This comprehensive guide will help you configure WPSummarize to perfectly match your needs. We’ll cover every setting and option available.

Accessing Settings

Navigate to WPSummarize → Settings in your WordPress dashboard to access all configuration options.

API Settings

Choosing Your AI Provider (Pro Only)

Select from the dropdown which AI service you want to use:

• OpenAI: Choose the latest most capable model or select a cost-effective model (good choice to reduce costs in large batch processes)
• Google Gemini: Like OpenAI, you can choose the better output quality model or a more cost-effective one
• Anthropic: Claude does not currently offer a cost-effective model, so you can only select their best quality latest model

API Key

Enter your API key for the selected provider:

1. Paste your API key in the field
2. Click Save Changes
3. WPSummarize will automatically validate the key
4. You’ll see a success or error message

Display Settings

Auto-Include Summaries

Checkbox: Auto-include summaries in posts

• Checked: Summaries automatically appear on all eligible posts
• Unchecked: Summaries only display where you manually add the [wpsummarize] shortcode

Use Case: Uncheck if you want complete manual control over where summaries appear, or if you’re using a custom theme template.

Insert Location

Dropdown options:

• Before content: Summary appears at the very top
  • Great for: News sites, blogs where readers want quick information
  • Consideration: May push featured images down
• After content: Summary appears at the bottom
  • Great for: Recapping long articles, encouraging further reading
  • Consideration: Readers must scroll to see it
• After first paragraph: Summary appears after the opening paragraph
  • Great for: Natural content flow, most popular option
  • Consideration: Works well with most layouts
• Before first heading: Summary appears before the first H2, H3, or H4 tag
  • Great for: Well-structured articles with clear headings
  • Consideration: Requires headings in your content

Title Before Summary

Text field: Customize the heading above your summary

Default: “Key takeaways”

Examples:

• “TL;DR” (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
• “Quick Summary”
• “What You’ll Learn”
• “At a Glance”
• “In This Article”
• Leave empty for no heading

Custom HTML Above Heading (Pro)

Add custom HTML that appears before the summary title:

<div class="summary-badge">📝 Summary</div>

Use cases:

• Icons or emojis
• Generated by AI notice for users
• Custom badges
• Advertisement space
• Author information

Custom HTML Below Summary (Pro)

Add custom HTML that appears after the summary content:

<p><a href="/newsletter">Want more news? Subscribe!</a></p>

Use cases:

• Call-to-action buttons
• Generated by AI notice for users
• Newsletter signups
• Related content links
• Social sharing buttons

Summary Style Settings

Summary Style

Choose between a list of key takeaways or narrative format. We recommend lists as they are shorter and capture better the data you pour into your articles.

Item count in Lists

Choose how many items in list of key insights summary.

• Item count: Choose “Range” or “Text-based”
  • Range: Set minimum and maximum (e.g., 3-5 items)
    • Min: Minimum number of points
    • Max: Maximum number of points
  • Text-based: AI determines optimal number based on content length

Narrative Style

Displays summary as a flowing paragraph:

• Word count: Set target length (default: 125 words)
  • Short: 75-100 words
  • Medium: 100-150 words
  • Long: 150-200 words

When to use narrative:

• Academic or professional content
• When bullet points feel too informal
• For flowing, story-based summaries

Use HTML Tags (Pro)

Checkbox: Automatically add style tags

When checked, the AI will add:

• <strong> tags for important terms
• <em> tags for emphasis

Example output:

The study found that <strong>regular exercise</strong> significantly improves <em>mental health</em>.

Tone

Dropdown options:

• Same tone as content: AI matches your writing style
  • Conversational content → Conversational summary
  • Formal content → Formal summary
  • Technical content → Technical summary
• Other tones: You can choose formal, casual, funny or data-driven

Language

Dropdown: Select summary language

Options include all the same available languages on WordPress. By default, it matches your WordPress configuration. If your content is not in English specially, then be sure to select the correct output language you want for your summaries.

