Want to keep your visitors engaged and informed as they scroll through your site?
The Best Progress Bar Plugins for WordPress help you display reading progress, project milestones, or completion goals with ease.
In this guide, you’ll discover the top five plugins compared so you can pick the perfect one for your website.
Key Takeaways
- You use a progress bar to visually show how much of a page, post, or task your visitors have completed.
- You should consider ease of customization, compatibility with your theme or builder, and performance impact before choosing a plugin.
- You get the best balance of features, speed, and design flexibility with Progress Bar by Nexter, making it our top recommendation.
What is a Progress Bar in WordPress?
A progress bar in WordPress lets you visually show how far along users are in reading a post, completing a task, or reaching a goal.
You can use it to keep visitors engaged and give them a clear sense of completion.
Best Progress Bar Plugins for WordPress Compared
| Sl No | Progress Bar Plugin | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progress Bar by Nexter | ★★★★★ |
| 2 | Progress Bar & Skill Bar | ★★★★ |
| 3 | Catch Scroll Progress Bar | ★★★ |
| 4 | WP Reading Progress | ★★★ |
| 5 | Reading Position Indicator | ★★★ |
1. Progress Bar by Nexter
The WordPress Progress Bar plugin by Nexter lets you easily add customizable progress bars using the default Gutenberg editor, ensuring fast performance with no jQuery.
You can use it on local, staging, and live sites with seamless license management and excellent support options.
Key Features of Progress Bar by Nexter
- The plugin is designed to keep your website speedy by only loading features you use, ensuring a smooth experience for your visitors.
- Works smoothly with WordPress’s default Gutenberg editor and Elementor, making it simple to add progress bars without extra hassle.
- You can use the license on unlimited local and staging sites, perfect for testing and development without extra costs.
- You get timely renewal reminders, ongoing updates, and multiple support options to keep your site secure and running smoothly.
2. Progress Bar & Skill Bar
You can easily create beautiful, animated progress bars to showcase skills or project statuses on any WordPress post or page using the Progress Bar & Skill Bar plugin.
It offers flexible customization with multiple color schemes, layouts, and shortcode support for quick setup.
Key Features of Progress Bar & Skill Bar
- Easily showcase your skills or project progress with attractive, animated percentage bars that grab visitors’ attention.
- Customize colors, fonts, and layouts to match your website’s style, making your progress bars look professional and unique.
- Quickly add progress bars anywhere on your site using simple shortcodes, no coding needed.
- Responsive design ensures your progress bars look great on all devices, improving user experience for everyone.
3. Catch Scroll Progress Bar
Catch Scroll Progress Bar lets you add a customizable reading progress bar to your WordPress site, showing how much of a post remains as visitors scroll.
You can easily adjust its position, colors, opacity, and where it appears, front page, blog page, or posts/pages.
Key Features of Catch Scroll Progress Bar
- Shows readers how much of an article they’ve read, helping them track their progress easily.
- Lets you customize the progress bar’s look and position to match your website’s style perfectly.
- Allows you to choose exactly where the progress bar appears, so it fits your site’s layout and content.
- Lightweight and fast, so it won’t slow down your website while improving user experience.
4. WP Reading Progress
You can easily add a customizable reading progress bar to your single blog posts with the WP Reading Progress plugin.
It lets you choose the bar’s location, color, and even shows estimated reading time to enhance your readers’ experience.
Key Features of WP Reading Progress
- Helps readers easily see how much of an article they’ve read, improving their reading experience on long posts.
- Customizable placement and color let you match the progress bar to your website’s style effortlessly.
- Works smoothly and quickly without slowing down your site, ensuring a seamless browsing experience.
- Easy to set up and use, with options to show the bar on specific posts or post types, giving you full control.
5. Reading Position Indicator
The Reading Position Indicator plugin adds a sleek horizontal progress bar to your posts and pages, showing readers how far they’ve scrolled.
You can easily customize its colors, opacity, and style to enhance user engagement without slowing down your site.
Key Features of Reading Position Indicator
- Shows readers how far they’ve scrolled, helping them track their progress through your content.
- Makes long articles and blog posts easier and more engaging to read by providing a clear visual cue.
- Lets you customize the progress bar’s colors and style to match your website’s look and feel.
- Runs smoothly without slowing down your website, ensuring a fast and pleasant experience for visitors.
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Which WordPress Progress Bar Plugin Should You Use?
You should pick a progress bar plugin that matches your site’s goals, whether it’s tracking reading progress, project milestones, or user engagement.
Look for one that’s lightweight, customizable, and easy to integrate with your theme or builder.
If you want the perfect balance of features and simplicity, go with Progress Bar by Nexter.
FAQs on Best Progress Bar Plugins for WordPress
Why should you use a progress bar on your WordPress site?
A progress bar helps you show visitors how much of a task, form, or process is complete. It improves user experience by making navigation clearer and keeps visitors engaged until they finish the action.
Do progress bars slow down your website?
Most lightweight progress bar plugins won’t affect your site speed noticeably. To avoid performance issues, always choose well-coded plugins, keep them updated, and avoid using too many heavy plugins at once.
Can you customize the design of a progress bar?
Yes, most plugins let you adjust colors, size, animation, and placement. This allows you to match the progress bar with your site’s branding and style, making it look professional and consistent.
Do progress bars work on mobile devices?
Good plugins are responsive, so progress bars automatically adjust to different screen sizes. Always test your site on mobile to ensure the progress bar displays correctly and provides a smooth user experience.
Is coding knowledge required to add a progress bar?
No, you don’t need coding skills. Most plugins offer simple settings and drag-and-drop options. However, if you know CSS, you can apply extra customizations for a more unique design.
