Modules

Countdown Timer: fixed dates, evergreen offers, and what happens at zero

3 min read Updated September 2026 Applies to: Lite & Pro

Countdown Timer is a Creative module, switched on by default, and it needs three decisions: what it counts down to, whose clock it uses, and what it does when it reaches zero.

Set one up

  1. Add Countdown Timer to a row. Countdown Mode opens on Fixed Date.
  2. For a fixed deadline, put the moment in Target Date in the format Y-m-d H:i:s, for example 2026-12-31 23:59:00. For a per visitor offer, switch the mode to Evergreen and set Evergreen Duration in seconds instead.
  3. Set Timezone to Site Timezone or Visitor Timezone.
  4. Choose When Expired, then fill in the field it reveals: Expiry Message or Redirect URL.
  5. Turn off the units you do not want. Show Days, Show Hours, Show Minutes and Show Seconds are all on, and a two hour countdown showing two zeroes for days reads as broken.
  6. Test the expiry before you ship it: set the target date a minute ahead, load the page, and watch what actually happens at zero.

Fixed Date or Evergreen

  • Fixed Date counts down to one moment for every visitor. Use it for a launch, a webinar, or a sale with a real deadline.
  • Evergreen counts down a duration that starts when the visitor arrives, from a minute up to thirty days. Use it for an offer that is genuinely per visitor. A countdown that restarts on every visit and claims to be a deadline teaches people to ignore your deadlines.

Whose clock

Timezone picks between Site Timezone and Visitor Timezone. Site is right for a fixed deadline, because everyone should see the same time remaining on the same sale. Visitor is right when the offer is framed in the reader’s own day, such as ordering before midnight where they are. Getting this backwards is the usual cause of a sale that appears to end at breakfast for half your audience.

What happens at zero

When Expired has three answers, and it opens on the first:

  • Show Message: the timer is replaced by the text in Expiry Message. Write something useful, such as where the next event is, rather than the word Expired.
  • Hide Timer: the module removes itself. The rest of the section stays, so make sure the section still reads without it.
  • Redirect: the visitor is sent to Redirect URL. Point it at the successor offer, not the home page.

The face of it

Each unit has its own switch and its own label field, so Days can become days left or a translation. Unit Separator is a colon, a slash or nothing. Number Color and Label Color are separate, and every label and number is typed from the Design tab like any other Divi text.