Essential Countdown Timer app: setup and feature walkthrough

This guide walks through setting up the Essential Countdown Timer app step by step. It covers the timer types, the editor, placement, plans and views, billing, and known limits.

What the app does

Shows countdown timers as a top or bottom bar, on product pages, on landing pages (Starter plan and up), in the cart (Essential plan and up), and in emails (Essential plan and up).
Supports fixed-minute countdowns, countdowns to a date, and daily recurring windows.
Lets you target timers by page, product, collection, product tag (Essential), and country (Essential).

Step 1: Turn on the app embed

In Shopify admin, go to Online Store → Themes → Customize.
Select App embeds, turn on Countdown Timer, and select Save.

Do this for every theme you use. Without the app embed, timers will not show on the storefront.

Video walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ez4MagDuU8g

Step 2: Create a timer

Open the app and select Create a new timer.
Choose a timer type: Product page, Top/bottom bar, Landing page, Cart page, or Email timer.

Step 3: Set the content

On the Content tab:

Countdown name: an internal name only you can see.
Title and Subheading: the text shown to customers. The subheading is optional.
Call to action: choose Button to show a button, or another option to hide it. Set the Button text and Link.
Timer labels: the Days, Hrs, Mins, and Secs labels. Turn on Hide Days when value is 00 to hide the days unit when it is zero.
Timer type: Countdown to a date, Fixed minutes, or Daily recurring timer.
Timer starts: Right now, or Schedule to start later.

Fixed minutes gives each visitor their own countdown, saved in their browser. Countdown to a date gives everyone the same end time. Daily recurring runs on chosen weekdays between a start and end time.

Step 4: Design the timer

On the Design tab:

Positioning: for top page timers, you can turn on Stick to top while scrolling.
Template: choose the layout (Standard, Balanced, or Inline) and style.
Card: set a single colour, gradient, or image background. You can also set the border size, border colour, and close icon colour.
Timer style: choose the timer style, for example Plain or Boxes.
Typography: set the font (your theme font or a custom one), and the size and colour of the title, subheading, timer, and labels.

The preview in the editor can look different from the live store, because the live store inherits your theme's fonts and CSS. Always check the live store after you publish.

Step 5: Choose where it shows

On the Placement tab, choose which pages show the timer:

Top/bottom bar: every page, home page only, all product pages, specific products, all products in specific collections, all collection pages, specific collection pages, or custom position.
Geolocation targeting: all countries, or specific countries (Essential plan and up).

If you choose Custom position, add the timer manually as an app block in the theme editor. Use the Timer ID shown after you publish. The app block is at Online Store → Themes → Customize, then Add block → Apps → Countdown Timer.

Step 6: Publish and check

Select Publish at the top right.
Wait up to about 20 seconds, then open your live store in an incognito window.
Check the timer on each page you targeted, on mobile and desktop.

Timer types in detail

Product page timers

Choose Product page and set placement to all products, specific products, or products with specific tags (Essential). A product page timer is placed automatically near the Add to cart button, or you can place it with an app block using Custom position.

Cart page timers

Cart page timers need the Essential plan or higher. The timer is hidden while the cart is empty.

Email timers

Email timers need the Essential plan or higher. Publish the timer, copy the Timer code snippet, and paste it into your email in a location that accepts HTML or custom code. The timer is shown as an image, so if your email app or the recipient's email client blocks images, the timer may not show.

Plans and views

A view is each time a timer is shown on your storefront. Theme editor views are not counted. Limits are monthly.

Free: 1,000 views per month.
Starter: 10,000 views per month. Adds landing page, scheduled, and recurring timers.
Essential: 50,000 views per month. Adds cart page and email timers, product tags, geolocation targeting, and translations.

Paid plans include a free trial of up to 7 days. You can switch between monthly and yearly billing on the pricing page.

When you go over your limit

The app warns you when you reach the limit.
If you stay over the limit for about three days, published timers are unpublished.
Unpublished timers are not restored automatically when the counter resets or you change plans. Publish them again manually.

Billing and cancelling

Change or cancel your plan at Apps → Essential Countdown Timer → Pricing plans.
Cancelling stops future charges. To review your charges, check Settings → Billing.
The app offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. To ask for a refund, write to support within the first 30 days of your paid subscription. The refund is paid through Shopify billing.

Uninstalling

Uninstall the app at Settings → Apps and sales channels → Essential Countdown Timer → Uninstall.
Then go to Online Store → Themes → Customize, check App embeds, and remove any Countdown Timer app blocks or code snippets left in your templates. The app code is removed on uninstall, but your theme keeps any blocks or snippets you added.

Good to know

Changes can take up to about 20 seconds to appear on the live store.
Timers do not show on the checkout page. Use the cart page or cart drawer instead.
If a timer does not show, check the app embed, the placement, the schedule, and the targeting rules. Then check the live store in an incognito window.
For more help, see the FAQ articles in this collection.