> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.rafflex.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.rafflex.io/customise-your-site/set-up-your-homepage/stats-block-countdown-explained.md).

# Stats Block Countdown

How the Stats one block works on your homepage. The two stats are yours to type, and the countdown automatically targets your soonest closing competition.

The **Stats one** block on your homepage has two parts that work in very different ways, and it is easy to assume you control both. In reality:

* The **two stats** (for example "Total Winners" and "Total Paid Out") are **text you type in yourself**. They never update on their own.
* The **Next Competition:** countdown is **fully automatic**. You cannot choose which competition it counts down to. It always targets the live, publicly listed competition that closes soonest.

Here is what that means in practice.

***

### The two stats are manual text

To edit them:

1. In the **admin panel**, go to **Content**, then **Pages**, and click **Edit** next to **Home**.
2. Find the **Stats one** block. You will see four fields: **Title**, **Value**, **Subtitle** and **Subvalue**.
3. Type your first stat into **Value** (the big number, for example "1,200+") and its label into **Title** (for example "Total Winners").
4. Type your second stat into **Subvalue** (for example "£250k+") and its label into **Subtitle** (for example "Paid Out").
5. Click **Save**.

All four fields are free text, so you can write whatever you like. If you leave one empty, the block shows "tbc" in its place.

{% hint style="warning" %}
These numbers do **not** update automatically. They stay at whatever you last typed until you edit them again. If you advertise a figure here, make a habit of updating it so it stays accurate and trustworthy.
{% endhint %}

#### On phones, only the countdown shows

To keep things tidy on small screens, the two stats are hidden on phones and only the countdown appears. If you want phone visitors to see your headline figures too, add a **Mobile stats** block next to **Stats one**. It shows two short text badges on phones only (for example "1,200+ Winners" and "£250k+ Paid Out"), which you type in the same way.

#### Want figures that update themselves?

The **Stats one** figures are always manual. If you would rather show something that keeps itself up to date, use one of these blocks:

* **Instant Winners Carousel**: a scrolling row of your most recent instant winners, with a count of today's winners.
* **Instant Winners Counter**: a badge showing how many instant wins there have been today, which resets at midnight.

{% hint style="info" %}
The **Winners display** block does not update itself either. It shows the winner photos you upload. See [Page Builder Blocks](/customise-your-site/page-builder-blocks.md) for details of every block.
{% endhint %}

***

### How the countdown picks a competition

The countdown shows the words **Next Competition:** followed by boxes for **Days**, **Hours**, **Minutes** and **Seconds**. It chooses its target for you by looking across all your competitions for the ones that are:

1. **Live**: switched to Active, past their start date, not yet past their end date, and not sold out, and
2. **Publicly listed**: so any hidden or VIP competition is left out.

From those, it counts down to the one with the **soonest end date**. The end date is when entries close, which is not necessarily the same as the draw date.

{% hint style="info" %}
The countdown ignores the rest of your homepage. It does **not** care what is in your [slider](/customise-your-site/set-up-your-homepage/how-the-slider-chooses-competitions.md) or which competitions you are promoting. It does not show the competition's name and is not a link. It simply counts down to the next closing time, which is why it can point at a competition you are not promoting heavily.
{% endhint %}

***

### Why the countdown might point somewhere unexpected

If the countdown seems to be counting to the wrong time, the answer is almost always that **another live competition closes sooner**. A few things are worth knowing:

* **Hidden and VIP competitions are never used.** Even if one closes sooner, the countdown skips it. You can read more in [Hidden VIP Competitions](/create-your-first-raffle/hidden-vip-competitions.md).
* **Scheduled, sold out and already ended competitions are skipped** too. The clock only considers competitions that are open to enter right now.
* **Your only lever is the end date.** If you want the countdown to track a particular competition, that competition needs to be the soonest closing live, listed one.
* **It does not switch instantly.** The countdown remembers its target for up to about an hour. If you launch a new competition that closes sooner, the countdown may keep counting to the old one for a while before it switches over.

***

### A brief odd reading after a competition closes is normal

Just after the targeted competition closes, the countdown can look wrong for a short while. It may show strange or negative looking numbers, because it is still counting to a moment that has already passed. The same can happen if you have no live, listed competitions at all.

{% hint style="success" %}
This is expected and there is nothing to fix. Within about an hour the countdown refreshes, picks the next soonest closing live competition, and looks correct again. If you have no live competitions, it corrects itself once you launch one.
{% endhint %}

***

### Quick recap

* The two stats are **text you type**. Update them yourself to keep them accurate.
* On phones only the countdown shows. Add **Mobile stats** for phone friendly figures.
* The countdown **targets the soonest closing live, publicly listed competition**. You cannot choose it.
* Hidden, scheduled, sold out and ended competitions are never the target.
* To steer the countdown, change end dates.
* For figures that update themselves, use the **Instant Winners Carousel** or **Instant Winners Counter**.
* An odd reading right after a competition closes is temporary and clears itself within about an hour.