By Jeff Starr

March 01, 2023

Simple Blog Stats Plugin

Displays a wealth of useful statistics about your site.

Simple Blog Stats (SBS) provides shortcodes and tags to display site stats in posts, pages, and anywhere in your theme.

Display Statistics

Total number of posts
Total number of pages
Total number of drafts
Total number of comments
Total number of media files (any types)
Number of comments in moderation
Number of approved comments
Number of registered users
Number of categories
Number of tags
Number of words for any post
Number of words for all posts
Display all blog stats in a list
Display number of posts for any Custom Post Type
Display list of counts for all Custom Post Types
Display current number of logged-in users
Display number of logged-in users via Dashboard widget

NEW! Display number of words in any custom field

Plugin Features

Uses caching for better performance
Provides shortcodes to display stats in Posts and Pages
Provides template tags to display stats anywhere in your theme
Configure text/markup to appear before/after each shortcode
Built with the WP API for optimal performance and security
Provides slick settings screen with toggling panels
Provides option to restore default plugin settings
Displays your stats with clean, valid markup
Works with or without Gutenberg Block Editor
Plugin is regularly updated and “future proof”
Display list of stats via Dashboard widget

More Statistics

Display date of most recent site update
Display list of recent posts (configurable)
Display list of recent comments (configurable)
Display number of users per role (configurable)
Display all blog stats in a nicely formatted list
Configure all shortcodes via the plugin settings
Eat a bowl of ice cream 🙂

Privacy

This plugin does not collect or store any user data. It does not set any cookies, and it does not connect to any third-party locations. Thus, this plugin does not affect user privacy in any way.

Simple Blog Stats is developed and maintained by Jeff Starr, 15-year WordPress developer and book author.

Support development

I develop and maintain this free plugin with love for the WordPress community. To show support, you can make a donation or purchase one of my books:

And/or purchase one of my premium WordPress plugins:

BBQ Pro – Super fast WordPress firewall
Blackhole Pro – Automatically block bad bots
Banhammer Pro – Monitor traffic and ban the bad guys
GA Google Analytics Pro – Connect WordPress to Google Analytics
Simple Ajax Chat Pro – Unlimited chat rooms
USP Pro – Unlimited front-end forms

Links, tweets and likes also appreciated. Thank you! 🙂

Installation

How to install

Upload the plugin to your blog and activate
Visit the settings to configure your options

More info on installing WP plugins

How to use

Visit the plugin settings page to configure your shortcodes. Then copy/paste the shortcodes in any Post, Page, or Widget to display your stats. To display your stats anywhere in your theme template, visit the “Template Tags” section of the settings page.

Meet the shortcodes

Visit the plugin settings page for a complete list of shortcodes. There you may customize the output of each shortcode. Here is a list of all SBS shortcodes:

[sbs_posts] = number of posts * [sbs_posts_alt] = number of posts * [sbs_pages] = number of pages [sbs_drafts] = number of drafts [sbs_comments] = number of comments * [sbs_moderated] = moderated comments [sbs_approved] = approved comments [sbs_users] = number of users [sbs_cats] = number of categories [sbs_tags] = number of tags [sbs_tax tax="tax_name"] = number of taxonomy terms [sbs_tax_posts ...] = number of posts for tax term(s) * [sbs_word_count] = number of words in post * [sbs_word_count_all] = number of words in all posts (all post types) * [sbs_word_count_custom] = number of words in custom field * [sbs_updated] = site last updated * [sbs_latest_posts] = displays recent posts [sbs_latest_comments] = displays recent comments [sbs_roles] = number of users per role * [sbs_cpts_count] = list of CPT counts [sbs_cpt_count cpt="post"] = number of any post type [sbs_blog_stats] = displays list of blog stats [sbs_logged_users] = number of logged-in users * [sbs_media_count] = number of media files * [sbs_reading_time] = estimated reading time * See notes below.

