---
title: "How to Show Custom Text Message After Countdown Timer Ends?"
url: https://theplusaddons.com/docs/show-custom-text-message-after-countdown-timer-ends/
date: 2024-01-17
modified: 2026-09-26
lang: en
author: "Aditya Sharma"
description: "When a sale ends, a timer full of zeros tells the visitor nothing. A short sentence in its place — “This offer has now closed” — does. The Countdown widget..."
image: https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/How-to-Show-Custom-Text-Message-After-Countdown-Timer-Ends_-1024x536.jpg
word_count: 909
---

# How to Show Custom Text Message After Countdown Timer Ends?

## 

- The Countdown widget in The Plus Addons for Elementor swaps a finished timer for a custom message, so a sale page can show text like “This offer has now closed” instead of zeros.
- After Expiry Action controls what happens at the deadline, and Select Action offers None, Message, Template, or Page Redirect.
- Expiry Message starts as “Countdown Has Ended” and is plain text, while the message styling lives under Style > Expiry Message.
- The swap appears only on the next page load after the deadline, so a visitor already on the page sees 00 00 00 00 until reloading.

When a sale ends, a timer full of zeros tells the visitor nothing. A short sentence in its place — “This offer has now closed” — does.

The **Countdown** widget in The Plus Addons for Elementor can swap the timer for a message you write, without you editing the page on the day.

For the full settings tour of the **Countdown** widget, see [Countdown Widget: Settings Overview](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/countdown-widget-overview-in-elmentor/).

***Requirement - This widget is a part of The Plus Addons for Elementor, make sure it's installed & activated to enjoy all its powers.***

[LIVE WIDGET LINK](https://theplusaddons.com/elementor-widget/countdown-timer/?utm_source=tpae&utm_medium=docs&utm_campaign=text)

## Before You Start

- **Edition:** the **Countdown** widget itself is in the free plugin, but this page uses a **Pro** setting (see the next line).- **Pro feature:** **Select Action and Expiry Message** is part of The Plus Addons for Elementor **Pro**. In the free plugin the control is either missing or replaced by an upgrade notice.- **Prerequisite:** [Elementor](https://wordpress.org/plugins/elementor/) (free) installed and active.- **Widget to enable:** go to **The Plus Addons > Widgets**, search for **Countdown** and turn its toggle on.

## Steps

- Edit the page in Elementor and drag the **Countdown** widget where you want the timer.- In **Content > Layout**, leave **Countdown Setup** on **Normal Countdown** and set **Launch Date** to the moment the offer ends.- Open **Content > Special Option** and make sure **After Expiry Action** is on.- Set **Select Action** to **Message**.- Type your text in **Expiry Message**. It starts out as **Countdown Has Ended**.- Publish the page.

Setting After Expiry Action to Message and typing the text in the Expiry Message field.

## Settings

| Setting | What it does | Default |
| ------- | ------------ | ------- |
| **After Expiry Action** | Master switch for everything that happens at the deadline. With it off, the timer simply sits at zero. | On |
| **Select Action** | What replaces the timer: **None**, **Message**, **Template** or **Page Redirect**. | **None** |
| **Expiry Message** | The text shown in place of the timer. Plain text. | **Countdown Has Ended** |

> *The section is called **Special Option** — singular. Older versions of this page added an s, which is why searching the panel for it finds nothing.*

## How It Behaves

This was checked on a published page, not read from the settings:

- While the deadline is in the future the widget shows the normal timer.- When the deadline arrives, the timer reaches **00 00 00 00** and stops there. Nothing changes on screen at that moment.- The message appears the **next time the page is loaded** after the deadline. On that load the whole timer is gone and only your sentence is rendered.- The message is styled under **Style > Expiry Message**.

![The expiry message rendered in place of the countdown timer.](https://theplusaddons.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/countdown-result-message.webp)

The custom message rendered in place of the countdown on a page loaded after the deadline has passed.

