Alex Polonski

Sorry for the late reply.

Yes, this plugin is abandoned. I hope it should still work on current version of WP.

I cannot advise you a similar plugin because I’m not aware of recent WP development.

Sorry about that.

This plugin is not available any more, sorry.

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by Alex Polonski.

It means that simplexml PHP extension is not installed on your server. You can ask your hosting provider or configure it yourself if you have required privileges.

https://www.php.net/manual/en/book.simplexml.php

Now I see the issue. I’m not sure why you display countdown timer in sopping cart – it is the same as you show on shop page.

Really, sometimes it works. It depends on which script is run first – sidebar shopping cart or Smart Countdown FX ajax. Smart Countdown admin ajax requires wp_nonce token, so if it’s not set in request, code_err: 100 is returned.

I’m not sure we can fix it. I propose that you keep shop page countdown that works and remove any additional counters from sidebar cart.

OK, now I get it. I cannot test it because a valid zip-code is required to proceed, I think. Can you provide a sample zip-code, so I can get to the shopping cart?

Sorry for the late response. I remember entering earlier and for me it worked: https://haverickmeatstoyou.com.au/shop/

There are some layout issues, but the counter itself looks good. So I thought the problem was already solved.

However, I have you page open right now and there is no error in smartcountdown-3 AJAX response.

Maybe I’m missing something.

It depends on how plugin code is rendered in block. Timer plugin needs to run some Ajax requests to get current settings, events, etc. If it fails to do so, it starts from scratch, i.e. for 0 seconds – looks like this is the issue you report.

I will check your link in my browser dev tools and come back here if I have suggestions.

Unfortunately this feature is not supported any more. Google has changed API and authentication flow and original plugin has stopped working.

I have removed it from WP plugins directory.

This is weird. What it right now running in wp.smartcalc.org footer is a widget. This widget is configured using core WP appearence / widgets admin section. Maybe page builder affects it in some way (not sure if you can add widgets in page builder).

Widget settings do not match shortcode attributes 1=1. If you followed https://wp.smartcalc.org/reference/ SMART COUNTDOWN FX OPTIONS guide, you should have got exactly same result for both widget and shortcode.

Event import plugin adds another layer of possible configuration issues.

I would first try to create a test widget in core WP admin, just plain counter without event import, and see if it works.

Thank you for reporting. I have update WP version in readme.txt, should look good now.

Yes, there is a bunch of layout presets included.
However you can tweak and create your custom layouts.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by Alex Polonski.

I perfectly understand your doubts, and sorry about the issue. I’m not an expert in methods providers use to detect resources abuse, however I don’t think that unique visitors number really matters. The number of AJAX requests to counter plugin depends on activity of any user (new or returning) who opens your site.

If you have counter widget visible on all pages then such request is also triggered when visitors browse your web following navigation links (e.g. go to another post or page). Depends on your web structure but think that numerous AJAX requests to counter plugin will be done during the same visitor session.

Also total calls count is not so critical providing that these calls are spread in time more or less evenly. Maybe there was an event that motivated a lot of users to visit your web at the same time (e.g. live streaming, etc.)?

Honestly speaking I have no advice, sorry. I have a similar plugin for Joomla (also using AJAX to get events queue) which has more installs that the WP one and this is the first time a customer reports resources abuse caused by countdown plugin.

I will check if there is a reasonable solution for caching some AJAX responses without losing counter precision. Not sure though.

Each Smart Countdown widget instance calls server via AJAX to get current events queue on each page load. This is how it works and there is nothing I can do about it. This approach supports event import plugins, so additional call to scd_query_next_event is done every time current event is over (only applies if you are using Easy Recurring Events plugin).

If you have many counter instances on your site page scd_query_next_event calls count increases proportionally.

Your hosting provider might have changed CPU usage policy to a more restrictive one. Just ask them. The DB query serving events queue shouldn’t be too slow, unless you are using Easy recurring plugin with a lot of short events, e.g. each 15 minutes.

> Also, could your plugin affect how comments are displayed at all?
No, shouldn’t be the case.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 2 months ago by Alex Polonski.

Just published an update. Please, let me know if it works.

You are right. Current plugin version doesn`t support events that last more than 24 hours. I will check the code, it should be an easy fix.