How to Update Your Plan on Essential Countdown Timer (and How Timer Views Work)

Essential Countdown Timer uses a views-based pricing model, which means your plan is based on how many times your countdown timers are shown on your store each month.

In this guide, we’ll explain:

How to upgrade or downgrade your plan
How timer views are counted
What happens when you reach your monthly limit
When views reset and what to expect

This will help you better understand your usage and avoid surprises 😊

Let’s walk through it step by step 👇

📌 Before We Start – A Few Important Things to Know

All plan changes are handled directly by Shopify
Views are not based on unique visitors
Every time a timer loads, it counts as a view
You will not be charged extra for exceeding your view limit
If limits are exceeded and no upgrade is made, timers will be unpublished automatically 3 days after the email notification
Views reset automatically on the 1st day of each month

1️⃣ How to Update Your Plan

You can change your plan at any time directly from inside the app.

Steps:

Open Essential Countdown Timer
Go to Pricing plans from the left-hand menu
Choose the plan you’d like to switch to
Confirm the change in Shopify’s billing window

Once confirmed, Shopify automatically applies the change. No additional setup is required.

📌 Good to know:

If you uninstall the app, Shopify will automatically cancel any active paid plan.

2️⃣ How Timer Views Are Counted (Very Important)

The views counter does not track unique visitors. A view is counted every time a countdown timer loads on your store.

This means:

One visitor can generate multiple views
Refreshing the page counts as a new view
Visiting multiple pages with timers counts multiple views
Publishing multiple timers increases total views
Views are counted whether the visitor is:
- A customer
- A developer
- Or you browsing your own store

Because the system can’t distinguish between visitor types, all timer loads are counted equally.

3️⃣ What Happens When You Reach Your Monthly View Limit?

If your store reaches the monthly view limit for your plan:

You will not be charged for extra views
You will receive an email notification
If the plan is not upgraded within 3 days, all published countdown timers will be unpublished automatically

This prevents additional views from being counted.

📌 Important:

Unpublishing does not delete your timers. They remain saved in the app and can be republished at any time.

4️⃣ When Do Timer Views Reset?

Timer views reset automatically on the 1st day of each month.

No manual action is required
Once reset, timers can be published again
View usage starts counting from zero for the new month

5️⃣ What Happens After Downgrading or Cancelling a Plan?

If you downgrade or cancel your plan:

Paid-plan features may no longer be available
Free plan limits will apply
Timers that exceed free limits may be unpublished
No additional charges will be applied for exceeding limits

All billing adjustments follow Shopify’s standard subscription rules.

💡 Tips to Manage Your Timer Views

Here are a few simple ways to keep your view usage under control:

Avoid placing timers on unnecessary pages
Remove timers you’re no longer using
Be mindful when showing timers across many products or collections
Remember that testing and previewing your store also counts as views

✅ Notes

Timer views are counted per widget load, not per visitor
Exceeding your view limit does not cause extra charges
Timers are automatically unpublished after 3 days if no upgrade is made
Views reset on the 1st of every month
All plan changes are managed safely through Shopify

If you’re unsure which plan fits your store best or want help reviewing your usage, our support team is always happy to help 💙