[sbs_posts]

The [sbs_posts] shortcode accepts several attributes that can be used to customize your post stats:

cat - limit by category (default: empty = all cats) tag - limit by tag (default: empty = all tags) type - limit by post type (default: empty = post) status - limit by post status (default: empty = publish) exclude - exclude post IDs (comma separated list of post IDs) exclude_cat - exclude categories (comma separated list of category IDs) number_format - thousands separator (default: comma, like 1,234)

So by default, [sbs_posts] with no attributes will display the total number of published posts in any category or tag.

Here is an example that makes use of the attributes:

[sbs_posts cat="sci-fi" tag="sequel" type="movie" status="draft"]

So this will display all drafts of the custom post type “movie” that are in the “sci-fi” category and tagged as “sequel”.

More information about the possible values for these attributes:

[sbs_posts_alt]

The [sbs_posts_alt] shortcode is for sites with LOTS of posts (like 10,000+). It is not as flexible as [sbs_posts], but does provide a couple of attributes:

[sbs_posts_alt type="page" status="draft"]

You can change the type and status of the posts that should be counted. Again, this shortcode should be used only for sites with extreme numbers of posts.

[sbs_updated]

The [sbs_updated] shortcode outputs the date and time of the latest post. It accepts two attributes, format_date and format_time, that enable you to customize the format of the output date and time, respectively. Here are some examples to show how it works:

[sbs_updated format_date="Y/m/d"] = custom format for date, default format for time [sbs_updated format_time="H:i:s"] = custom format for time, default format for date [sbs_updated format_date="Y/m/d" format_time="disable"] = custom format for date, disable time output [sbs_updated format_date="Y/m/d" format_time="H:i:s"] = custom format for both date and time

For the attribute values, you can use any valid PHP date/time format. Check the PHP docs for a complete list of available formats.

[sbs_comments]

By default, the [sbs_comments] shortcode displays the total number of comments for all posts on your site. To display the number of comments only for a specific category, add the cat attribute, like so:

[sbs_comments cat="1"]

You can change the category ID to display number of comments for any category.

[sbs_tax_posts]

The [sbs_tax_posts] shortcode displays the number of posts that belong to a specific post type and taxonomy term(s). Here is an example:

[sbs_tax_posts tax="taxonomy" terms="term-1, term-2, term-3" type="custom-post-type"]

Then change the attribute values to match your taxonomy, terms, and post type, respectively.

[sbs_word_count]

The [sbs_word_count] shortcode displays the number of words in post content. By default it displays number of words in the current post. Or you can specify any post ID:

[sbs_word_count] // displays word count of current post [sbs_word_count id="1"] // displays word count of post with ID = 1

To display the word count for all posts (any post type), use the shortcode [sbs_word_count_all]. Check the FAQs to customize the post type for this shortcode.

[sbs_word_count_custom]

The [sbs_word_count_custom] shortcode displays the number of words in any custom field. It requires a post ID and name of a custom field. Here is an example:

[sbs_word_count_custom post_id="12" key="author-bio"]

So if post ID = 12 has a custom field named “author-bio”, this shortcode will return the number of words contained in the custom field (not the post).

[sbs_roles]

The [sbs_roles] shortcode displays a list of all user roles and corresponding number of users. To display the number of users for a specific role, add the role attribute. Examples:

[sbs_roles] // displays list of roles and number of users [sbs_roles role="author"] // displays number of users for specified role [sbs_roles role="all"] // displays list of roles and number of users

The role attribute accepts a value of all or any valid user role.

[sbs_logged_users]

The [sbs_logged_users] shortcode can be used to display the number of currently logged-in users. This shortcode does not have any attributes, but does provide a widget that displays the current logged-in user count on the WP Dashboard.

[sbs_media_count]

The [sbs_media_count] shortcode can display stats for any media type(s). Here are some examples:

[sbs_media_count type="all"] = displays number of all media files [sbs_media_count type="image"] = displays number of image files [sbs_media_count type="video"] = displays number of video files [sbs_media_count type="pdf,doc,docx"] = displays number of PDF, DOC, and DOCX files [sbs_media_count type="mp3"] = displays number of MP3 files [sbs_media_count] = displays number of all media files

Customize output

Most of the shortcodes display only a number. To customize the number with your own text, visit the plugin settings. There you can add any text or markup that should be displayed before/after each shortcode.

