Get Post Views Counter running on your WordPress site in under 5 minutes. By the end of this guide, you’ll have views displaying on your posts with zero configuration required. The plugin works immediately with sensible defaults.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • WordPress 6.3 or higher
  • Administrator access to your WordPress dashboard
  • A live WordPress site with at least one published post

Steps

1. Install and Activate the Plugin

  1. Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard
  2. Search for "Post Views Counter"
  3. Click Install Now on the Post Views Counter plugin
  4. Click Activate after installation completes

The plugin starts counting immediately using default settings—no additional setup required.

2. Verify Counting Works

Confirm Views are being tracked:

  1. Visit any published post on your site in a new browser window
  2. Refresh the page a few times
  3. Return to your WordPress admin dashboard
  4. Go to Posts > All Posts
  5. Look for the "Views" column showing your view counts

The counter is now active and tracking post views automatically.

3. Review Counter Mode (Optional)

By default, the plugin uses PHP Mode, which is the simplest and most compatible option. To review or change this setting:

  1. Navigate to Post Views > Counting > Tracking Behavior
  2. Review the Counter Mode setting

Available options:

  • PHP Mode (default) — Works on all servers; counts views when pages are generated
  • JavaScript Mode — Useful for some caching setups; counts via client-side script
  • REST API Mode — Alternative method using WordPress REST API
  • Fast AJAX — High-performance option for high-traffic sites

For most sites, PHP Mode requires no changes and works reliably.

4. Customize Display Settings (Optional)

By default, Views appear after your post content with the label "Post Views:". To customize the appearance:

  1. Navigate to Post Views > Display > Counter Appearance
  2. Adjust the Label field to change the text displayed before the count
  3. Modify Display Style to show an icon, text label, or both
  4. Set Position to display before content, after content, or manually via shortcode

5. Use the Shortcode (Optional)

For manual placement in posts, pages, or widgets, use the shortcode:

[post-views]

This displays Views exactly where you place them, independent of the automatic position setting.

Verification

Confirm everything is working correctly:

  1. Frontend check: Visit a post on your site and look for Views near the content
  2. Admin check: Go to Posts > All Posts and verify the "Views" column displays counts
  3. Increment test: Refresh a post several times and confirm the count increases

If counts are not appearing, ensure your post type is enabled at Post Views > Counting > Tracking Targets.

Next Steps

Now that your counter is running, explore these features:

  • Display customization — Configure labels, icons, and position at Post Views > Display > Counter Appearance
  • Tracking options — Enable additional post types at Post Views > Counting > Tracking Targets
  • Visitor exclusions — Exclude logged-in users or specific roles at Post Views > Counting > Visitor Exclusions
  • Caching compatibility — If using a caching plugin, review settings at Post Views > Counting > Performance & Caching

Upgrade to Pro for advanced features including detailed analytics reports, taxonomy and user tracking, cookieless data storage options, and priority support.