Accessibility and user experience (UX) – these two things are essential for any WordPress (WP) site. If readers or guests on the site do not feel comfortable, they may not return. And you will lose potential customers for your products or services. You can install a text-to-speech plugin or TTS plugin to improve your website’s UX.
Well, hundreds of plugins out there. But which one should you install? It’s quite confusing, right? In this post, I will explain how to choose the best text-to-speech plugin for your website. Yes, some plugins are pretty much the same. Still, some unique features differentiate them.
In short, you should consider some factors. You should know a lot about particular TTS. For example, you can check key features, compatibility with your WordPress site, UX benefits, and interface. Besides, you should keep your budget in mind. Such a good plugin can be Text-to-Speech Pro by AtlasAiDev.
How to Choose the Best Text-to-Speech Plugin for A WordPress Site
You may consider some key features if you want to install a text-to-speech plugin on your website. It may help you to meet your needs and enhance the UX of the site.
Simple Installation and Easy Integration
The selected plugin should allow for easy installation without any API installation or account creation. It simplifies the setup process and increases accessibility to users with different expertise.
Intuitive Shortcodes
Your preferred plugin should be easily integrated into your content. However, there shouldn’t be any complications in the editing process.
Variations of Voice
Any text-to-speech generator plugin should support various voices and languages. This ensures that users from different linguistic backgrounds can enjoy the text in their preferred language.
Quality of Voice
Though Artificial Intelligence (AI) transforms text into verbal words, you must choose whether they provide human-parity voices. It should feel natural, clear, human-like but not robotic.
Language Options
As I said, TTS provides multilingual support. So, when you choose a plugin, it should be capable of giving output in the language the readers want. It will make the text context more worthy of the audience.
Content Selection and Exclusion
The plugin should allow for precise customization by specifying speaking content using CSS selectors. Additionally, the ability to exclude specific words or phrases from being vocalized ensures only relevant content is heard.
Customization Features
The best text-to-speech WordPress plugin should be significant for its customization facilities. It may include the ability to adjust the voice’s speed, pitch, and volume (source). Besides, the custom post-type support ensures consistency across the website. There can even be plugins with the option to select between male and female voices for their audio library.
Customization of Appearance and Behavior
For sure, you can customize the appearance and behavior of the TTS button to align with the site’s web design. This includes customizing button color, width, and text based on site language.
Device Compatibility
The plugin should control the browser’s built-in speech synthesis API. You can ensure broad functionality across various devices. This way, you can experience the plugin working on different platforms.
Audio Player Support
Plugins like Text-to-Speech Pro offer to download the text content as an MP3 file. It has great compatibility with multiple audio players for playing the audio.
Live Support and Enhanced Productivity
When you buy or upgrade the plugin to a premium version, it should offer some additional features. Many popular plugin websites provide live support for their users. They may also help with integration and troubleshooting assistance.
Updates and Maintenance
Your choice should have the facility to upgrade it by paying or free to keep it up to date and safe for WordPress.
Price
Spending money on building a better website is essential. Some free plugins may provide the basic amenities. Subscriptions to these plugins may make you think about whether you need to upgrade it. But do not worry; expenditure often offers better things like Text-to-Speech Pro Plugin.
Tips for Optimizing Your Text-to-Speech Plugin
Once you have selected the plugin, you can optimize it for the best results. It can notably boost the user experience on your WordPress site. I have some suggestions for optimizing a TTS plugin.
Sense-check Your Content
You can make sure your webpage content is suitable for audio format. Let me give you an example. Your text version says, “Keep reading,” the audio script should say, “Keep listening.”
Punctuation and Paragraphs
These things are essential, right? The space of punctuation and paragraphs determines where pauses should go in synthetic speech. It also figures out how long the pauses should be. So, you should focus on configuring the plugin to do this job.
Fulfilling Visitors’ Needs
Your primary target is supporting the visitors with what they want through a text-to-speech plugin. In this case, you may optimize the plugin to provide facilities like multilingual support, voice changes (like male-female), and others.
Evaluating TTS Engine Quality
Would you love to hear a robotic voice? I think it would be rare to love this. So, you should test the plugin regarding its voice output. It should sound natural and transparent, like an actual human.
Voice Output Customization
Most premium and some free text-to-speech plugins offer customization of voice speed, pitch, and volume. It can be soothing to visitors’ ears.
Applying Emphasis and Intonation
Some TTS plugins apply emphasis and intonation to make the speech output more engaging and expressive. If your plugin has it, you can optimize the functionality.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What are the benefits of using a text-to-speech plugin for SEO?
- The audio version of texts increases the chances of your site’s content being discovered on search engines. This way, your web presence will generate more traffic to your site. Also, it can enhance content consumption and boost user engagement.
- Can I use a text-to-speech plugin to create audio for my podcast?
- Yes, you can! TTS plugins convert the written content into an engaging podcast instantly. Plus, you have customization options available, such as voice changes, tone, pitch, etc.
- How does Text-to-Speech affect my site’s loading time?
- It can vary depending on the plugin and content converted to speech. However, modern plugins are lightweight and efficient. They do not at least impact the site’s performance.
Conclusion: How to Choose the Best Text-to-Speech Plugin
It is pretty easy to find WordPress plugins in the directory from the dashboard. You may also visit the official WordPress website to find the right one. However, it is tough to select from hundreds of similar plugins. This task is not so tough, as I have explained everything in this blog.
You may get the right TTS plugin if you maintain the factors I mentioned. For instance, the plugin should be easy to configure, have multilingual support, and compatibility with your WP site.
I hope you loved reading this post. If you have any questions, you may leave comments. Thanks for your time.
