The Countdown block allows you to display a beautiful countdown timer on your website. If you’re experiencing issues with your countdown timer, this guide will help you identify and resolve common problems.
Timer Not Displaying
If your countdown timer is not appearing on the frontend, check these potential causes:
Check Block Activation Navigate to Dashboard → DigiBlocks and ensure the Countdown block is enabled in the Block Manager. Inactive blocks will not render on the frontend.
Verify Block Assets The countdown timer requires JavaScript to function. Go to Settings → DigiBlocks → Assets Management and click “Regenerate All Assets” to ensure the necessary files are properly generated.
Check for JavaScript Errors Open your browser’s developer console (F12) and look for JavaScript errors that might prevent the timer from initializing. Common errors include:
- Undefined variables
- Syntax errors in custom code
- Conflicts with other plugins
Timer Shows Incorrect Time
Timezone Mismatch The countdown timer uses your WordPress site’s timezone settings. Verify your timezone in WordPress Settings → General → Timezone. If the timer displays incorrect time, ensure your WordPress timezone matches your intended target timezone.
Date Format Issues Ensure you’ve set the target date and time correctly in the block settings. The timer expects a valid date format. Double-check:
- Date is in the future
- Time format matches your WordPress settings
- AM/PM notation is correct if using 12-hour format
Timer Not Updating
JavaScript Cache Issues Clear your browser cache and any caching plugins. Countdown timers rely on JavaScript execution, and cached files might contain outdated code.
Asset File Problems Navigate to your site’s uploads folder at /wp-content/uploads/digiblocks/ and check if CSS and JS files exist for your post. If files are missing or outdated, regenerate assets through the DigiBlocks settings.
Plugin Conflicts Temporarily deactivate other plugins to identify conflicts. Some optimization plugins might interfere with JavaScript execution.
Timer Stops Working After Specific Time
Negative Value Handling By default, countdown timers should handle expired dates gracefully. If your timer breaks when reaching zero, check if you have custom CSS or JavaScript that might interfere with the timer’s completion state.
Memory Issues Long-running countdown timers might encounter memory issues in some browsers. Consider refreshing the page or implementing periodic reloads for timers running for extended periods.
Display Formatting Problems
CSS Conflicts Your theme or other plugins might override the countdown timer’s styling. Inspect the timer element using browser developer tools to identify conflicting CSS rules.
Responsive Issues Test the countdown timer on different screen sizes. If the timer doesn’t display properly on mobile devices:
- Check if your theme has responsive CSS conflicts
- Verify the timer’s container has proper responsive styling
- Test with default WordPress themes to isolate theme-specific issues
Timer Performance Issues
Multiple Timers on Same Page Having multiple countdown timers on the same page can impact performance. Each timer runs its own JavaScript interval. Consider:
- Limiting the number of simultaneous timers
- Using a single timer with multiple display formats if appropriate
Heavy Page Content Countdown timers might lag on pages with heavy content or many other JavaScript elements. Optimize your page by:
- Reducing unnecessary plugins
- Optimizing images and media
- Minimizing other JavaScript executions
Browser-Specific Issues
Safari Date Parsing Safari has strict date parsing requirements. Ensure your countdown target date uses standard date formats. ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss) works most reliably across browsers.
Internet Explorer Compatibility While DigiBlocks uses modern JavaScript, some older browsers might have compatibility issues. Test your countdown timer in different browsers and consider displaying fallback content for unsupported browsers.
Server Configuration Issues
Incorrect Server Time If your server time is incorrect, it might affect the countdown calculation. Verify your server’s timezone and time settings match your intended configuration.
Caching Conflicts Server-side caching might serve outdated timer configurations. Clear all cache layers:
- WordPress object cache
- Page caching plugins
- CDN cache
- Server-side cache (if applicable)
Debugging Countdown Issues
Enable WordPress Debug Mode Add these lines to your wp-config.php file to enable debugging:
define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);Check Error Logs Review your WordPress error logs at /wp-content/debug.log for any countdown-related errors.
Browser Console Debugging Open browser developer tools (F12) and monitor the console for JavaScript errors when the countdown should initialize or update.
Test with Default Theme Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-Four) to determine if the issue is theme-related.
Asset Regeneration
If countdown timers suddenly stop working after updates or changes:
- Navigate to DigiBlocks Settings
- Click “Regenerate All Assets”
- Wait for the process to complete
- Clear any caching
- Test the countdown timer again
This process rebuilds all CSS and JavaScript files, often resolving countdown-related issues caused by corrupted or outdated asset files.