I'm seeing more products launch on Product Hunt that require payment to actually use any features. No free trial, no freemium tier, just a download that leads straight to a paywall.

Part of me thinks this makes sense. If your product has real value, why give it away? People on Product Hunt understand they're looking at premium tools. Plus offering free access can attract users who will never pay anyway.

But I also see the argument for temporary free access during launch. Product Hunt users want to actually try what they're upvoting. How can they give meaningful feedback or become advocates if they hit a paywall immediately?

This Wednesday, we'll be rolling out an update to the submission flow. Historically, at the end of the submission flow, you could either Launch Now or Schedule for a future time. Going forward though, we're going to replace the Launch Now option with a new Create Draft option.

This change is based on consistent feedback we've gotten from Makers who either accidentally launched their product too early or who wanted to be able to see a complete version of their launch and collaborate with their team on it before scheduling.

Creating a Draft

Creating a draft will give you the opportunity to see a complete version of your launch without needing to select a launch date. It also means that you'll be able to share and collaborate on the launch with your fellow Makers, something that's not possible when the launch is in the submission flow stage. These new draft launches won't be indexed on the site, so you don't have to worry about others finding it. Whenever you're ready, you can schedule the launch for the date of your choice.