How to Add a Countdown Timer in WordPress (Including Evergreen Timers)

If you're here, you've probably got a sale, a launch or an enrollment deadline coming up, and you want people to see the clock ticking down on your site so they don't miss it.

But I'll be honest with you about one thing first. I hate a fake countdown timer. The moment I realize that the countdown is going to come back a few weeks or so later, it actually dims my wanting to buy. And I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who feels that way.

So in this guide, I'll show you how to add a countdown that ends when your offer does. I'll cover a timer on one page, a timer that starts fresh for each visitor, and a sale that runs across your whole site, plus a free plugin if you don't use Thrive.

Every screenshot comes from Fieldbloom, the made-up skincare brand from my beauty and cosmetics website tutorial (it isn't a real company), and its equally made-up Winter Skin Sale. I used Fieldbloom's own site for the Thrive screens and a fresh test copy of WordPress 7.1 for the free plugin.

Why a Countdown Works (As Long As the Deadline Is Real)

A deadline gives people a reason to decide now instead of "later", and a countdown makes that deadline hard to miss. In a 2019 case study from OptinMonster, Cracku, a test-prep site, ran discount campaigns with countdown timers. One campaign converted 4.29% of visitors and another 3.5%, and Cracku reported a 300% increase in conversions.

But a countdown only works if people believe it. In its 2022 report on dark patterns, the FTC lists countdown timers on offers that aren't actually time-limited as one of the tricks used on shoppers. And when Princeton researchers crawled about 11,000 shopping sites, they found countdown timers on 361 of them, including ones where the deal was still there after the timer ran out.

So every method below is set up the same way: when the timer ends, the offer ends with it.

First, Pick the Kind of Countdown You Need

There are three kinds, and the right one depends on how your offer ends:

If your sale has a date, use a fixed countdown. Evergreen is for offers that really are personal, like a welcome discount for new subscribers.

Method 1: Add a Countdown to One Page With Thrive Architect (The Quickest Way)

If you build your pages with Thrive Architect, the countdown is already there. Open your page in Thrive Architect, click Add Element, type "count" in the search box and drag the Countdown element onto the page. A library of countdown styles opens as soon as it lands. I picked Countdown timer 07 for Fieldbloom's Winter Skin Sale page, and it took on Fieldbloom's green by itself.

With the countdown selected, set the End date and Time on the left. Underneath, you'll see the timezone it counts in, which comes from your WordPress settings (Settings → General). Fieldbloom ships from California, so its sale ends at 11 p.m. Pacific time.

Then put the countdown between the offer and the button, so the deadline sits right above the thing people click.

The timer only changes what people see, so make sure the offer itself ends at the same time: give your discount code the same expiry date, or take the sale page down. I walk through a whole sale page, countdown included, in my Black Friday landing page tutorial.

Method 2: Give Each Visitor Their Own Deadline (Countdown Evergreen)

Countdown Evergreen works the same way, except the clock starts fresh for each visitor. It's for offers that really are personal, like Fieldbloom's welcome page, where new subscribers get a 10% code for their first order.

Drag in Countdown Evergreen the same way, then set how long it runs under Time. I set Fieldbloom's to 2 days, so every new subscriber gets 48 hours.

Under it, you'll see Starts again after. Turn it on, and the countdown starts over for someone who comes back after the number of days and hours you set. I left it off, because that's exactly the countdown that comes back a few weeks later.

The one thing Countdown Evergreen can't do is end the offer for you. It only changes what that page shows, so if the code still works on day three, the clock wasn't real. Give each subscriber a code that expires, or use Thrive Ultimatum, which can close the offer page for each person when their time runs out.

Method 3: Run a Countdown Across Your Whole Site With Thrive Ultimatum (My Pick for Sales)

For a sale, this is the one I'd use. Thrive Ultimatum puts the countdown on every page you choose, starts and stops it on its own, and closes the sale page when the sale is over. This is how I set up Fieldbloom's Winter Skin Sale.

