Updated 10 September, from the feedback on the issue
- Speed is a set of presets now (0.5×, 1×, 1.5×, 2×) rather than a slider.
- Volume is a button. It opens a small control with volume up, volume down, a slider and mute, so the main row stays simple but the level is still adjustable.
- A position slider was added, so a listener can rewind or skip forward. It seeks to the word, not to the start of the sentence, which took some work because the browser speech API has no seek at all: see how the position slider works.
- Voice selection moved into the hamburger menu at the top left of each player, and it lists the best four voices your own device has, ranked automatically rather than listed alphabetically. Every section on this page now uses the same controls: both lesson players, both comparison rows, the language tester, and the two commercial voice rows, which now pick their voice from the same menu rather than a dropdown.
- An answer on the robotic voice is at the end of the page: how to make it sound less robotic. Short version, choosing the voice instead of accepting the browser default is most of the fix, and it is free.
Tutorial · has video
Intro to Block Patterns
The proposed feature: a button that reads the lesson text aloud with the browser's own voice. Speed presets, a volume button and a position slider that seeks to the word. Voice choice is in the menu at the top left.
If you're already familiar with the Block Editor, or have already seen the previous video, today we're going to take a look at Block Patterns, what they are, and of course, how to use them. Let's get started.
A block pattern is a ready-made arrangement of blocks that you can insert into a post or page in one step, then adjust to your needs. Patterns save you from building common layouts, like a call to action, a gallery, or a pricing table, block by block every time.
You add a pattern the same way you add any block, through the inserter, then edit the text and images inside it. Because a pattern is just blocks, everything you already know about moving and styling blocks still applies.
Lesson · text based, no video
Introduction to WordPress
Many Learn lessons are written text with no video lecture. Read-aloud matters most here, because there is no narration at all today. The same free button works on plain lesson text.
A text-only lesson read aloud by the browser. No video was ever recorded for it, so this is the case read-aloud helps most.
Hi, and welcome to this introduction to WordPress. In this lesson, we'll delve into the basics, helping you understand what you can achieve with WordPress, even if you're a beginner.
At its core, WordPress empowers you to create your own website or blog. Millions of websites have been built using WordPress, ranging from online stores and small businesses to renowned entities like NASA, the Walt Disney Company, and the Facebook Newsroom.
WordPress is a CMS, or content management system. In simple terms, it is a free tool that helps you create, edit, and manage your own website or blog without needing to learn code.
About the "browser voice" (the free, native option)
The free option above does not use any online service. It uses the Web Speech API, a text-to-speech engine built into every modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox). When you press play, the browser reads the text using the voices already installed on your own computer or phone.
Why it suits WordPress.org
- Free. No account, no per-word billing.
- Private. The text never leaves your device. Nothing is sent to any server.
- No dependency. It ships as a small plugin, with no third-party service to pay for or review.
What to keep in mind
- Voice quality depends on the device and operating system, so two people may hear different voices.
- Coverage for non-English languages is uneven, and for some (like Urdu) most devices have no voice at all. The Urdu test further down shows this honestly.
How the position slider works, since the API has no seek
Worth stating plainly, because it shapes the decision. The Web Speech API is fire and forget: it has no currentTime, no duration and no seek. You hand it text, it speaks, and that is the whole interface. There is nothing to drag a playhead along.
So the slider above is built rather than borrowed. The lesson is split into sentences and each is measured from its word count and the chosen speed. Dragging the slider works out which sentence that time falls in, then starts speaking from the nearest word inside it rather than from the top of the sentence, so nudging forward five seconds moves you five seconds. Progress is then tracked with the API's word boundary events, so the bar follows the actual speech rather than a stopwatch.
Two honest limits remain. The total length is an estimate until the lesson has been spoken once, because the API will not tell you how long anything takes. And every seek restarts an utterance, so there is a small gap of a few dozen milliseconds. A pre-generated audio file has neither problem: it is an ordinary <audio> element with a real duration that seeks to the exact second. One more small argument for the file route on flagship lessons.
Try it with your own device, in any language you have
This page reads the list of voices installed in your browser, so you can test it in whatever languages your device supports. Open the menu on the player below, pick a language and a voice, edit the text if you like, and press play.
Language and voice are in the menu on the left, which lists the best four voices your device has for the language you pick. Edit the text below if you like.