4

How can I get a total word count of one author's posts? I would like to be able to see what the total word count of their output is, summed across all of their posts (ideally with a breakdown by category/tag/page-or-post).

2 Answers 2

4

I use a plug-in called Post Word Count to sum the total number of published words across my entire site ... then again, I'm the only author, so this is a pretty simple example. But you could start with this plug-in and add a filter that changes the query based on the author's ID. Basically:

function post_word_count_by_author($author = false) {
    global $wpdb;
$now = gmdate("Y-m-d H:i:s",time());

    if ($author) $query = "SELECT post_content FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_author = '$author' AND post_status= 'publish' AND post_date < '$now'";
        else $query = "SELECT post_content FROM $wpdb->posts WHERE post_status = 'publish' AND post_date < '$now'";

$words = $wpdb->get_results($query);
if ($words) {
    foreach ($words as $word) {
        $post = strip_tags($word->post_content);
        $post = explode(' ', $post);
        $count = count($post);
        $totalcount = $count + $oldcount;
        $oldcount = $totalcount;
    }
} else {
    $totalcount=0;
}
return number_format($totalcount);
}

This function will return a total count of all published words by that author (based on the author ID). If you don't specify an author ID, it will return a count of all published words. This won't count post revisions, drafts, or schedule posts, just those currently visible to users.

Disclaimer, I haven't tested this yet, but it's based on the original Post Word Count plug-in and should work just fine.

1
  • Adding a filter for comments/tags/etc would be simple ... just modify the query to use your custom criteria.
    – EAMann
    Aug 30, 2010 at 3:47
4

In the interest of self-promotion, I have a plugin, WP Word Count, for word counts that might offer what you need and a bit more

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.