Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
A countdown timer is incredibly useful for keeping visitors apprised of what you have coming up. From book sales to special events, writers of all kinds can make use of a timer on their blogs. Today, I’ll show you how to easily add one to your website.
The possibilities of what a countdown can offer are great, which I’ll go over a bit later. Perhaps you can come up with a few ideas of your own.
Adding the Countdown Timer to WordPress
There are quite a few timer plugins in WordPress to choose from. In this tutorial, I’m focusing more on the Countdown Timer Ultimate plugin.
It’s a quick and easy tool that takes very little to set up and works great for a variety of purposes.
I’m also using the free version of Countdown Timer Ultimate. The pro version has a wide selection of additional options you might find useful, though.
Step 1. Install and Activate Countdown Timer Ultimate
Go to the Add Plugin screen of WordPress.
Search for “Countdown Timer Ultimate” in the search field.
Install and activate the plugin for use.
Step 2. Add a New Countdown Timer
After the plugin is installed, you’ll have a new tool available on the left admin panel of WordPress. Click the “Countdown Timer” option. Depending on what you have installed, it may be near the top.
This screen will show you all of the timers you have available on your website. Click the “Add Timer” button at the top. You can also click the option from the left admin panel in WordPress.
Adjust the Timer Settings
There are quite a few settings you can adjust for your timer. Although some of the design options are locked in the free version of the countdown timer, you can still make it look nice with what’s available.
Let’s go over what you can modify:
- Add Title: Add a title for your timer. This is what’s visible in that first screen you came to. Make sure it’s something easy to recognize in case you need to change something.
- Expiry Date & Time: This is when you want the timer to end. So, let’s say you have a book being published and available on a specific day. You can set the timer to show how long readers have until it’s out.
- Timer Labels: You can select to show days, hours, minutes, and/or seconds. You can also change the text for those labels.
In the free version, that’s all we can change on this first page. You won’t have access to the Content tab unless you upgrade the plugin.
Design Your Timer
Click on the “Design” tab on the left.
Here, you will have access to how the timer looks on your website.
- Design: Only the Circle Style 1 design is available in the free countdown timer. I’ll show you what it looks like in a moment.
- Timer Width: This is how wide you want the time to appear in pixels. You can make this virtually any size, just make sure you’re suing dimensions that will fit where you want to put it.
- Animation: Here, you can choose to show a smooth animation for the clock or have it jump with ticks.
- Circle Width (Foreground): Using the slider, you can adjust how thick the circle foreground is for the timer.
- Background Width: This is the same as above, just using a slider to set the background width.
- Background Color: This option lets you change the background of the timer to any color you want. That way, it’s easier to fit your website’s theme.
- Foreground Colors: This is a series of four options for days, hours, minutes, and seconds. You can change these any way you wish to fit your layout.
Once you’re done creating your timer, click the “Publish” button.
Step 3: Add Your Countdown Timer
Countdown Timer Ultimate uses shortcodes to show your clock virtually anywhere you want on the website. You simply copy the shortcode and paste it into any shortcode block, whether it’s on a post, page, or widget.
The process is pretty much the same for all areas. So, I’m just going to show you how to add the online countdown as a sidebar widget.
Copy the shortcode of your timer. You can find it either on the timer page itself or in the list of your timers.
Go to Appearance and click the “Widgets” option.
Click the “Add Block” button in a sidebar where you want the countdown clock to show. In this example, I’m just going to add it under the Search field on the website.
Click or search for the Shortcode block and add it. Since I use shortcodes a lot, WordPress displays it to me as one of my top options. You might have to search for it, though.
Paste the shortcode for your countdown timer into the field provided by WordPress.
Click the “Update” button on the top right of the widgets page.
If you want to add the countdown timer to show a date on posts or pages, the process is virtually the same. Add a shortcode block to the post or page and paste the code into the field.
Step 4: Test Your Countdown Timer
Lastly, you’ll want to take a look at your countdown clock to make sure it looks right on your website. Simply open your site in a web browser and take a look.
If you don’t like how the timer appears, you can go back to its settings and make some adjustments. As you can see, the foreground color is what disappears as the clock progresses and the background color is what remains of the circle.
From here, you can go back to your widgets page and add some text before the timer to let people know why there is a clock. For this purpose, you could add a paragraph block to add text above or below the timer.
However, the premium version of this plugin allows you to do this within the design screen.
What Can a Writer Do with a Free Countdown Timer?
Essentially, if there is a specific date and time for any event you want to share, you can set up a timer. From the perspective of a writer, it can have several key functions.
You can:
- Advertise when books are going to be available to the public. At which point, you could add page links and such for people to visit.
- Show when you have an upcoming giveaway, or perhaps when your books will be on discount.
- Display when you have a special live event coming, such as a book signing.
These are just a few ideas to show how you can use a timer to your advantage.
Why Add a Countdown Clock in the First Place?
When you build up a dedicated audience for your blog or website, letting them know when certain things are coming up can help keep them engaged.
It goes along similar lines to why people would subscribe to your push notifications. It taps a bit of the fear of missing out while keeping their interest in what’s to come.
As I mentioned above, you could easily use it as a marketing device. Add a link to your book when it goes on sale and you may drive additional customers.
If you build up a strong fan base, letting them know when your next book is released will keep them watching the clock. You could go so far as to add your email subscription form under the clock so people get an update when your event takes place.
In the end, it all comes down to piquing the interest of visitors in what’s to come.
What Would You Use Your Free Countdown Timer For?
Adding a countdown timer can really be used for virtually any purpose. Whether it’s to highlight your birthday, a holiday, or a book signing, they can be effective at garnering a larger audience.
And plugins like Countdown Timer Ultimate, even in its free version, can be of great help.
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