# Launch rules

> ShipCircle runs one launch board per week, Monday 00:00 to Sunday 23:59 UTC. Products are ranked by community upvotes, and paying never changes rank.

Canonical: https://shipcircle.dev/rules
Last updated: 2026-11-10

## Launch weeks

- A launch week runs Monday 00:00 UTC to Sunday 23:59 UTC (ISO weeks).
- Your product goes live automatically when its week starts. You can book up to 8 weeks ahead.
- After the week ends, the final ranking stays on a permanent [weekly archive page](https://shipcircle.dev/week).

## Slots and plans

- Each week has 14 free spots and 13 separate Premium spots.
- Premium ($39) takes one of the Premium spots, adds a Featured marker and always gets a dofollow link. A week whose Premium spots are sold out can't be booked.
- Your Premium spot is held for 30 minutes while you pay, and the launch is booked once the payment is confirmed.

## What a listing needs

Before a product can be booked it needs a name, tagline, website URL, logo, a description of at least 300 characters, a category and a pricing model. Each domain can launch once.

## Voting and ranking

- You need an account to upvote. Each account can upvote a product once; clicking again removes the vote.
- The board is ranked by upvotes. Ties go to the product that booked first.
- Paying never changes rank. Vote manipulation (bought votes, vote rings, fake accounts) gets the listing removed.

## Dofollow links and the badge

Premium listings link to your site with a dofollow link. Free listings link with nofollow by default and switch to dofollow while our badge is on your homepage. We check the homepage daily; after 3 missed checks in a row the link goes back to nofollow.

## Which pages search engines index

Product pages are indexed once the listing is complete: a strong listing score, a description of at least 300 characters, at least 3 FAQs, a screenshot, a category and a pricing model. Thinner listings stay visible but carry a noindex tag until they are improved.

## Content we remove

We remove listings that are illegal, misleading, adult, gambling, malware, or that copy another product's listing.

## FAQ

### When does a launch week start on ShipCircle?

Every launch week runs Monday 00:00 UTC to Sunday 23:59 UTC. Products go live automatically at the start of their week.

### How many products launch each week?

Up to 27 products a week: 14 free spots and 13 Premium spots.

### Does paying improve my rank?

No. Ranking is by community upvotes only. Premium adds a Featured marker and a dofollow link but never changes rank.

### Is the link to my product dofollow?

Premium listings are always dofollow. Free listings are dofollow while our badge is on your homepage; the badge is checked daily.

## Related

- [About](https://shipcircle.dev/about)
- [Weekly archive](https://shipcircle.dev/week)
- [Terms of service](https://shipcircle.dev/terms)