Theme & Design Settings

Summary Theme

Free Version: Classic

Clean, minimal design with:

• Light background
• Subtle border
• Standard typography
• Works with any WordPress theme

Pro Version: 5 Themes

• Classic: Timeless, professional design
• Bubbles: Rounded corners, friendly feel, includes icons
• Elegant: Sophisticated with shadows and refined typography
• Numbered: Bold numbered list style with colored backgrounds
• Formal: Business-appropriate, structured layout

Preview each theme on your site to see which matches best.

💡 Set different themes per post: You can manually set a different theme for specific posts by editing the individual posts settings.

Custom CSS

Textarea: Add custom CSS to override default styles

Common customizations:

Change Background Color

.wpsummarize_box {
    background-color: #f0f8ff !important;
}

Adjust Font Size

.wpsummarize_box {
    font-size: 18px !important;
}

.wpsummarize_box li {
    font-size: 16px !important;
}

Modify Border

.wpsummarize_box {
    border: 3px solid #3498db !important;
    border-radius: 10px !important;
}

Change Title Color

.wpsummarize_box .wpsummarize_title {
    color: #e74c3c !important;
}

Hide on Mobile

@media (max-width: 768px) {
    .wpsummarize_box {
        display: none !important;
    }
}

Hide Summary Behind Button (Pro)

Checkbox: Unfold summary on click

When enabled:

• Summary is hidden by default
• Shows the title of the summary box that acts as the button
• Content loads when user clicks

Benefits:

• Reduces initial page size
• Improves Core Web Vitals scores
• Prevents duplicate content concerns
• Gives users control

Considerations:

• Content not immediately visible to search engines
• Requires user interaction
• May reduce summary visibility

Automation Settings

Create Summary on Publish

Checkbox: Automatically generate summaries for new posts

• Checked: Every new published post gets a summary automatically
• Unchecked: You must manually request summaries

Applies to:

• New posts published through the editor
• Scheduled posts when they publish
• Posts created via REST API
• Posts created by other plugins (depending on how they’re created)

Enabled Post Types

Checkboxes: Select which post types should have summaries

Common options:

• Posts: Standard blog posts (enabled by default)
• Pages: WordPress pages
• Custom post types: Any custom types registered by themes or plugins
  • Products (WooCommerce)
  • Portfolio items
  • Team members
  • Testimonials
  • Events

Use cases by post type:

Per-Post Settings (Pro Only)

Override global settings for individual posts in the WPSummarize meta box:

Available Per-Post Overrides

• Display location: Different insertion point for this post
• Summary style: List or narrative
• Item count: More or fewer points
• Custom title: Unique heading for this summary
• Summary theme: Choose a different theme for this post
• Hide behind button: Toggle click-to-reveal

When to Use Per-Post Settings

• Special content that needs different formatting
• Very long articles that need more summary points
• Short posts that need fewer points
• Guest posts with different style requirements
• Cornerstone content that deserves special treatment

Saving Your Settings

After configuring your settings:

1. Review all your choices
2. Click Save Changes at the bottom of the page
3. You’ll see a success message confirming settings were saved
4. Settings apply immediately to new summaries

Configuration Best Practices

For New Sites

• Start with default settings
• Enable “Create summary on publish”
• Choose “After first paragraph” for insertion
• Use list style with 3-5 items

For Established Sites

• Test with a few posts first
• Use batch processing for existing content (Pro)
• Consider your brand’s tone when choosing style
• Match summary design to your theme

For High-Volume Content Sites

• Use OpenAI or Gemini cost-effective models for cost savings
• Monitor API usage in your provider’s dashboard
• Set up batch processing during off-peak hours

Troubleshooting Configuration Issues

Settings Not Saving

• Check your user permissions (must be administrator)
• Disable other plugins temporarily to check for conflicts
• Clear your browser cache
• Check for JavaScript errors in browser console

Summaries Not Appearing

• Verify “Auto-include summaries” is checked
• Confirm the post type is enabled
• Check if a summary was actually generated (view post meta)
• Try using the shortcode manually to test

API Key Invalid Error

• Double-check you copied the entire key
• Verify your API account has billing enabled
• Make sure the key hasn’t been revoked
• Try generating a new key

What’s Next?

• Batch Processing Guide (Pro) – Process all your existing content
• Best Practices – Optimize your summaries for SEO and engagement
• Troubleshooting – Solve common issues