How website’s countdown timer works: Can you bypass it?

A countdown timer on a website can do a lot of cool stuff. It can make you feel like you need to hurry up and buy something on sale, count down to a big event, or even stop bots from messing around. How we put these timers into websites can be simple or complicated, using HTML and JavaScript or doing fancy things on the server. We’re going to talk about how these timers work and even peek into how to get around them (but only for good reasons, okay?).

Also see: How to Skip Download Wait Time for Some Websites

Understanding countdown timers

At its heart, a countdown timer is all about figuring out the difference between now and a future time, and then keeping the display updated to show how much time is left.

What the timer looks like

The part of the timer you see is made in HTML. It usually has a bunch of <div> or <span> tags showing days, hours, minutes, and seconds like this:

<div id="timer">
   <span id="days"></span> days 
   <span id="hours"></span> hours 
   <span id="minutes"></span> minutes 
   <span id="seconds"></span> seconds 
</div>

This setup is ready for JavaScript to come in and fill it with life.

Related resource: What is Queue-it on some websites and can you bypass it?

Bringing the timer to life with JavaScript

JavaScript jumps in to calculate the time left and update the HTML tags accordingly:

const endTime = new Date('December 31, 2023 23:59:59').getTime();
function updateTimer() {
   const now = new Date().getTime();
   const distance = endTime - now;

   const days = Math.floor(distance / (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24));
   const hours = Math.floor((distance % (1000 * 60 * 60 * 24)) / (1000 * 60 * 60));
   const minutes = Math.floor((distance % (1000 * 60 * 60)) / (1000 * 60));
   const seconds = Math.floor((distance % (1000 * 60)) / 1000);

   document.getElementById("days").innerHTML = days;
   document.getElementById("hours").innerHTML = hours;
   document.getElementById("minutes").innerHTML = minutes;
   document.getElementById("seconds").innerHTML = seconds;
}

setInterval(updateTimer, 1000);

This script is pretty smart. It does things like:

• Decides an end time.
• Keeps checking how much time is left.
• Fills in the blanks in our HTML with the countdown.

Useful tip: How to Access High Traffic and Very Busy Websites

Why do websites have countdown timers?

Countdown timers aren’t just for looks; they have important jobs like making you want to buy now, getting you excited for events, or keeping bots at bay. Here’s how they’re usually used:

Making you feel like you need to buy now

Lots of shopping websites have timers saying stuff like, “Hurry, sale ends in 5 hours 20 minutes!” It’s a way to make you think, “I gotta buy this now!”

Counting down to events

For things happening online like big launches or events, timers help build excitement. They’re a friendly nudge to keep the date in mind and come back to join in.

Stopping bots in their tracks

Timers can slow down bots that are trying to buy tickets or get sale items before real people can. Pairing a timer with something like a CAPTCHA can help make things fairer.

This is also why you might see timers on ticket or limited-edition item sales. It’s all about giving everyone a fair chance.

Handy guide: DNS Servers to Unblock Websites and Possibly Everything

Getting around a countdown timer on a website

Sometimes, you might want to get past a timer, like if you’re testing something or you’re just really eager. But remember, skipping past website stuff might be against the rules, so always play nice and fair.

Timers that live in your browser

If the timer is just running in your browser, like our JavaScript example, you might be able to tweak it. You can:

1. Pop open the browser’s developer console, usually with F12 or by right-clicking and choosing “Inspect element”.
2. Find and change the JavaScript that’s making the timer tick.

But remember, anything important like sales or events will have extra checks on the server to stop this kind of trick.

Timers that check with the server

If the timer talks to a server to know when to stop, getting around it is much harder. That’s because the server has the final say. Still, you might think about trying these:

1. Playing with the system clock: If the timer checks your computer’s clock, you might try setting your clock forward or backward. But smarter setups can spot this trick and won’t let it slide.
2. Changing session data: Sometimes, timer info is kept in cookies or your browser’s storage. If you know your way around, you might try tweaking these. Yet, solid systems will check to make sure these changes are legit.

Using special browser tools

There are tools and extensions for browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge that let you mess with website content, including timers. Extensions like Greasemonkey or Tampermonkey let you add your own scripts to websites, which could let you control or skip timers.

A quick wrap-up

Countdown timers make websites more interactive, serving all sorts of purposes from marketing to keeping things fair. While you can sometimes fiddle with them on your own computer, real solid timer setups need to check things on the server side.

If you’re making websites or own one, knowing how your timer works is key, especially if it’s doing something important. And for everyone else, while it might be fun to try getting around these timers, always remember to stay respectful and follow the rules online.