Product Hunt Badge Guide Technical Implementation Checklist

Product Hunt Badges & Embeds: Technical Checklist

last updated: Feb 20, 2026
Most founders paste a Product Hunt badge on their site and accidentally destroy their mobile conversion rate. Here is how to implement the code without breaking your layout or looking like an amateur.

TL;DR: The Cheat Code

Product Hunt badges are HTML snippets or image assets that link back to your launch page, serving as high-trust social proof to validate your product to cold traffic.

  • Benchmark: Expect 2x higher click-through rate to your Product Hunt launch page if placed above the fold.
  • Rule: Never allow the badge to obscure your primary CTA button on mobile devices.
  • Warning: Default embed scripts often cause Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), damaging your SEO scores.

How to read this: Use the glossary to understand terms, then copy the "Asset" code directly to your site.

Glossary

  • Embed Code: The snippet of JS or HTML provided by Product Hunt that renders the dynamic voting widget.
  • SVG Badge: A static vector image file that scales without pixelation; generally preferred over dynamic embeds for speed.
  • Layout Shift: When a page element moves unexpectedly while loading; a common side effect of lazy-loading third-party badges.
  • Dark Mode Support: The ability of the badge asset to invert colors or switch themes based on the user's system preference.

How to add the badge

Do not use the default JavaScript embed. It is heavy and slow. Instead, use this "Smart Badge" code. It loads instantly, supports dark mode automatically, and scales correctly on mobile.
Step 1: Download Assets
Go to Product Hunt Branding and download the SVG versions of the "Featured" badge in both Light and Dark modes.
Step 2: Implementation Code
Copy this HTML and CSS into your site's header or navigation block.
<!-- Product Hunt Smart Badge -->
<a href="YOUR_PRODUCT_HUNT_URL" target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="ph-badge-wrapper">
<picture>
<!-- Load Dark Badge if user OS is Dark Mode -->
<source srcset="/path-to/ph-badge-dark.svg" media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)">
<!-- Default to Light Badge -->
<img src="/path-to/ph-badge-light.svg" 
alt="Featured on Product Hunt" 
width="250" 
height="54" 
class="ph-badge-img">
</picture>
</a>

<style>
.ph-badge-wrapper {
display: inline-block;
margin-top: 10px;
}
.ph-badge-img {
width: 250px;
height: auto;
/* Prevents layout shift by reserving space */
aspect-ratio: 250 / 54;
}
/* Mobile Optimization: Scale down on small screens */
@media (max-width: 480px) {
.ph-badge-img {
width: 180px;
}
}
</style>

Benchmarks

You cannot manage what you do not measure. Use these baselines to judge your implementation.

Above the fold placement: Place the badge in the top navigation bar or immediately below the hero H1. Heatmap data suggests that visibility drops by 40–60% if the user has to scroll to find the social proof.
Sample Math: If your hero section is 800px high, the badge must be visible within the top 600px on desktop. If you bury it at pixel 900, you are effectively hiding it from half your audience.

Removal strategy: Set a calendar reminder for 30 days post-launch. A "Featured on Product Hunt" badge is fine forever, but a "Please Vote" widget that is 6 months old signals abandonment.
Sample Math: If your daily traffic is 100 visitors, a stale badge (showing 0 recent activity) can drop conversion by 2–5%. That is 2–5 leads lost daily just because you forgot to update an image.

Static vs dynamic

Founders often ask if they should use the live counter widget. The answer is almost always no.
Feature
Static SVG (Recommended)
JS Embed Widget
Load Speed
Instant (0ms lag)
Slow (100–300ms lag)
Layout Shift (CLS)
None (Zero)
High (Risk of penalty)
Click-Through
Consistent
Variable (Low vote count hurts trust)
Mobile Risk
Scales with CSS
Often breaks viewport width

Risks

Implementing the badge incorrectly causes more harm than good. Watch out for these three technical pitfalls.
  1. Mobile Responsiveness: The default badge size is often too wide for mobile viewports (under 375px). Use the CSS media queries in the asset section above to scale the badge down or hide it entirely if it covers more than 10–15% of the screen real estate. Refer to Google's Mobile-First Indexing guide for context on why mobile UX dictates ranking.
  2. Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Dynamic scripts load after the rest of the page, pushing your content down abruptly. This frustrates users and hurts your Google rankings. Read more about CLS and Core Web Vitals to understand why stability matters.
  3. Dark Mode Incompatibility: Do not use a transparent PNG with black text on a dark background. It looks broken and amateurish. Always use the <picture> tag method to serve the correct contrast.

Will a Product Hunt badge actually get you to $10k MRR?

No. It is a trust signal, not a business model.
A broken layout hurts conversion more than social proof helps. Fix the technicals, but remember that social proof is a multiplier, not the base number. If you solve a fake problem, no amount of pixels will save you.
Take the 90-second audit to calculate your probability of hitting $10k MRR in the next 90 days.
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📉 Average Score: 12% | ⚡ Top 1% Founders: 85%+
FAQ
  • You:
    Should I use the voting widget or just a static image?
    Guide:
    Use the static image. The dynamic widget slows down your site and the "vote count" updates are not necessary to drive clicks. Speed converts better than real-time data.
  • You:
    Where is the best place to put the badge?
    Guide:
    Place it in the top right corner of your navigation bar or directly under your main headline. Avoid sticky footers on mobile as they often block necessary content.
  • You:
    Can I keep the badge up forever?
    Guide:
    Yes, provided it is the "Featured" badge and not the "Voting" widget. The voting widget expires and looks stale; the featured badge is a permanent accolade.
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