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Smart Countdown Timer
Overview
Smart Countdown Timer shows a live, ticking countdown — days, hours, minutes, seconds — to a date and time you set. Use it for exam countdowns, event openings, application deadlines, or the last day of term. There's no settings screen: add the [smart_countdown_timer] shortcode to any page or post.
Getting set up
Step 1: Open the page or post
Open the page or post where you want the countdown, in the block editor.
Step 2: Add the shortcode
Add a Shortcode block with [smart_countdown_timer], setting at least title and countdown_to:
[smart_countdown_timer title="Sports Day is coming up in:" message="Have a great Sports Day!" countdown_to="12/6/2027 09:00" timezone="Europe/London"]
Step 3: Set the target date and time
Enter countdown_to exactly as day/month/year hour:minute, using the 24-hour clock — for example 25/12/2026 09:00 for 9am on 25 December 2026. See Troubleshooting if you get this wrong.
Step 4: Publish and check the website
Publish the page and view it on the front end. The boxes are empty for the first second after the page opens, then fill in and count down every second. The countdown uses the visitor's own device clock.
Features
Where to find it: typed directly into a page or post's content — there is no settings screen.
| Shortcode | Parameters | Example |
|---|---|---|
[smart_countdown_timer] |
title, message, countdown_to, timezone |
See above |
| Parameter | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
title |
Heading shown beside the countdown | Stats — always set your own; this default is a leftover placeholder and won't make sense on your page |
message |
A short label shown next to the counter the whole time it's on the page — not just once it ends | Message |
countdown_to |
Target date and time, as D/M/YYYY HH:MM (24-hour clock) |
25/7/2024 00:01 |
timezone |
Timezone the target date and time is in | Europe/London |
message is not an "it's over" message — it sits permanently next to the Days/Hours/Mins/Secs boxes for as long as the shortcode is on the page.
Use one countdown per page. Only the first countdown on a page counts down, and it uses the settings of the last [smart_countdown_timer] on the page.
Troubleshooting
The countdown shows all zeros
Why it happens: the target date and time in countdown_to has already passed. When it does, every box just shows 0 and stays there — the timer doesn't hide itself or switch to a different message.
How to fix it: update countdown_to to a future date, or remove the shortcode once the event has passed.
"Countdown not available" appears instead of the countdown
Why it happens: either countdown_to was not entered in exactly the expected D/M/YYYY HH:MM format (24-hour clock, single or double-digit day and month) — for example using a dash instead of slashes, a 12-hour time, or leaving out the time — or timezone is not a timezone name the website recognises, such as the misspelling Europe/Londn. The rest of the page still loads.
How to fix it: check countdown_to matches the format exactly, e.g. 25/12/2026 09:00, and remove timezone to use the default, Europe/London, or check its spelling. Then republish.
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