ZW Countdown: FAQ & Troubleshooting

Does the timer reset when someone reloads the page?

No. The end time is fixed in the shortcode, and every visitor sees the same deadline. That’s on purpose. Timers that restart on every visit are a fake-urgency trick, and people notice.

The time is off by a few hours

That’s almost always the time zone. Go to Settings → General → Timezone and choose a city near you instead of a UTC offset. The end time in the shortcode always uses that setting.

I use a caching plugin. Is that a problem?

No. The page may load with slightly old numbers from the cache, but the timer corrects itself within the first second, because it counts down to the exact end time rather than counting from when the page loaded.

Can I use it on a sales page?

Yes. That’s what it’s built for. The LCD digits use DSEG7, a free font under the SIL Open Font License, which allows commercial use. The license is included with the plugin.

Does it work with any theme?

Yes. It brings its own styles and font. The labels use DM Mono if your theme loads it, and a standard monospace font if it doesn’t.

Can I change the colors?

The plugin uses amber on dark navy and ink to match this site. If you’re comfortable with CSS, the colors are defined at the top of the plugin’s stylesheet.

What happens to the timer after the sale or giveaway ends?

It switches to your ended message on its own. You can leave it on the page as a record that the event happened, or remove the shortcode whenever you like.