There are three shortcodes that output some default text along with the stats number:

[sbs_roles] [sbs_cpt_count] [sbs_media_count]

So to customize the text for these shortcodes, you can add a txt attribute and set the value to whatever you want, for example:

[sbs_roles txt="Whatever you want"] [sbs_cpt_count txt="Whatever you want"] [sbs_media_count txt="Whatever you want"]

Or if you want to just disable the extra text and display only the number, set the txt attribute to null, like so:

[sbs_roles txt="null"] [sbs_cpt_count txt="null"] [sbs_media_count txt="null"]

That way only the number will be displayed without any other text.

Like the plugin?

If you like Simple Blog Stats, please take a moment to give a 5-star rating. It helps to keep development and support going strong. Thank you!

Upgrades

To upgrade SBS, remove the old version and replace with the new version. Or just click “Update” from the Plugins screen and let WordPress do it for you automatically.

Restore Default Options

To restore default plugin options, either uninstall/reinstall the plugin, or visit the plugin settings > Restore Default Options.

Uninstalling

Simple Blog Stats cleans up after itself. All plugin settings will be removed from your database when the plugin is uninstalled via the Plugins screen. Any shortcodes that you have added to your posts and pages will not be removed. Likewise any template tags that have been added to your theme template will not be removed.

Screenshots

Simple Blog Stats: Settings Screen (panels toggle open/closed)

FAQ

How to limit/customize the number of counted posts?

The plugin provides a filter hook for customizing the total number of posts that are displayed using the [sbs_posts] shortcode. To do it, add the following snippet to your theme functions.php file, or add via custom plugin:

function sbs_get_posts_limit_custom($limit) { return 100; } add_filter('sbs_get_posts_limit', 'sbs_get_posts_limit_custom');

No changes need made; simply edit the 100 to whatever is desired and done.

How to customize post status for [sbs_updated] shortcode?

By default the [sbs_updated] shortcode includes only posts that have “publish” post status. To customize the post status, add the following code to your theme (or child theme’s) functions.php file, or add via custom plugin:

function sbs_updated_post_status($status) { return 'publish,draft,pending'; // whatever post statuses } add_filter('sbs_updated_post_status', 'sbs_updated_post_status');

Notice where it says publish,draft,pending, that determines which post statuses are included. You can change/edit as needed.

How to customize post types for [sbs_updated] shortcode?

By default the [sbs_updated] shortcode includes only posts (post type = post). To customize the post type, add the following code to your theme (or child theme’s) functions.php file, or add via custom plugin:

function sbs_updated_post_type($type) { return array('post', 'book'); // whatever post types } add_filter('sbs_updated_post_type', 'sbs_updated_post_type');

You can edit the return array with whatever post types are required.

How to change the separator for numbers?

Currently the plugin does not provide a way to change from dots to commas for numerical values. For a simple JavaScript workaround, check out this post.

How to remove commas from the media count?

By default, the plugin formats long numbers with commas. To remove/disable the commas for the [sbs_media_count] shortcode, add the following code to your theme (or child theme) functions.php, or add via custom plugin:

function sbs_include_commas($enable) { return false; } add_filter('sbs_include_commas', 'sbs_include_commas');

Save changes and done. Note: currently this works only with the shortcode, [sbs_media_count].

How to disable the word-count shortcode?

For sites with many many posts and/or posts with LOTS of words. Depending on server capacity, PHP may time out when trying to go through and count everything. As a workaround solution, it’s possible to disable the “all word count” shortcode by adding the following code to your theme functions.php, or add via custom plugin:

function sbs_word_count_all_disable($disable) { return true; } add_filter('sbs_word_count_all_disable', 'sbs_word_count_all_disable');

How to change post type for [sbs_word_count_all]?

