Countdowns, pre-registration and campaign ended pages

Special pages show at a certain moment in the campaign's life: before it starts, or after it ends. You add them with Add page under Flow. Countdown and Pre-registration are part of the Special formats add-on, or included in plans that have it. Campaign ended is available to everyone.

Countdown, pre-registration and campaign ended pages are for landing page campaigns, not popups.

Add a countdown before launch

1. Under Flow, click Add page and choose Countdown. The page reads "The campaign starts in:" with a countdown below.
2. Click the countdown and choose the Type:
   • Campaign start: counts down to the campaign's start date. This is the best choice for a launch.
   • End date: counts down to a date and time you choose.
   • Hours: counts down a set time (Days, Hours, Minutes, Seconds) from the moment the page is opened.
3. Choose the Format: 12 hour clock or 24 hour clock.
4. Choose which units to show: Show days, Show hours, Show minutes and Show seconds.
5. On the Styles tab, set the Font, the Text color and the Alignment.
6. On the Settings tab, turn on Reload page on expire, so the campaign appears by itself when the countdown reaches zero.
7. Publish the campaign with a start date in the future. People see the countdown page until the campaign starts.

More settings: Hide countdown on expire hides the countdown at zero, and Hide counter unit on expire hides units that have reached zero.

You can also add the Countdown element to any other page, for example "Only 2 hours left to play".

Let people pre-register

A pre-registration page lets people sign up before the campaign starts, so you can tell them when it opens.

1. Under Flow, click Add page and choose Pre-registration. Scratcher also adds a Pre-registration finish page, which people see after signing up.
2. Add a form to the pre-registration page, with the fields you need and consent to contact them.
3. Publish the campaign with a start date in the future.
4. Send an email to the pre-registered people when the campaign opens. See Send emails to players.

Sign-ups before the start date are counted as pre-registrations on the dashboard. Pre-registering doesn't use up a person's participation: someone who pre-registered can still play when the campaign starts, even with the limit Once.

Show a page when the campaign has ended

1. Under Flow, click Add page and choose Campaign ended.
2. Write your text: thank people, tell them when and how the winners are found, and link to your shop or your next campaign.

People see this page after the end date, or after you stop the campaign.

Photo and file uploads

The File Upload element lets people upload a photo, for example for a photo competition. You see the uploaded files on each lead in the Data tab. On the element's Settings tab, the File type is Image, and File name (used for export) sets the name the files get in your lead export. Make sure your terms explain how you use the photos.

Common problems

• People see the countdown instead of the campaign. The campaign's start date is still in the future. Check the start date and the campaign's Timezone under Settings > Localization.
• The countdown shows a different time for some visitors. With the type End date, the date and time are read in each visitor's own time zone. For a launch, use Campaign start, which follows the campaign's start date exactly.
• The countdown resets when the page is reloaded. That is the Hours type: it starts again each time the page opens. Use End date or Campaign start for a fixed moment.
• The campaign doesn't appear at zero. Turn on Reload page on expire, or ask people to reload the page.
• I can't add a countdown or pre-registration page. They need the Special formats add-on, and they aren't available in popup campaigns.

Calendars, leaderboards and interactive graphics have their own articles: Advent and Christmas calendars, Leaderboards and Interactive graphic.