Banner Countdown

Descriptions

Overview

Instant Countdown Banner is a lightweight, theme‑independent WordPress plugin that enables you to display a promotional countdown bar at the top or bottom of your website. Designed to create urgency and boost conversions during sales events or product launches, it allows you to customize colors, messages, and call‑to‑action buttons while previewing all changes live before saving.

Once activated, navigate to Settings → Instant Countdown Banner, set your deadline, craft messages to display before and after it, select colors using the WordPress Color Picker, and optionally add a call‑to‑action label and URL. Target specific pages or exclude paths using simple patterns (wildcards like * are supported). A live preview shows exactly how the banner will appear before you save your changes.

Usage Example:

To embed the banner within posts or pages, use the included shortcode: [instant_countdown_banner]

The plugin is fully internationalized (a .pot template is included) and follows WordPress coding standards. A clean ZIP of runtime files is provided; development files are excluded.

Features

Top or bottom positioning with optional sticky mode
Custom messages before and after the deadline using a {time} placeholder
Color controls via the WordPress Color Picker
Optional call‑to‑action button (label + URL)
Dismiss option with cookie-based persistence and adjustable duration; option to hide for logged‑in users
URL targeting (include or exclude pages/paths; supports wildcards *)
Body offset toggle to avoid overlap on themes with custom padding
Live preview in the admin page and one‑click shortcode copy button
Fully internationalized (includes .pot file)

Requirements

WordPress version 5.8 or higher (tested up to 6.6)
PHP version 7.4 or higher
Ability to install and activate plugins; admin access to Settings → Instant Countdown Banner for configuration
Works with any theme; supports both classic and block editors

Installation & Setup

Download the ZIP package from Codester, extract it, and upload the instant-countdown-banner folder to your WordPress site's wp-content/plugins directory. Alternatively, go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin and upload the ZIP directly. Activate the plugin from the Plugins screen in the WordPress admin panel.

Configuration

Navigate to Settings → Instant Countdown Banner in your WordPress dashboard
Set the countdown deadline using your site's timezone
Enter the text to show before the deadline (use {time} to dynamically display remaining time) and the text to show after the deadline
Choose whether the banner appears at the top or bottom of the page and whether it should be sticky
Enable or disable the body offset if your theme already handles spacing
Select preferred background, text, and accent colors using the WordPress Color Picker
Optionally set a call‑to‑action: enter a label (e.g., "Buy Now") and the destination URL
Choose if the banner can be dismissed and set the number of days the dismissal cookie should hide it
Under Targeting, decide where the banner should appear. Include or exclude pages by entering one URL or path pattern per line; wildcards * are supported (e.g., /sale/* or https://example.com/deals/*)
Use the Live Preview pane to see real-time banner appearance. Adjust settings until satisfied and click Save

Usage

To insert the countdown bar manually into posts or pages, use the shortcode [instant_countdown_banner]. To show it site‑wide without using a shortcode, simply leave Targeting set to "Everywhere."

If the banner doesn't appear, verify that it's enabled, the deadline is in the future (or enable "Show after deadline"), and that the dismissal cookie isn't active (try viewing your site in a private/incognito window).

Hex Information (For Shop Owner): 57834