How to Launch Your Product on Next Launch
A step-by-step guide to submitting your product, choosing a launch date, and completing Free badge verification or Premium payment on Next Launch.
Launching on Next Launch starts with a product page and an available date. Before your launch can go ahead, you also need to complete badge verification for a Free launch or payment for a Premium launch.
This guide walks through the current submission form, what to prepare, and how to check that your project is ready for launch day.
Before you start
Have these essentials ready:
- Project name and website URL. Use a working, public URL that visitors can open. The submission form checks whether that website URL has already been submitted.
- A short description. Explain who the product is for, what it helps them do, and what they can try first. The editor supports formatted text.
- A logo. Upload a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or AVIF file up to 1 MB. A square image, such as 256 × 256 pixels, is recommended.
- Categories, platforms, and pricing model. Choose one to three relevant categories, at least one platform, and the pricing model that describes your product.
You can also add a product image and links to GitHub and Twitter/X. For the optional product image, use a file up to 1 MB in one of the supported image formats; a 16:9 image, such as 800 × 450 pixels, is recommended.
If you choose a Free launch, make sure you can edit the website you are submitting. You will need to add a Next Launch badge to it and verify the link before the project is scheduled.
1. Sign in and open the submission form
Go to Submit a Project. If you are signed out, you will be asked to sign in first.
The form has four steps: Project Info, Details, Launch Date, and Review. Use Next to continue and Previous to revisit an earlier step before submitting.
2. Add your project information
Enter your project name, website URL, and description, then upload your logo. Add a product image if a screenshot or preview would help visitors understand the product.
A useful description answers three questions: Who is this for? What problem does it solve? What can someone do with it today?
For example, a task manager could say:
A shared task board for freelance designers working with clients. Organize deliverables, collect feedback, and show clients what is ready for review in one place.
Use concrete capabilities that your product already offers. Save broad claims about being the best or fastest for evidence you can actually show.
3. Choose categories, platforms, and pricing
In Details, select one to three categories that match the product. Choose the platforms it supports and its pricing model. GitHub and Twitter/X links are optional.
The pricing model here describes your product. It is separate from the Free or Premium launch plan you choose in the next step. A paid product can use a Free launch, and a free product can use a Premium launch.
4. Pick a launch plan and an available date
The Launch Date step shows the available dates and remaining slots for your selected plan. A full date cannot be selected. Each account can schedule one project per launch date.
The current options are:
| Free launch | Premium launch | |
|---|---|---|
| Launch fee | $0 | $9 per launch |
| Required after submission | Add and verify the Next Launch badge on your website | Complete payment |
| Scheduling window | From tomorrow, up to 180 days ahead | From tomorrow, up to 30 days ahead |
| Daily plan capacity | 5 Free slots | 10 Premium slots |
Availability can change as other makers book dates. Premium uses its own slot allocation; check the calendar for the actual dates available. It does not guarantee a ranking or a particular number of visitors, votes, or customers. See Pricing for the current offer before submitting.
Launch dates use 00:00 UTC (08:00 in Beijing). The form also shows the selected time in your local timezone. Scheduled projects become active through the daily launch job shortly after the start of the UTC day, so do not plan around activation at the exact second of midnight.
5. Review and submit
The Review step summarizes your project information, categories, platforms, product pricing, launch plan, and selected date. Check the website URL, uploaded images, and timezone carefully, then choose Submit Project.
Submitting the form creates your project, but there is one more step before the launch is ready: badge verification or payment.
For a Free launch: verify your badge
After submission, you are taken to the badge verification page. Your project stays unpublished while it is waiting for verification.
- Choose the light or dark badge to suit your website.
- Copy the supplied embed code and place it in your website footer.
- Publish the website change at the URL you submitted.
- Return to Next Launch and click Verify badge now.
The verifier fetches the submitted website URL and looks for the link to Next Launch in the page HTML. A badge added only by JavaScript after the page loads cannot be detected. Put the embed code in the initial HTML, such as a server-rendered or static footer.
When verification succeeds, the project moves to Scheduled. Complete verification before your selected launch date. You can return to pending badge verification from your Dashboard. If you prefer to skip the badge requirement, the verification page also offers a paid upgrade.
For a Premium launch: complete payment
After submission, you are redirected to checkout. Complete payment to confirm the Premium launch. Creating a project or opening checkout alone does not complete this step.
If checkout fails or you leave it unfinished, check your Dashboard before submitting the same website again. Confirm the existing project and its status rather than creating a duplicate.
6. Check your dashboard and prepare for launch day
Open your Dashboard after completing verification or payment. Confirm that the project is scheduled for the date you chose. On launch day, it moves to the active launches; after the daily launch cycle, it appears among your previous launches.
Share your Next Launch project page with people who would find the product useful. Use the comments to answer questions and collect feedback. Daily rankings are based on votes; placing in the top three can earn a ranking badge after results are calculated.
The badge used to verify a Free submission is separate from an earned ranking badge. Adding the submission badge does not mean your product has won a daily ranking.
Common submission problems
My website has already been submitted
The form checks for an existing website URL. Look for the existing project and check your dashboard before trying again. If a previous attempt created the project but failed to schedule it, check that project first.
Badge verification cannot find my link
Check the exact URL you submitted. It must be publicly accessible, return a successful response, and include the badge link in its initial HTML. A link on a different page, behind a login, or injected only after JavaScript runs will not satisfy that check. Publish your changes, then retry verification.
My preferred launch date is unavailable
Choose another date with remaining slots. Also check whether you already have a project scheduled for that day: the account limit is one project per launch date. Switching plans clears the selected date, so select it again from the new plan's calendar.
Ready to launch?
Prepare your product details, choose an available date, and finish verification or payment. Then check your dashboard to confirm the scheduled launch.