diff --git a/js/charcount.js b/js/charcount.js
index 5c33b70b..d613392d 100644
--- a/js/charcount.js
+++ b/js/charcount.js
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+
 /*
  * charcount.js
  *
@@ -16,14 +17,17 @@ $(document).ready(function(){
 	var $coundownField = $('#countchar');
 	var $maxChars = 6001;
         
+	if ($inputArea.length == 0)
+		return;
+
 	// Preset countdown field to max initial content length
-	$coundownField.text($maxChars - $inputArea.length);
+	$('.countdown').text($maxChars - $inputArea.val().length);
 
 	// input           :: for all modern browsers [1]
 	// selectionchange :: for IE9 [2]
 	// propertychange  :: for <IE9 [3]
 	$inputArea.on('input selectionchange propertychange', function() {
 		$charCount = $maxChars - $inputArea.val().length;
-		$coundownField.text($charCount);
+		$('.countdown').text($charCount);
 	});
 });
\ No newline at end of file