# "In Short" Plain-Language Summary Above Posts

> Shows the post's excerpt in a highlighted "In short" box at the top of single posts, giving every reader, including people with reading or cognitive disabilities, a simple summary before the full text.

- Type: PHP
- Runs: Before post content
- Category: [Accessibility](https://wpide.com/library/category/accessibility/)
- Tags: readability, excerpts, content
- Author: WPIDE Team
- Installs: 0
- Updated: 2026-10-28
- Page: https://wpide.com/library/a11y-plain-language-summary/

## Code

```php
if ( is_singular( 'post' ) && has_excerpt() ) {
    printf(
        '<aside class="wpide-in-short" aria-label="Summary" style="margin:0 0 1.5em;padding:14px 18px;border-left:4px solid #2271b1;background:#f0f6fc;border-radius:4px;"><p style="margin:0 0 .25em;font-weight:700;">In short</p><p style="margin:0;">%s</p></aside>',
        esc_html( get_the_excerpt() )
    );
}
```

## Notes

Only hand-written excerpts are shown (posts without one show nothing), so write them in short, simple sentences.

## How to use it

Install the free WPIDE plugin (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wpide/), find ""In Short" Plain-Language Summary Above Posts" in its snippet library and add it in one click; or create a new PHP snippet in WPIDE (or any code snippets plugin) and paste the code above. More snippets: https://wpide.com/library/