Webinars have two timing problems. Before the session, early joiners stare at a static slide wondering if anything will happen. During it, presenters lose the clock and the Q&A eats the ending. A webinar countdown solves both: a visible timer to the start, then segment timing while you present.
MaestroTimer covers both phases from one room, in the browser. Here is the setup for each.
The starting-soon countdown
The pre-webinar countdown should run itself — you are testing audio, not babysitting a clock.
The steps:
- Create a room and add a timer scheduled to start at your published time, with the duration of your waiting window.
- Open the room's viewer link and share that window as your waiting screen — or add it as a browser source if you produce the webinar through streaming software.
- Set a wrap-up threshold so the final minute reads differently — early joiners see the start approaching.
- The countdown begins on schedule whether or not you are ready, which is exactly the pressure a start time should have.
Timing the session itself
Once live, the timer moves off the audience screen and onto yours. Keep the viewer open beside your presentation — second monitor, phone, or a browser window next to your notes — with one timer per segment: intro, content blocks, demo, Q&A.
Linked timers advance the plan automatically, wrap-up thresholds warn you into each landing, and a co-host runs the controller from their own device — adding time when a section deserves it, trimming the Q&A when it does not. For panel-style webinars, count-up mode keeps discussion honest without a deadline on screen.
When attendees should see the clock
Some formats want the audience to see time: workshops with timed exercises, structured Q&A, anything with breaks. Drop the viewer link in the webinar chat and attendees open the live countdown in their own browsers — nothing installed, and it survives whatever the screen share does.
The live connections view lists every attached device, so before the session you can confirm the waiting screen, your co-host, and your own second monitor are all receiving.
FAQ
How do I show a countdown before my webinar starts?
Schedule a timer for your published start time and share the viewer as your waiting screen — it begins on its own, and the final-minute threshold signals the start is close.
How do I keep a webinar on time while presenting?
One timer per segment on a screen beside your notes, linked so they advance automatically. A co-host on the controller adjusts time without interrupting you.
Can attendees see the timer during exercises or breaks?
Yes — put the viewer link in the chat and each attendee watches the same live countdown in their browser.
Does this work with Zoom, Teams, and webinar platforms?
Yes. The timer is a web page: share it as a screen, add it as a browser source in your production software, or let attendees open the link directly.
Start your next webinar on the clock
MaestroTimer runs in the browser: a scheduled starting-soon countdown, segment timers beside your notes, and a synced controller for your co-host.