By default, the shortcode [sbs_word_count_all] counts words in posts from any/all post types. To customize the post type, add the following code to your theme functions.php, or add via custom plugin:

function sbs_word_count_all_post_type($type) {

return array('post', 'page', 'movie', 'book'); // whatever post types

}
add_filter(‘sbs_word_count_all_post_type’, ‘sbs_word_count_all_post_type’);

You can customize the post types in the array as desired.

Got a question?

Send any questions or feedback via my contact form. Thanks! 🙂

Changelog

If you like Simple Blog Stats, please take a moment to give a 5-star rating. It helps to keep development and support going strong. Thank you!

20230228

Improves responsive styles
Improves logic for simple_blog_stats_count_logged()
Improves logic when calling get_current_screen()
Moves WP Resources panel to its own function
Removes SES Pro from WP Resources panel
Tests on WordPress 6.1 + 6.2 (beta)
Tests on PHP 8.1 and 8.2

20220928

Adds filter hook sbs_posts_args
Adds number_format for [sbs_posts]
Adds exclude_cat to exclude categories with [sbs_posts]
Fixes bug with “call to undefined function ngettext()”
Adds custom footer text to plugin settings
Improves plugin documentation
Updates “Show Support” panel
Updates translation template
Tests on WordPress 6.1

20220516

Adds exclude attribute to [sbs_posts]
Adds filter hook sbs_word_count_all_disable
Adds filter hook sbs_word_count_all_post_type
Adds [sbs_reading_time] for estimated reading time (Thanks Maxime)
Improves plugin documentation
Tests on WordPress 6.0

20220116

Updates support panel
Improves plugin documentation
Improves loading of translations
Adds new shortcode [sbs_word_count_custom]
Adds filter hook sbs_include_commas
Adds filter hook sbs_updated_post_type
Changes string variable to array for sbs_updated_post_status
Updates some links to external resources
Changes minimum required WP version to 4.6
Tests on WordPress 5.9

20210716

Fixes bug with word count shortcode
Adds format attribute for [sbs_updated]
Improves escaping and number formatting
Tests on WordPress 5.8

20210210

Adds filter hook sbs_updated_post_status
Tests on PHP 7.4 and 8.0
Tests on WordPress 5.7

20201114

Fixes some bugs with PHP 8.0
Updates/improves readme.txt/docs
Tests on PHP 7.4 and 8.0
Tests on WordPress 5.6

20200808

Improves [sbs_media_count] to display any media type(s) (Thanks to esmus)
Adds new cat attribute to [sbs_comments] shortcode (Thanks to Mark R.)
Adds new filter hook sbs_cat_comments_args_comments
Adds new filter hook sbs_cat_comments_args_post
Updates default translation template
Refines plugin setting page styles
Refines readme/documentation
Tests on WordPress 5.5

20200317

Adds new shortcode, [sbs_tax_posts]
Improves display of plugin settings page
Generates new default translation template
Tests on WordPress 5.4

20191105

Updates styles for plugin settings page
Tests on WordPress 5.3

20190902

Fixes bug with count all words in posts
Adds number_format() to format numbers with commas
Updates some links to https
Generates new default translation template
Tests on WordPress 5.3 (alpha)

20190429

Bumps minimum PHP version to 5.6.20
Adds shortcode for count of images or videos in Media Library
Fixes PHP Notices: “trying to get property of non-object”
Tweaks plugin settings screen content
Updates default translation template
Tests on WordPress 5.2

20190308

Adds new taxonomy shortcode,[sbs_tax]
Adds alternate posts shortcode, [sbs_posts_alt]
Adds check for admin user for settings shortcut link
Tweaks plugin settings screen UI
Generates new default translation template
Tests on WordPress 5.1 and 5.2 (alpha)

20190220

Just a version bump for compat with WP 5.1
Full update coming soon 🙂

20181114

Adds shortcode and dashboard widget for current number of logged-in users
Adds sbs_last_update filter hook for date format
Adds homepage link to Plugins screen
Updates default translation template
Tests on WordPress 5.0

20180828

Fixes bug with caching and correct stats
Adds new option to enable/disable caching
Generates new default translation template
Further tests on WP 4.9 and 5.0 (alpha)

