contents, and paste it into the newly created ezfy-reading-time.liquid snippet. Click the Save button in the top-right corner.
- Next, use the search bar at the top left of the code editor to find the main-article.liquid file then press ctrl + f to find the following line of code:
{{ article_content }}
- Right above it, paste this line:
{% render 'ezfy-reading-time', text: article.content, id: article.id %}
That's it!
You can test it out by opening any blog in your Shopify store. See how it looks below in our own ezfycode.com website, right below the thumbnail:
You’ve now installed a handy reading time indicator on your Shopify blog posts, featuring an auto-generated word count alongside an estimated reading time. This subtle addition can really help your content feel more professional and user-friendly. Best of all, it only takes a couple of minutes to set up.
Have questions or want to customize it further? Just leave a comment below or send us a message directly. Happy selling!