Two to four weeks out: the site
Every launch sends people to one page. It has to explain itself in five seconds and look right when it’s shared.
- Say what it is in one sentence. Above the fold, in visible text: who it’s for and what it does. Use the same sentence everywhere else.
- A share card that works. og:title, og:description and a 1200×630 og:image, plus twitter:card set to summary_large_image. Check it — it shows the card as X, LinkedIn, Slack and Discord draw it.
- A favicon, a title and a meta description. Title under about 60 characters, description 50–160. They’re what search results and browser tabs show.
- Let search and AI crawlers in. robots.txt shouldn’t block Googlebot, OAI-SearchBot, Claude-SearchBot or PerplexityBot. A short /llms.txt is optional and quick. Check both.
- Analytics and error tracking. Know where launch traffic comes from and see what breaks. Set them up before the day, not on it.
- A way to stay in touch. An email signup, a changelog or a community link, so a visitor who isn’t ready today can come back.
- Try it as a stranger. Sign up in a private window on your phone. Fix every step that makes you wait or guess.
Two weeks out: the listing
Write it once, well, and reuse it on every board.
- Name. Just the name, no tagline glued on. 40 characters at most on Launchdog.
- Tagline. What it does, in 60 characters or fewer (Product Hunt’s limit too). No “revolutionary”, no “best”: say the job it does.
- Description. 150–1,200 characters: the problem, who has it, how you solve it, what it costs. Product Hunt wants a shorter one (260).
- A square logo. At least 240×240, readable at thumbnail size.
- Screenshots. Two to 6 real screens of the product doing its job, in a 16:10-ish frame; a short video or GIF if motion explains it better.
- Categories and the stack. Pick 1–3 categories, and list what you built it with: makers browse by both.
- A first comment. Who you are, why you built it, what’s next, and one specific question for the people reading.
Ten days out: where and when
Most makers launch in two or three places. Spread them out so each gets your full attention.
- Pick your boards. Compare the launch boards: daily, weekly or monthly, free or paid, the link you get and who’s watching.
- Book the dates. Product Hunt schedules up to 30 days ahead (how it works). A free Launchdog week books at least 7 days out and needs the Launchdog badge on your site's home page; a paid week needs nothing beyond the listing.
- Clear the day. Launch on a day you can spend answering comments for the first several hours.
- Line up your people. Tell your list, friends and communities the date. Ask them for feedback and comments, never for upvotes: most boards forbid it.
Launch day
- Check every link. The listing, your site, signup and checkout, on a phone too.
- Post your first comment. Right after the launch goes live.
- Share it. Your list, X, LinkedIn, Bluesky and the communities you’re actually part of — with a line about why it exists, not just a link.
- Answer everyone. Every comment, bug report and question, the same day. It’s the most valuable part of the launch.
The week after
- Thank people. Reply to the last comments and thank whoever shared it.
- Write down what happened. Visits, signups, where they came from, what people asked. It tells you which board to use next time.
- Ship what people asked for. Then tell them. A changelog post is a reason to come back.
- Keep the badges and links. Add the launch badges you earned to your site, and keep your listings accurate: they keep sending visitors, and AI assistants quote them.
Launching on Launchdog
On Launchdog your AI coding agent does the listing part of this checklist: it drafts the copy from your site, adds the logo and screenshots, works through what the listing still needs and books the week you pick. Launch with your agent.