20180820

Implements transients to some count functions for better performance
Adds filter hook sbs_get_posts_limit for sbs_word_count_all and sbs_posts
Adds txt attribute to [sbs_cpt_count] and [sbs_roles]
Fixes plural nouns on user role counts
Adds rel="noopener noreferrer" to all blank-target links
Updates GDPR blurb and donate link
Regenerates default translation template
Further tests on WP versions 4.9 and 5.0 (alpha)

20180508

Adds shortcode [sbs_cpts_count], displays list of CPT counts
Adds shortcode [sbs_cpt_count cpt="post"], displays CPT count
Tweaks some styles on the plugin settings page
Generates new translation template
Updates Show Support panel
Updates plugin image files
Tests on WordPress 5.0

20171103

Fixes bug with new [sbs_posts] shortcode (see docs for info)
Removes extra manage_options check for settings validation
Tests on WordPress 4.9

20171024

Adds new attributes for [sbs_posts] (see documentation for info)
Adds extra manage_options capability check to modify settings
Improves logic of sbs_require_wp_version
Streamlines Support panel in plugin settings
Regenerates default translation template
Tests on WordPress 4.9

20170801

Updates GPL license blurb
Adds GPL license text file
Tests on WordPress 4.9 (alpha)

20170325

Refines display of settings panels
Adds dashboard widget to display stats
Adds user-role shortcode [sbs_roles role="all"]
Updates show support panel in plugin settings
Replaces global $wp_version with get_bloginfo('version')
Regenerates default translation template
Tests on WordPress version 4.8

20161118

New shortcodes to count words in posts!
Added shortcode to count words in any post: [sbs_word_count]
Added shortcode to count words in all posts: [sbs_word_count_all]
Added new shortcodes to sbs_blog_stats() function
Updated plugin author URL
Changed stable tag from trunk to latest version
Added » to rate plugin link and home link
Updated URL for rate this plugin links
Removed default abbr styles
Generated new default language template
Tested on WordPress version 4.7 (beta)

20160813

Streamlined and optimized the plugin settings page
Replaced _e() with esc_html_e() or esc_attr_e()
Replaced __() with esc_html__() or esc_attr__()
Added plugin icons and larger banner image
Replaced plugin icon on settings page
Changed text-domain from “sbs” to “simple-blog-stats”
Removed local translations in favor of GlotPress
Improved translation support
Generated new translation template
Added ellipsis to recent comment excerpt
Tested on WordPress 4.6

20160408

Replaced icon with retina version
Added screenshot to readme/docs
Added retina version of banner
Reorganized and refreshed readme.txt
Tested on WordPress version 4.5 beta

20151111

Updated heading hierarchy in plugin settings
Updated minimum version requirement
Tested on WordPress 4.4 beta

20150808

Tested on WordPress 4.3
Updated minimum version requirement

20150507

Tested with WP 4.2 + 4.3 (alpha)
Changed a few “http” links to “https”

20150315

Tested with latest version of WP (4.1)
Increased minimum version to WP 3.8
Removed deprecated screen_icon()
Streamline/fine-tune plugin code
Added $sbs_wp_vers for version check
Added Text Domain and Domain Path to file header
Added .pot translation template to /languages/

20140925

Tested on latest version of WP (4.0)
Increased min-version requirement to WP 3.7
Added conditional check for min-version function

20140305

Bugfix: replaced mysql_real_escape_string() with esc_attr(), resolves PHP error

20140123

Tested with latest WordPress (3.8)
Added trailing slash to load_plugin_textdomain()

20131106

Removed closing ?> from simple-blog-stats.php
General code cleanup and maintenance
Tested on latest version of WordPress 3.7
Added “rate this plugin” links
Added uninstall.php file
Added i18n support
Added line to prevent direct loading of script

20130713

General code check n clean
Improved localization support
Overview and Updates admin panels toggled open by default

20130104

Added margins to submit buttons

20121029

Initial release of new plugin

20121028

Fine-tuned, tested, tested, etc.

20121027

Rebuilt and renamed BlogStats PCC plugin

20060828

Initial release of BlogStats PCC