Product Hunt Launch Checklist: Gallery, Thumbnail, Tagline and First Comment

A Product Hunt launch checklist comes down to eight assets: a product name with nothing else in it, a tagline of 60 characters or fewer, a short description, a square thumbnail (240x240 recommended), at least two gallery images (1270x760 recommended, each under 3MB), an optional YouTube video, up to three launch tags and a first comment that asks for feedback rather than upvotes. Lock the copy by T-3, finish the visuals and schedule by T-1, and keep launch day free for replying to people.

Every spec below comes from Product Hunt's own help article and launch guide, read on October 22, 2026; where they disagree, it says so. The video has its own guide, how to make a product launch video in one evening, so its script and YouTube rules aren't repeated here.

Oakgen is our product. It can make some of these visuals, and that section also says where not to use it.

The Product Hunt launch checklist

Copy this into your launch doc. "Source" is the Product Hunt page stating the spec; "our advice" rows are not Product Hunt rules.

Two rows trip people up. The one-week wait means a co-maker who signs up on T-2 is too late. And the two official pages give different description limits, so write to 260 characters, which fits both.

The copy: name, tagline and description

The name field is the name. For an invented product we'll call Quillpost (not a real product or customer), that means no "Quillpost: AI support inbox" and no rocket emoji. The tagline sits right beside it, so anything you cram in repeats itself.

Tagline rules

Product Hunt gives one hard limit (60 characters) and one example of each kind. Allowed: "Send your friends a voicemail meow from a real cat." Not allowed: "The most ameozing app in the app store". Our reading of that, as rules you can check:

1. Say what it does, with a verb. A stranger scanning the list should know what the product is.
2. Name the person or the outcome. "For freelancers" or "without the awkward email" beats a category label.
3. No superlatives. "Most", "best" and "next-gen" read as the not-allowed example.
4. Don't repeat the product name, and keep to one idea. A feature list is a description.
5. Count characters, including spaces. 60 is the ceiling, not the target.

Before and after, on an invented product

Quillpost, the invented example, is a shared inbox for small support teams that drafts replies from the team's own help docs.

The "after" column keeps converging on the same line.

Description

Don't repeat the tagline. The description carries the next facts: who it's for, what it connects to, what's free. For Quillpost, at 237 characters:

Quillpost is a shared inbox for support teams of 2 to 10 people. It reads your help docs and drafts a reply to each new ticket; you edit and send. Works with email and your existing help center. Free for one inbox during the launch week.

That fits the help article's 260-character limit, so it works whichever page is current.

The visuals: thumbnail and gallery images

Thumbnail

Square, 240x240 recommended, shown small. A logo mark or one strong shape on a solid brand colour reads at that size; a screenshot doesn't.

A GIF must be under 3MB and doesn't autoplay: the help article says "GIFs will only animate while hovering over a post", and the launch guide says to "ensure that the first frame is what you would like to appear as the thumbnail." Design frame one as a finished still, then add motion. The guide also says GIFs with "strobing effects, quick cuts, unreadable text, etc. are not recommended" and may be edited by the Product Hunt team.

Gallery image specs

Product Hunt recommends 1270x760, roughly 5:3. That's squarer than 16:9, so a frame grabbed from a 1920x1080 video needs cropping at the sides. The launch guide says "All images, GIF or not, need to be under 3MB" (it sits in the thumbnail section; our reading is that it covers the gallery too), and "the gallery will need 2+ images before it is viewable on the post page." You can drag to reorder after upload.

Our advice for the images: a five to eight word headline in large type, your real product with realistic fake data, a tight crop (a full dashboard at gallery size is a grey blur), and one frame style across the set. Check each at phone width.

Gallery sequence: what goes first and why

Product Hunt doesn't publish a recommended order, so this is reasoning, not data. The first image is the one everybody sees and many people won't click further, so it has to answer "what is this?" on its own. Each later image answers the next question a curious person would ask.

The common mistake is a logo card or a "Welcome to Quillpost" slide in position one. A logo answers nothing for someone who has never heard of you. Put it in the corner of the first image instead.

Five images is plenty for most products. Neither page states a maximum, only the minimum of two. Neither says where the video sits relative to the images either, so preview the post and check the order you actually get.

Animated gallery images

The launch guide says "Animated GIFs can also be used." The 3MB cap is tight, so keep loops short and the frame simple. A three to five second loop of the key moment (image 3) is the best candidate, because that's where motion explains something a still can't.

Where Oakgen fits, and where it doesn't

A screenshot tool and any design app can make every asset above. Oakgen helps with three.

Launch video and animated clips: Oakgen Motion. Oakgen Motion turns a brief into a 15 to 60 second motion graphics video: big moving type over your real screens, with optional voice and captions. It reads your name, logo and colours from your site, you review a playable storyboard free, and the exact price in credits shows on the "Make video" button before anything is charged. The full workflow is in the one-evening launch video guide; the type style is covered in kinetic typography without After Effects.

Two limits matter here. Motion exports MP4 (16:9 at 1920x1080, or 9:16), not GIF, and it doesn't upload anything; the YouTube step is yours. For an animated gallery image, cut a few seconds from the render, crop to 1270x760, convert with a GIF tool you trust and check it's under 3MB. A still frame cropped the same way gives a gallery image that matches the video.

Hero and social images: the Oakgen image generator. The image generator suits the scenes around your product: a backdrop for gallery frames, an image for the launch post, a blog cover. It's the wrong tool for the product itself. Never present a generated UI as your product; the gallery should show real screens. Add headline text in a design tool so the spelling is yours.

