Product launch checklist for indie makers

Before launch: make the promise clear

1. Positioning. Write one sentence naming your intended user, the problem you solve and the outcome they get. Ask someone in that audience to explain it back without your help.
2. Landing page basics. Put that promise, a real product screenshot and one clear action near the top. Show an example of the result. Check every signup, download and contact link on a phone.
3. Pricing clarity. State the price, currency, billing period and any usage limits before signup. Explain what a free plan includes, what a trial requires and how cancellation works. Remove any offer you cannot deliver.
4. Legal pages. Publish privacy and terms pages that match what your product actually does. List a working contact address. Explain what data you collect, why you need it and how a user can request deletion.
5. Social preview images. Set a page title, description, canonical URL and social preview image. Check the shared URL in a message preview. Make sure the image is publicly accessible and the title makes sense without your logo.

Before launch: test the entire journey

1. Onboarding. Create a fresh account in a private browser window. Complete the first useful task without admin privileges. Test email confirmation, password reset, empty states and recovery from a failed request.
2. Performance. Test your landing page and core workflow on a narrow screen and a slow connection. Compress large images, give images explicit dimensions and remove scripts that delay the main action.
3. Analytics. Choose one activation event that means a user received value. Verify that a test visit and activation appear in your analytics. Respect consent choices and avoid sending personal data in event names or URLs.
4. Launch measurement. Record your starting visits, signups and activations using your own data. Add distinct campaign parameters to each sharing link. Decide when you will review results and what decision each metric will inform.
5. Reliability. Check error reporting and your support inbox. Test a backup restore on a separate environment. Prepare a way to undo the release if the main workflow breaks.
6. Support preparation. Write short answers to likely setup and pricing questions. Prepare a demo account or recording using safe sample inputs. Set aside time to help the first users personally.

Launch day: share with context

1. Final smoke test. Open the public URL while logged out. Check signup and the first useful action again. Confirm that your contact address receives mail before you start sharing.
2. Your own audience. Send a concise message to people who asked for updates, including your newsletter subscribers. Explain who the product helps, show what it does and include one link. Keep every claim grounded in what is available today.
3. Communities you already belong to. Read each community's sharing rules first. Explain the problem, what you built and the specific feedback you need. Share where the topic is relevant and stay available to answer questions.
4. Direct outreach. Contact a small number of people whose work matches the problem. Make each message specific to their needs, ask permission to show the product and stop if they are not interested.
5. Clear feedback request. Ask visitors to try one task and tell you where they got stuck. Keep a simple log of the task, the friction they reported and whether you can reproduce it.

After launch: turn attention into learning

1. Follow ups. Reply to questions and thank people for concrete feedback. Follow up with people who asked for help. When a reported issue is fixed, tell the person what changed and invite them to try again.
2. Feedback loop. Group reports by the problem they describe. Prioritize broken core tasks before adding features. Choose one improvement, ship it and check whether the same friction appears for the next users.
3. Measure outcomes. Compare visits, signups and activations by source over the same date range. Check whether new users return to complete the core task. Small samples are uncertain, so pair the numbers with conversations.
4. SEO basics. Check that public pages return successful responses, have unique titles and use the intended canonical URLs. Keep private pages out of search, submit your sitemap and link useful guides to relevant product pages.
5. Keep the listing accurate. Update screenshots, pricing and setup guidance after meaningful changes. Write a short release note that explains the user benefit. Remove promises that no longer match the product.

Final step: submit your product to RadarMakers

When your product is ready for people to try, submit it to RadarMakers. Use a clear tagline, explain the problem it solves and include real screenshots. After approval, share your product page and ask for specific feedback.