How to Create a Live Countdown Timer in Canva (Step-by-Step)

If you're creating your Canva wedding website, online save the date, or even a digital wedding invitation, you might be wondering how to add a live countdown timer to build excitement and anticipation for your big day.

In this tutorial, I’ll show you exactly how to embed a live countdown into your Canva website using the free tool TickCounter. It takes just a few minutes, and you don’t need any technical skills — just a free TickCounter account and your Canva design.

Step 1: Create a Free Account on TickCounter

Head over to TickCounter.com and sign up for a free account. This allows you to save all your countdowns in one place and edit them anytime in the future.

Once logged in, go to the countdown creation page and set:

• Date of your event
• Time
• Time zone

This ensures your countdown displays correctly, no matter where your guests are in the world.

Step 2: Set Up Your Countdown Details

• Name your event — this helps you organize countdowns in your TickCounter account.

  Optional: If you'd like the event name to appear above your timer, check the “Show name” box.
  ✨ Pro tip: In our Canva templates, we leave this unchecked and instead add a stylish title directly in Canva using the same fonts and colors as the design for a more cohesive and beautiful look.

• Select "Show units names" to make it clear whether you're counting days, hours, minutes, etc.
• Choose a clean, modern font like Helvetica, Open Sans, or Lato for a minimal look.
• Leave width, height, and horizontal padding at default settings — you’ll adjust the size directly in Canva later.

Step 3: Make the Background Transparent

• Background image: Select None
• Background color: Select Transparent

• You’ll add your own styled background or colored box in Canva to match your template perfectly.

Step 4: Match the Countdown Colors to Your Canva Design

To keep your countdown visually consistent with your Canva website, you'll want to use the same colors for the numbers and labels.

Here’s how to find the color codes in Canva:

1. Select any text, background, or element in your design.

2. Click on the color box in the top toolbar.

3. Copy the hex code (e.g. #F4B6C2) that appears under the color picker.

Use this code to set:

• Name color (if you’ve chosen to display the name)
• Digits and Last unit color (for the countdown numbers)
  
  
• Border settings:
• Border color: set opacity to 0%
• Border width: set to 0px
• Countdown behavior: Set it to “Stop counting on 0”

Once everything is set, click “Make Countdown” to generate your timer.

Step 5: Copy the Countdown Link

After creating your countdown, copy the Share Link — it will look something like this:

https://www.tickcounter.com/countdown/8906676/my-countdown

🔔 Important: You do not need the embed code. Just copy the share link.

Step 6: Add the Countdown to Your Canva Website

1. Open your Canva website design.

2. On the left sidebar, click “Apps” and search for “Embed”

3. Click the Embed app, paste your TickCounter link, and click “Add to Design”

You’ll now see your live countdown appear directly in your Canva design!

You can resize and reposition the countdown as needed to fit your layout.

Step 7: Hide the TickCounter Watermark

TickCounter adds a small “T” watermark at the bottom of the countdown. To keep your design clean:

• Add a small square shape over the watermark using the same color as your background
• Resize it to cover the logo
• Lock the shape in place so it doesn’t shift around

Boom — polished, professional, and fully on-brand.

Finish Your Design with One of Our Templates

Now that you’ve added your live Canva countdown, take your design even further with our matching templates:

• Explore Our Wedding Website Templates
• Shop Online Save the Date Templates
• Browse Our Digital Wedding Invitations

Edit the Countdown on our Canva Website Templates

💡 If you’ve purchased one of our Canva website templates that already includes a countdown timer placeholder, you can simply replace our existing TickCounter link with the one you just created. That way, the timer is already styled and placed for you — all you need to do is update the link in the “Embed” element.

✨ Note: Our templates also include a small square shape placed over the TickCounter “T” watermark for a cleaner look. If your new countdown doesn’t line up exactly:

1. Unlock the square shape (click the padlock icon in Canva).

2. Reposition it so it neatly covers the new countdown's watermark.

3. Lock it again once it’s in the right place to keep your design tidy.

Final Thoughts

With this simple step-by-step guide, you’ve learned how to add a countdown in Canva using a free external tool. Whether you’re prepping for your big day or launching something special, this little design hack will take your website to the next level.

Let us know how your countdown turned out — and don’t forget to tag us when you share your site! 💕