Lately, my DMs have been full of this question. While I can t say exactly what changed after Product Hunt s Aug 25 update (since the featured criteria seem a bit mysterious now), here are a few patterns I ve noticed:
Version updates: New versions or re-launches (like Product v2.0) often don t get featured anymore.
No freemium or free trial : Launches without a free plan or trial seem to be struggling to get featured.
Hunter Featured : Having a well-known hunter doesn t guarantee a feature. In fact, recently, the two seem almost mutually exclusive.
Look & feel: Launches that use the same template design or layout as others often get skipped.
Curious to hear your thoughts - have you noticed similar trends?
Lately, I ve been thinking about how different it feels to build and connect on smaller community platforms compared to the massive social networks. Smaller spaces often feel more personal, supportive, and genuine, but of course, they come with a smaller reach.
So I m curious: Do you prefer the vibe of smaller, niche platforms, or do you still focus on growing on the big ones? What makes a smaller community worth your time? Would you switch to a newer platform if it offered more meaningful engagement, even with fewer users?