LinkedIn launch carousel: Oakgen Carousels. Your gallery sequence is already a carousel story. Oakgen Carousels writes the slides from your brand, renders the text itself so it stays sharp, and exports a LinkedIn PDF that you upload yourself. Copy is free, artwork is charged, and generating needs a paid plan (see pricing). To borrow the shape of a carousel that already performs, see recreate a carousel that already works; for LinkedIn's PDF rules, the carousel sizes guide. For product photos, ad variants and voiceovers, see building an AI product launch kit and turning a product page into a launch kit.

When you don't need any of it: two good screenshots and a plain screen recording meet what Product Hunt asks for (the launch video guide covers when a recording is enough).

The first comment

The launch guide says it "will appear right below your product gallery, so it's highly visible", and states that "70% of products that achieved Product of the Day, Week, or Month included a first comment by the maker." That describes winners; it doesn't prove a comment causes a win, but there's no reason to skip it.

The guide asks for key features, who it's for, your story, goals or pricing offers, and to "Ask for feedback (NOT upvotes)". On tone: "being humble and helpful is the best tone", and "Marketing-speak doesn't usually resonate very well either." Emojis are fine used sparingly, and images, videos and GIFs are welcome.

First-comment template

Fill in the brackets. Read it aloud; if any sentence sounds like a press release, rewrite it the way you'd say it to a friend.

Hi everyone, I'm [name], [role] of [product].

Why we built it: [one or two sentences about the problem, ideally something that happened to you].

What it does: [the tagline idea, in plain words].

Who it's for: [the specific person], especially if [the situation they're in].

What you can try today:
- [feature 1, in one line]
- [feature 2]
- [feature 3]

Launch offer: [offer, or delete this line].

What it doesn't do yet: [one honest gap, and whether it's planned].

I'd love your feedback on [one specific question, e.g. "whether the setup step makes sense"]. My co-maker [name] and I are here all day to answer questions.

Two lines do most of the work. "What it doesn't do yet" heads off the most predictable critical comment and makes the rest more believable. And a specific question gets real answers, where "let us know what you think" gets compliments.

Launch timing and the schedule

The help article says "the site operates on 24-hour periods in PST so your post will go live on the site at 12:01 AM PST." The launch guide's rule of thumb for makers without constraints is to schedule for 12:01am PST, which gives you the full day; a press embargo or your team's availability are its reasons to pick another time.

On the day of the week, the guide says weekends "can be great for smaller teams, side projects, and personal apps", while larger companies and solo makers tend to launch on weekdays. It states that weekend launches get 15% more "Visit" button clicks than weekday ones. That's Product Hunt's own number, it measures visits rather than votes, and the page doesn't say how or over what period it was measured.

Schedule by T-1 (you can go up to a month ahead) so nothing depends on you being awake at midnight Pacific. The pages say "PST", but Pacific time moves to daylight time for part of the year, so confirm the go-live hour in your time zone in the scheduler. 12:01 AM PST is 8:01 AM UTC.

If the product isn't open to everyone yet, mark it as not yet available (the help article allows this) and explain the waitlist in your first comment. A waitlist is fine if you say it's a waitlist.

The launch-day plan for the maker's time

Launch day is replying to people. Plan your hours for that. A plan for a maker with one co-maker, in Pacific time:

The sharing guide is direct: "Don't ask for upvotes. Ask for feedback, comments, opinions, help spreading the word, not for upvotes." It says "Asking specifically for upvotes is against our policies", rules out contests that require or reward upvotes, and warns that launch day "is not a time to go spamming Reddit and Indie Hackers if you haven't already been posting there." The before-launch guide adds: "Products caught breaking the rules will be unfeatured or removed and the makers associated with the product may be permanently banned from the site."

Make the assets with whatever tools you like, but don't automate the conversation: write every reply, thank-you and DM yourself, post only in communities you already belong to, and keep bots and rewards away from votes. An AI-drafted first comment is fine once you've rewritten it in your own voice.

The two weeks after launch

Product Hunt's days-after-launch guide says you can promote your launch page for two weeks, then move to your Product Page, "your permanent and comprehensive source of truth for your product." Reuse them:

• The gallery sequence becomes a LinkedIn carousel; it's already a story with an offer at the end.
• The first comment becomes a "why we built it" post.
• Launch-day questions become the FAQ on your pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

What size are Product Hunt gallery images?

Product Hunt recommends 1270x760 for gallery images. The gallery needs at least two images before it shows on the post, and Product Hunt's launch guide says all images, GIF or not, need to be under 3MB.

What size is the Product Hunt thumbnail?

A square image, with 240x240 recommended. A GIF is allowed if it is under 3MB, but it only animates on hover, so its first frame has to work as a still.

How long can a Product Hunt tagline be?

Product Hunt's launch guide sets a maximum of 60 characters and asks for no gimmicks or over-the-top language.

What should the Product Hunt first comment say?

Who the product is for, why you built it, the few features that matter, any launch offer, and a request for feedback. Product Hunt's guide says to ask for feedback, not upvotes.

What time should I launch on Product Hunt?

Product Hunt days run on Pacific time and posts go live at 12:01 AM. Its guide suggests scheduling for 12:01am PST unless you have a reason to pick another time, such as a press embargo.

Can I ask people to upvote my Product Hunt launch?

No. Product Hunt says asking specifically for upvotes is against its policies, and contests or rewards for upvotes are not allowed. Ask for feedback, comments and help spreading the word instead.

How far ahead can I schedule a Product Hunt launch?

Up to one month ahead, according to Product Hunt's launch guide. New accounts must wait a week before they can post, so set up your account and your co-makers' accounts early.

Sources (checked October 22, 2026)

• Product Hunt Help Center, How to post a product (dated May 28, 2025 on the page)
• Product Hunt launch guide: Preparing for launch, Before launch, Sharing your launch, Launch day duties, Days after launch