The Launch Autopsy · 01
We x-rayed 94 recent launches. 74% ask you to trust them with empty hands.
A forensic look at the UX of recent Show HN & Product Hunt launches, measured, not vibed. Every number links to the receipt.
We pointed UXXRAY at 94 recently-launched products, the ones scrolling past on Show HN and Product Hunt, and walked each funnel the way a first-time visitor would: landing page, pricing, sign-up, checkout. No opinions. Just what's measurably on the page: the conversion tactics, the proof, the design tokens, a score for each. Then we read the autopsy.
Finding 1: 74% show up with no evidence
74%
Of the 94 launches, 70 surfaced zero social proof. Not a thin testimonial. Not a logo wall. Not a "1,200 teams already use this." Nothing. The average launch page carries 0.7 proof points; the best one carries eleven. That's the headline failure, and the cheapest to fix. A launch page is a stranger asking for your email, your card, or your afternoon, and three in four ask with empty hands.
Finding 2: the median launch page is nearly empty
Score the funnels and the distribution is bleak: 62% land in the bottom band. Only two of ninety scored "Excellent." The median launch isn't badly designed, it's barely designed. A hero, a button, and a hope.
Finding 3: nobody makes an argument
The tactics that actually persuade are the ones nobody ships:
- Only 7% publish a us-vs-them comparison table. 93% won't name a rival
- Only 11% put proof above the fold, where it's actually seen.
- 1%, a single launch out of ninety, uses a countdown timer. urgency is rarer than Twitter thinks
Launches copy each other's layouts religiously and each other's arguments never.
Finding 4: two ways to win, and almost nobody does either
The top of the corpus splits cleanly into two winning strategies:
Be unmistakably clear, or be visibly vouched for. The bottom 62% do neither.
What to steal this week
- Add one proof point above the fold. You'll beat 89% of your cohort by dinner.
- Name your alternative. A comparison table puts you in the rarest 7%.
- Don't fake urgency. 99% skip the countdown, and they're right. Earn the click with clarity, not a timer.
Method: 94 recent Show HN + Product Hunt launches, 128 funnel walks, July 2026. Deterministic extraction, no LLM opinions; every claim is backed by an on-page evidence string. Live, current figures: The Launch UX Index.