Step 1: Create a Campaign and Pick Its Type

Go to Thrive Dashboard → Thrive Ultimatum and click ADD NEW. You can start from a template, like Christmas special, or Build from scratch, which is what I did. Give the campaign a name (only you see it), and you'll land on its settings screen.

Under Campaign Type, click EDIT and pick one of three: Fixed Dates Campaign, Recurring Campaign or Evergreen Campaign. The Winter Skin Sale has an end date, so it's a Fixed Dates Campaign.

Step 2: Set the Start and End (On the Hour)

Set the start date and hour, then the end date and hour. Thrive Ultimatum works in whole hours, so pick an end time on the hour and use that same time on your sale page. I first typed 11:59 p.m., and Thrive Ultimatum turned it into 24:00, so Fieldbloom's sale now ends at 11 p.m. everywhere. Under the dates, you'll see the timezone it's using, which also comes from your WordPress settings.

For an evergreen campaign, you choose what starts each person's clock instead: their First visit to site, a Visit to a specific page, a sign-up through Thrive Leads, or a tag or webhook from your email tool.

Step 3: Choose Where It Shows (And Where It Shouldn't)

Under Display, click EDIT and tick where the countdown should appear. I ticked Front Page and All Pages, added Fieldbloom's product pages under Post Types, and added the shop under Other with its link.

Then, under Exclusions, I left out the sale page and the welcome page. They already have their own countdown, and two timers on one screen is too many.

Step 4: Design the Countdown (A Ribbon Across the Top)

Under Designs, click New Design and choose how the countdown shows up: a Top ribbon or Bottom ribbon across the screen, a Widget in your sidebar, or a Shortcode you place inside a page.

I chose a top ribbon, picked a ready-made ribbon template and changed it in the Thrive Architect editor: the text, a Shop the Sale link to the sale page and Fieldbloom's green. The countdown in the ribbon follows the campaign's dates, so there's nothing to set there.

Step 5: Decide What Happens When It Ends

When the end date passes, the ribbon stops showing. But the sale page is still there for anyone who has the link, unless you lock it.

That's what Lockdown is for. Click ACTIVATE LOCKDOWN and fill in three things:

Now the sale page only opens while the sale is on. You can also add Conversion Events, which end the countdown for someone once they've done what you wanted, like signing up or reaching your order confirmation page, or move them on to another campaign.

Step 6: Start the Campaign and Check It Like a Visitor

New campaigns start out Paused, so click the status at the top right and set it to Running. Then open your site in a private window, the way a visitor would see it.

Method 4: No Thrive? Use a Free Plugin (HurryTimer)

If you don't use Thrive, HurryTimer is the free plugin I'd pick. It's tested with WordPress 7.1, it has more than 20,000 active installs, and its free version does fixed and evergreen countdowns.

Install it from Plugins → Add New Plugin, then go to HurryTimer → Add Campaign:

1. Under Schedule, choose One-time (a fixed date) or Evergreen, and set the end date and time
2. Under Expiry Actions, choose what happens at zero: hide the timer, send people to another page, or show a message
3. Under Appearance, pick a look
4. Click Publish, copy the shortcode from the Shortcode box and paste it into your page

For a WooCommerce store, HurryTimer can also show a countdown on product pages and hide the Add to Cart button when it ends. Making the discount code itself expire is a Pro feature, though.

What a free timer can't do is run one deadline across your whole site and lock the offer when it's over. That's where Thrive Ultimatum comes in.

Where I Put Fieldbloom's Countdowns (And What Happens at Zero)

Here's how the countdowns on Fieldbloom's site are set up:

Frequently Asked Questions About Countdown Timers in WordPress

Here are quick answers to the countdown questions people ask most, with links to the full steps above.

Set the Deadline First, Then Add the Timer

A countdown works best when it's telling the truth. So decide how your offer ends first, then pick the timer that matches: one page, one visitor or your whole site. And when the time runs out, let the offer go with it.

These will help with the rest of your sale:

Pick your end date, set the timer to match, and let the countdown do the reminding for you.