The latest articles on DEV Community by Indie Need (@indieneed). https://dev.to/indieneed https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F4231536%2F53461d59-fbc7-405e-97d8-0d246f051fcd.jpg https://dev.to/indieneed en Indie Need Sat, 07 Nov 2026 06:10:23 +0000 https://dev.to/indieneed/a-launch-readiness-checklist-for-show-hn-and-developer-communities-1eai https://dev.to/indieneed/a-launch-readiness-checklist-for-show-hn-and-developer-communities-1eai <p>IndieNeed is a small launch site for indie makers. Free listings are reviewed by a person before they go live.</p> <p>As of November 7, 2026, the site had 702 products live, 112 scheduled and 54 rejected all-time. We haven't published an analysis of why each rejection happened, so this post doesn't guess. It sets out the rules a listing is checked against, which are public, and the practical check each one implies for any launch.</p> <p><strong>It must not deceive or harm.</strong> IndieNeed's content policy rules out malware, phishing, scams, products "designed to deceive or defraud", IP or privacy infringement, and hate or harassment. Practical check: your landing page should say plainly what the product does and what data it collects.</p> <p><strong>Regulated claims need care.</strong> Products in finance, health or security "must be described accurately and must not make unsupported claims." Practical check: remove any number or guarantee you can't show evidence for.</p> <p><strong>A relaunch needs a real change.</strong> A product can launch again for meaningful updates, but "repeated launches with no real change are not allowed." Practical check: before a relaunch, write one sentence on what's actually new.</p> <p><strong>Votes must be earned.</strong> Makers may tell their audience they launched, but "may not buy, trade, or incentivise votes"; attempts to game votes or reviews remove the launch from ranking. Practical check: share the launch without buying, trading or incentivising votes.</p> <p><strong>Be there on launch day.</strong> The guidelines ask makers to "be present to answer questions" and to keep the listing accurate. Practical check: block an hour after going live for replies.</p> <p>Which of these do you find hardest to get right before a launch?</p> <p><em>This post was drafted with AI assistance from IndieNeed's published policies and a database count, then checked against those sources. Sources: indieneed.com/legal/content-policy and indieneed.com/legal/launch-guidelines.</em></p> indiehackers startup webdev sideprojects