What to make
Product Hunt launch checklist: everything to prepare, from the gallery to launch day
By the Voom team Published 4 min read
To launch on Product Hunt, post from a personal account that has finished onboarding, prepare a tagline of up to 60 characters, a 240 by 240 thumbnail, at least two 1270 by 760 gallery images and an optional YouTube video, write a first comment, and schedule the post for 12:01 AM Pacific time.
Before you start: the account
Product Hunt’s help centre sets two conditions before you can post at all:
- A personal account. Company accounts cannot hunt or post products.
- Onboarding finished. Newly created accounts must complete Product Hunt’s onboarding before they can post, so create the account well before launch week.
You do not need a hunter. Product Hunt recommends posting your own product, which gives you full control of the launch.
The post, field by field
Every field below is from Product Hunt’s help centre and launch guide.
| Field | What to prepare |
|---|---|
| URL | A direct link to the product page, not a press article or a blog post; app store links come next |
| Name | Only the product’s name, with no description or emoji unless they are part of the name |
| Tagline | A very short, plain description, up to 60 characters; it usually decides whether people click |
| Launch tags | Up to three tags that strongly relate to the product |
| Thumbnail | Square, 240 by 240 recommended; a GIF must be under 3 MB and only animates on hover |
| Pricing | Free, paid, or paid with a free trial or plan |
| Status | Mark it if the product is in beta or not yet available |
| Gallery | Images at 1270 by 760; at least two before the gallery shows; drag to reorder |
| Video (optional) | A full YouTube link to a video that is not private |
| Interactive demo (optional) | A Product Hunt link from Arcade, Storylane, ScreenSpace, Hexus, Supademo or Layerpath |
| Description | Up to 260 characters on what the product is and does |
| Promo (optional) | The offer, the code and an expiry date, all three required |
| Makers | Each maker by their Product Hunt username |
| Shoutouts | Up to three tools that helped you build it |
| First comment | Your introduction, posted as soon as the launch goes live |
The gallery and the video
The gallery is the first thing a visitor sees after the tagline. Product Hunt’s launch guide says about 53% of products that reached Product of the Day since 2021 included a video, and that if you have no budget for a polished one, a quick demo still helps the community see the product in action.
- Order matters. Put the video first, then images that each show one thing the product does.
- Make the video wide. A 16:9 film sits naturally beside 1270 by 760 images.
- Upload it early. Upload to YouTube before launch day, check it is not private and paste the full link, because shortened links do not load.
For the video itself, specs, a 60-second script and the first-five-seconds rule, read how to make a Product Hunt launch video.
The first comment
Product Hunt’s launch guide calls the first comment a very important part of the launch: 70% of products that achieved Product of the Day, Week or Month had a first comment by the maker. It appears right below the gallery. Product Hunt suggests including:
- The key features.
- Who it is for: the ideal users and use cases.
- Your story.
- Your goals, such as specific feedback you want.
- Any pricing or a special offer for the community.
- A request for feedback, not upvotes.
A launch timeline
The timing is our suggestion; the rules in each step are Product Hunt’s.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Two weeks before | Create a personal account if you need one, finish onboarding and get to know how launches on Product Hunt work |
| One week before | Write the tagline, the description and the first comment; make the gallery images and the video |
| A few days before | Upload the video to YouTube, create the post as a draft and fill every field; schedule it, up to a month ahead is allowed |
| The night before | Check the YouTube link plays, the gallery has at least two images and the thumbnail is right |
| Launch day, 12:01 AM Pacific | The post goes live; publish the first comment straight away |
| During the day | Share the launch with your audience, answer every comment, ask for feedback rather than upvotes |
When to launch
Product Hunt’s homepage runs on a 24-hour cycle in Pacific time, so the usual advice is to schedule for 12:01 AM Pacific, which gives your product the whole day. Product Hunt also notes that the best time to launch is simply when you are ready, and that you can launch again after you have updated the product.
Your launch video, made from your link
If the video is the item still missing from your checklist, paste your product link into Voom and describe the launch. It reads your site, keeps your colours, type, logo and product pictures, and returns a finished 16:9 film with a voice-over, an original score and captions, plus square and vertical versions for your launch posts. See the Product Hunt launch video page for a full example.
Made with Voom: A Product Hunt launch film made from a product link: Voom’s own
Settings: Size: 16:9, Length: 60 s set, 60 s finished, Voice: Charon, Captions: Off, Link: madewithvoom.com
Read the transcript
You have a product to launch, a launch day booked, and a film still to make. That's the week. So type it, or paste a product link. Voom turns either into a finished video. Paste your product link, and Voom keeps your colours, your type, your logo, and the product pictures worth showing. There are no preset themes: each video gets a design made for it, and only it. Every word on screen is set in real type, so it stays crisp at every size. Twenty voices, each able to speak every language Voom offers, with captions and an original score for the film. Choose 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 or 4:5, for films from fifteen seconds up to three minutes. Fix a word on screen, or remake the whole film in another size. Adding a product is free, and your first video is free too. It starts with a prompt. Make a video, free, today.
Frequently asked questions
At 12:01 AM Pacific time. Product Hunt's homepage runs on a 24-hour cycle in Pacific time, so posting at 12:01 AM gives your product a full day. You can schedule the post up to a month ahead.
No. Product Hunt's help centre recommends posting your own product and says a hunter is not necessary; posting yourself gives you full control over the launch. You need a personal account, because company accounts cannot post.
Product Hunt recommends 1270 by 760 pixels, and the gallery needs at least two images before it shows. The thumbnail should be square, 240 by 240 recommended; an animated GIF must be under 3 MB and only plays on hover.
Product Hunt's launch guide sets the tagline at a maximum of 60 characters, and the help centre gives the description up to 260 characters. Keep the tagline plain: it is usually what makes someone click your product on the homepage.
No. Product Hunt's own advice for the first comment is to ask for feedback, not upvotes. Share the launch with your audience and invite them to try the product and comment.
Sources
- Product Hunt Help Center, “How to post a product” , accessed 23 October 2026, https://help.producthunt.com/en/articles/479557-how-to-post-a-product
- Product Hunt, “Preparing for launch” , accessed 23 October 2026, https://www.producthunt.com/launch/preparing-for-launch
About this guide
Written by the Voom team with AI assistance, and checked against the sources listed with it before publishing.