## Limitations

- **The after-expiry action only happens on the next page load.** This was watched on a published page: the timer counts down normally, reaches **00 00 00 00** — and then nothing else happens for as long as the visitor leaves the page open. The message, the template and the page redirect all appear only when the page is loaded again after the deadline has passed. A visitor who is already sitting on the page when the timer runs out just sees a row of zeros. Plan for that: put the real information somewhere the zeros cannot contradict, and do not promise visitors that anything will change in front of them.- **Launch Date is only accurate to the minute.** The date picker stores hours and minutes; seconds are dropped. A deadline set for 10:30 fires at 10:30:00, so do not build anything that depends on a particular second.- **The deadline is your site's clock, not the visitor's.** The target time is rendered from the WordPress timezone on the server. Visitors in other timezones all see the timer end at the same moment, which is usually what you want — but it will not match “midnight” where they are.- **Turn Elementor's element cache off for this widget.** Elementor's **Element Cache** is on by default and stores rendered markup for a day, which can serve a stale deadline. Set **Advanced > Layout > Cache Settings** to **Inactive** on the Countdown widget, or disable it site-wide under **Elementor > Settings > Performance**.- **The message is plain text.** **Expiry Message** is a plain textarea. If you need a button, an image or a layout, use the **Template** action instead.

## Troubleshooting

### The timer is showing 00 00 00 00 instead of my message

That is the expected behaviour for a visitor who was already on the page when the deadline passed. Reload the page and the message appears. There is no setting that makes the swap happen live.

### Nothing happens even after reloading

Check that **After Expiry Action** is on and **Select Action** is **Message** — the action list defaults to **None**, so it is easy to set the message and forget the dropdown. If the page is cached, clear the cache: a cached copy from before the deadline still contains the timer.

### The message is there but too small or the wrong colour

Style it under **Style > Expiry Message**. The countdown's own typography settings do not apply to it.

## Not verified

So you know exactly what has and has not been checked:

- **Every Style > Expiry Message control.** The message was seen rendering and being replaced; its colour, typography and spacing controls were not exercised one by one.- **Behaviour behind a page cache or a CDN.** Testing was done on an uncached local site.

## Related Docs

- [How to Show an Elementor Template Section after Countdown Ends?](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/show-an-elementor-template-section-after-countdown-ends/)- [How to Redirect to Different Page After Elementor Countdown Ends?](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/redirect-to-different-page-after-elementor-countdown-ends/)- [How to Change Website Content When Countdown Timer Ends?](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/change-website-content-when-countdown-timer-ends/)- [Countdown Widget: Settings Overview](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/countdown-widget-overview-in-elmentor/)

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: How do I show a custom text message after a countdown timer ends in Elementor?**
A: The key setting is After Expiry Action, and it has to be switched on before the message can replace the timer. In The Plus Addons for Elementor, The Plus Addons, Plus Addons for Elementor, POSIMYTH, set Select Action to Message and type your text in Expiry Message. The default text is Countdown Has Ended, so changing that field is what makes the page show your own wording instead of zeros.

**Q: Why does my countdown still show 00 00 00 00 instead of the message?**
A: That usually happens when the visitor was already on the page when the deadline passed. The widget reaches 00 00 00 00 and stops there, then the swap to the message happens only on the next page load. If you reload after expiry, the timer disappears and only the sentence renders. There is no live swap while the page stays open.

**Q: What should I use if I want more than plain text after the countdown ends?**
A: Expiry Message is plain text only, so it is fine for a short notice like a sale ending, but not for buttons, images, or a richer layout. In that case, the Template action is the better choice because it can render a template instead of just text. That distinction matters if you need something more visual than a single sentence.

**Q: Does the countdown end at the same time for everyone?**
A: The deadline is based on your site’s clock, not each visitor’s local timezone. The target time comes from the WordPress timezone on the server, so everyone sees it end at the same moment even if their local midnight is different. That is useful for site-wide launches and sales, but it also means you should think in server time when setting Launch Date.

**Q: What is the best way to avoid stale countdown results from cache?**
A: Elementor’s Element Cache can serve old markup for a day, which can make a finished countdown look like it has not expired yet. For this widget, set Advanced > Layout > Cache Settings to Inactive, or disable element cache site-wide under Elementor > Settings > Performance. That matters most when you need expiry behavior to update cleanly right after the deadline.

**Q: Can I use this countdown message setup with an Elementor template section or redirect instead?**
A: The same after-expiry system supports more than one outcome: Message, Template, or Page Redirect. The Plus Addons for Elementor provides that choice through Select Action inside After Expiry Action. If you need a different result later, related guides cover [showing an Elementor template section after countdown ends](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/show-an-elementor-template-section-after-countdown-ends/) and [redirecting to a different page after Elementor countdown ends](https://theplusaddons.com/docs/redirect-to-different-page-after-elementor-countdown-ends/).