Countdown timers for webinars and live events

A webinar starts at the same moment for everyone who signed up. That makes it the simplest case for a countdown: a fixed-date timer running to the start of the session, set in the event's time zone. When it hits zero, the GIF can say "We are live."

The generator comes with a clean, light style and that expired message. Change the date and time to your event's.

When it works and when it doesn't

It works in the emails that go out before the session:

• The invite. A timer with days and hours gives context: a week to go, or two days.
• Reminders. The same GIF, opened on the day of the event, now shows only hours and minutes.
• Registration cutoff. If seats or signups close before the session, that cutoff is a real deadline too and can get its own timer.

It doesn't work for a recorded webinar that "airs live" on demand. If people can watch whenever they like, a countdown to a made-up start time is a fake deadline, and anyone who gets the invite again on another day with another time will notice.

It also makes no sense if the date isn't locked. If the speaker hasn't confirmed, wait. You can edit the timer after sending, but the email copy will still show the old time.

Fixed date and time zones

The timer counts to a single instant. If your webinar starts Thursday, November 5 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, that's 10:00 a.m. in Los Angeles and 6:00 p.m. in London, and all three readers see the same time left. The GIF never gets the zone wrong; your copy can.

• Write the time with its zone. "Thursday, November 5, 1:00 p.m. ET." If your audience is spread out, add the time in two or three cities.
• Don't try to guess the reader's zone. Gmail scans images before showing them and doesn't let senders learn where the reader is, so the IP address won't help you localize the time.
• Watch the week the clocks change. In 2026, Europe falls back on October 25 and the US on November 1. Between those dates, New York and London are 4 hours apart instead of 5. A webinar on October 29 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern starts at 5:00 p.m. in London, not 6:00. The timer handles it; check your copy.

If you run the same webinar every week, use a weekly recurring timer (Starter plan). You pick the day and time, and the GIF always counts to the next session, including after a clock change. It fits a welcome email or a newsletter footer inviting people to your Thursday demo.

Sample sequence

This is a suggestion. Adjust the days to your event.

One URL covers the first four emails, because they all count to the same moment.

After the live session

Once the timer hits zero, anyone who opens the email sees "We are live." During the event that's exactly what they need. Two days later the same email is still in their inbox, and the message no longer helps.

Timers can be edited after the email is sent. When the session ends, change the expired message to something like "Replay available" (up to 80 characters), or choose to hide the GIF behind a 1-pixel transparent image. The change also reaches emails you've already sent, because the GIF is rendered on every open.

The GIF doesn't carry a link of its own. If the button in your emails points to an event page you control, rather than straight to the video room, you can put the replay on that page and the old links keep working. Then send an email with the replay.

Things worth knowing

Apple Mail. With Mail Privacy Protection on, Apple downloads images in the background when the email arrives, and Klaviyo warns that countdowns may not render correctly in Apple Mail because of that preloading. Always put the date and time in the copy.

Outlook. According to Microsoft, Outlook for Microsoft 365, 2021 and 2024 animate the GIF unless Windows animations are turned off. Outlook 2007, 2010 and 2013 show the first frame, according to Klaviyo. In our GIF that frame is complete and shows the time left at open.

Background. The generator's style is light, meant for white email templates. If your template is dark, change the colors or turn on the transparent background with light digits.

How to set it up in your ESP

The invite usually goes out as a campaign, and the confirmation and reminders as an automation triggered by signup. Either way, the timer goes in the same block:

• HubSpot. An HTML module. Workflow emails are automated emails, which HubSpot limits to Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise.
• Mailchimp. A Code block, in campaigns and automations alike.
• Klaviyo. An HTML block, the same in campaigns and flows.
• Shopify Email. A custom Liquid section, if you're announcing the session to your store's customers.

If the live session is a product reveal, see the product launch use case too.