How the ShipDesk weekly board works, and how to do well on it
George · 2 min read
The short answer: the ShipDesk board runs from Monday to Sunday, UTC. Every approved launch joins the board of the week it goes live in, and launches are ranked by upvotes. When the week ends at midnight UTC on Sunday, the ranking is final, and the top three keep a medal on their launch page for good. Launching on Monday gives you the whole week.
A lot of launch sites give a product one day in the spotlight. ShipDesk gives each launch a week, so a founder in a different time zone, or one who is busy on launch day, still has time to share and collect feedback.
How the week runs
- The week starts Monday at midnight UTC and ends Sunday at midnight UTC.
- You pick your launch day. An approved launch goes live at midnight UTC that day and joins that week's board.
- Monday gives you the most time. The launch form shows exactly how much of the week you will have on the day you pick.
How launches are ranked
The board is ordered by upvotes, and visitors can filter it by category. On all launches, they can also sort by most upvoted or newest. Paid launches get extra visibility in the featured row and at the top of their categories for their spotlight time, and the final weekly ranking is by upvotes.
What the top three keep
When the week is over, the ranking can no longer change. The three launches with the most upvotes keep a gold, silver or bronze medal on their launch page, and past weeks stay browsable on the board.
How to do well during your week
- Write a clear one-liner. It is the line people read on the board before deciding to click.
- Use screenshots that show the product working. Real screens beat logos and stock images.
- Share your launch page early in the week. Post it where your audience already is: X, LinkedIn, your newsletter, relevant communities.
- Ask for feedback, not just upvotes. "I would love to hear what is confusing" starts conversations; comments bring people back.
- Reply to every comment. People who get an answer often return, and an active page looks alive to new visitors.
- Add a launch week deal if you sell something. A discount code shown on your launch page gives visitors a reason to act now.
After your week
When the week ends, your launch moves to that week's page on the board and stays browsable. Keep answering comments there, and link to your launch page from your site and profiles.
Upvotes are a means, not the goal
A medal is nice, but the lasting value of a launch is the page itself, the people who tried your product, and what they told you. Your launch page stays online after the week ends, with a link to your site.
The short version
- The board runs Monday to Sunday, UTC.
- Launches rank by upvotes; the final order is fixed when the week ends.
- The top three keep a medal on their page.
- Launch on Monday for the full week, and share early.
- Reply to every comment.