How to Add Countdown Timers into WordPress Websites Easily and Quickly
Tags: wordpress
Published: 2021-02-08 06:25:34

A countdown timer does not only show up on big days like New Year's Eve or Christmas. It is now a popular feature for flash-sale landing pages or coming-soon websites, helping visitors know the exact time of events. If you want to add this feature to your website but don't know much about coding, here we come to save the day. In this article, we will show you **how to add countdown buttons to WordPress websites easily and quickly**.

When & Why You Need Countdown Feature
-------------------------------------

You can add a timer that counts down to start or end dates for these kinds of site:

-   [Coming-soon websites](https://gretathemes.com/best-coming-soon-wordpress-themes/)
-   Websites having important events (movie release, music tour, etc.)
-   [Landing pages](https://metabox.io/create-landing-pages-in-wordpress/) for marketing campaigns
-   A flash sale or promotion
-   ...

![The Countdown Timer feature laugh on a WordPress website](https://i.imgur.com/b4AMLgN.png)

Using countdown timers gives you many benefits:

-   Help visitors to easily follow the exact start and end date to keep up with events.
-   Contribute as a professional visual aid for your websites.
-   Hurry visitors and stimulate them to take action, thereby [increasing the conversion rate](https://gretathemes.com/optimize-wordpress-website-increase-conversions/).

How to Add Countdown Timers
---------------------------

There are many ways to add countdown timers in WordPress, for example:

**Coding**: Of course, you need to be a developer. If not, you have to hire one or a [trusted website development company](https://elightup.com/). This choice might cost a lot of money and effort, and things might get tricky when errors occurred.

**Using page builders**: This method is much easier and requires no coding at all. However, not every [page builder](https://metabox.io/wordpress-themes-for-page-builders/) has a built-in module for countdown buttons, or you might need to pay for premium versions to have this feature.

**Using themes with built-in countdown features**: Normally, countdown timers are available on themes specially made for coming-soon sites. But some other themes also support this feature. However, not all themes suit your website, or you simply do not want to change your current [WordPress theme](https://gretathemes.com/wordpress-themes/).

![This is a business theme with a built-in countdown timer](https://i.imgur.com/pBPqu8w.png)

For example, above is a built-in countdown timer in EventPress - a [business theme](https://gretathemes.com/product-category/business/). You can read a detailed review of this theme [here](https://freewpthemes.reviews/eventpress/).

**Using a dedicated plugin**: Compared with the three choices above, this is the easiest and also fastest choice. No coding required, no extra cost, and no need to change your website appearance!

Below is how you can easily and quickly add countdown buttons into [WordPress websites](https://gretathemes.com/) by a plugin.

Add Countdown Timers into Websites by Plugins
---------------------------------------------


### Step 1: Installing plugins

There are many plugins available that help you add countdown buttons/timers to your website. We suggest **Countdown Timer Ultimate** as the easiest, fastest, and most beautiful plugin to get this work done.

This free plugin is available on [wordpress.com](https://wordpress.org/plugins/widget-countdown/), so you can go to the **Admin tab** > **Plugin** > **Add new** to [install and activate the plugin](https://gretathemes.com/install-wordpress-plugin/).

![Add Countdown Timers into Websites by Plugins](https://i.imgur.com/r9Tu1K9.png)

After Countdown Timer Ultimate is activated, it might notify you about website data sharing with the plugin developer as below:

![Countdown Timer Ultimate plugin notifies you about website data sharing](https://i.imgur.com/VHKa870.png)

You can **skip** this notification right away as it is not needed.

### Step 2: Create and Install Countdown Buttons

Firstly, go to **Countdown Timer** > **Add Timer**. You should see a menu displayed the same as the following picture.

![Create and Install Countdown Buttons](https://i.imgur.com/0veGOBt.png)

Don't forget to name this button to organize and manage it better.

Here are the options and configurations for the display of countdown timers. In that, the most important part is the **Expiry Date**. You will configure the timer to countdown to the exact time you want here:

![Configure the timer to countdown to the exact time you want](https://i.imgur.com/jKgmqtf.png)

For example, in the picture above, I let the timer count from now to 23:59:59, December 31, 2020.

**NOTE**: The plugin follows the time you set for the website. For example, the plugin is displaying my time zone as UTC+0. If you want the timer to match a time zone you want, please go to **General Setting.**

![Match a time zone you want](https://i.imgur.com/n5UJlTG.png)

### Step 3: Configure the Countdown Button's Appearance

The rest of the settings page mentioned above allows you to configure the countdown timer's appearance, making it look more appealing and suit your website better.

For example, to adjust countdown buttons to make them fit the layout, you can enter the desired size in **Countdown Width**. However, if the size entered is too small, like below 50px, the button will nearly disappear from the page. I was once confused when I saw no button because of that, so please note this one.

Because countdown buttons provided by **Countdown Timer Ultimate** are round-shaped, you can also adjust the size of circles and borders in **Background Width** and **Circle Width**.

To mark buttons with different colors to distinguish them with ease, and make the website more vibrant, go to **Foreground Color**.

After configuring the appearance for buttons, click **Publish** to save changes. Below are my settings:

![Configure the Countdown Button's Appearance](https://i.imgur.com/wfrpE3G.png)

### Step 4: Display Countdown Buttons on Your Website

Going to the Countdown **Timer** section on the right menu, you should see a list of countdown timers. Copy the shortcode of the timer you need.

![Copy the shortcode of the timer you need.](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/BjKmVOVKBNK_X2uITasBh-q_VEesyEyy2po2682MhWjw3tyx5uzu7HlXiBewIUNDRcGlWtTCY6GBWTFdaw-eJCdn-UNKyk6m0B1lJhJe6IhjLQEhcxP_5hsgMqY9Ld4C5BR_HBpA)

Then paste that shortcode to any post or page you want.

Below is a countdown timer displayed on my site:

![a countdown timer displayed on my WordPress website](https://i.imgur.com/nT2Dj1A.png)

You can display countdown timers on widgets as well. [Use the **Customizer** tool](https://gretathemes.com/wordpress-theme-customizer/) or go to **Appearance** > **Widget**, choose the **Text** widget, paste the shortcode, and then drag the widget into a place you want (sidebar, footer, etc.)

![display countdown timers on widgets of the WordPress website](https://i.imgur.com/2yhHLCh.png)

Here's the result:

![The countdown timer displays on the WordPress website front end](https://i.imgur.com/YSFjOBZ.png)

All done!

Verdict
-------

Creating countdown buttons for begin and end dates of events is not that difficult, as you can see. The Countdown Timer Ultimate, though limited in designs for countdown buttons, is still an easy-to-use plugin to get the work done quickly.

Besides, you can also see how to create add-to-calendar buttons to help customers/clients remember your event better. By combining this button with the countdown button we showed you how to add above, you will surely have an appealing and effective website.