Indie Hacker MVP Checklist: Before You Launch a Validation Experiment

Phase 1: Pre-Launch Checklist

Complete these before writing a line of copy or code.

Idea Validation (Before Building Anything)

[ ] Search demand confirmed Look up your core problem keywords in Ahrefs, SEMrush, or a free tool like Ubersuggest. If your competitors have public names, search “[competitor] alternative” and check that Google autocompletes it and shows results. Zero search volume on all variations is a signal worth investigating before you build.

[ ] Competitors documented List 3-5 existing solutions your target buyers use today. These don’t need to be direct competitors. They can be workarounds (spreadsheets, pen-and-paper, manual processes). Understanding what buyers currently do is required to write a useful problem statement.

[ ] Problem statement written in one sentence “I help [specific person] do [specific thing] without [specific friction].” This sentence should be specific enough that a stranger reading it would know whether or not they’re the target buyer. “Indie hackers who are spending days on validation site setup” is specific. “People who want to build things faster” is not.

[ ] Kill criteria defined and written down Before you build anything, write: “I will kill this idea if [specific metric] doesn’t reach [specific threshold] by [specific date].” Two examples:

• “Fewer than 10 email signups from organic traffic in 30 days”
• “Zero pricing tier clicks after 150 visitors”

Write both a quantitative threshold and a date. This is the most important pre-launch step and the one most commonly skipped.

Site Build Checklist

[ ] Landing page built with all required elements Headline that names problem or outcome. Problem statement (2-3 sentences). Email capture with one input and one button. Fake-door pricing with 2-3 tiers at real prices, each with a CTA. No fabricated testimonials.

[ ] Email capture connected to a real list Every signup should be writing to a list you can email from directly. Mailchimp free tier, Resend, or a D1 database you query manually. Confirm test signups appear in your list before going live.

[ ] Fake-door pricing click tracking active Every tier click needs to log: which tier was clicked, which page the visitor was on, a timestamp. Query your logs after 24 hours with a real test click to confirm data is flowing.

[ ] 5-10 pSEO content pages published At minimum: 3 alternatives pages (one per main competitor), 1 comparison, 1 pricing breakdown. These start building organic traffic from day one. You don’t need 50 pages to start.

[ ] Custom domain purchased and configured ~$10-15 from Namecheap or Cloudflare Registrar. DNS pointing to your host. SSL certificate active (Cloudflare Pages handles this automatically). A .pages.dev or .vercel.app domain reduces email signup conversion.

import InlineSignup from ‘@validation/ui/components/inline-signup.astro’;

Phase 2: Launch Day Checklist

Do these on the day you go live.

[ ] Google Search Console property added and verified Add your domain as a property in Search Console. Verify via DNS TXT record (fastest verification method). This is how Google communicates with you about indexing issues.

[ ] Sitemap submitted to Search Console If you’re using Astro, @astrojs/sitemap generates sitemap.xml automatically. Submit the URL in Search Console under Sitemaps. This tells Google which pages to crawl.

[ ] Priority pages submitted for indexing In Search Console, use URL Inspection to manually request indexing for your landing page and your top 3 pSEO pages. Google doesn’t guarantee fast indexing, but manual submission helps.

[ ] Analytics installed and confirmed Load your landing page and confirm a pageview appears in your analytics tool. If you’re using Plausible or Umami, the script tag needs to be on every page. If you’re using GA4, fire a test event.

[ ] First community post published Pick one community where your target buyers hang out. Post once. Don’t post everywhere on day one. You want clean baseline data, not a traffic spike that distorts your first week’s numbers.

Phase 3: Post-Launch Checklist (First 30 Days)

Week 1-2: Track and Reach Out

[ ] Email every signup personally within 24 hours Not a drip email sequence. A personal email from your address: “Hey [name], saw you signed up for [product]. I’m building this and would love to understand your situation — would you be up for a 20-minute call this week?” This is the most important post-launch activity.

[ ] Book 5+ discovery calls Five calls is the minimum for useful qualitative signal. You’re listening for: the specific situation they’re in, what they’re currently doing to solve the problem, what would make them switch, and what their biggest hesitation is. Don’t pitch on discovery calls. Ask and listen.

[ ] Check Search Console for indexing confirmation After 1-2 weeks, your priority pages should appear as indexed in Search Console. If they don’t, check for crawl errors under Coverage.

Week 3-4: Evaluate and Decide

[ ] Pull conversion rate by traffic source Organic search visitors and community-driven visitors convert differently. Calculate separately. If organic conversion is much lower than community conversion, your pSEO copy or targeting may be off.

[ ] Review pricing click distribution Which tier got the most clicks? If one tier got 70%+ of clicks, that’s your market’s preferred price point. If clicks are spread evenly, your tier differentiation isn’t strong enough — buyers can’t tell the tiers apart.

[ ] Compare all metrics against kill criteria Written on pre-launch day, compared on day 30. Binary decision: continue building or kill/pivot. If the numbers don’t hit the threshold, the answer is no.

import DefinitionBlock from ‘@validation/ui/seo/definition-block.astro’; import AnswerBlock from ‘@validation/ui/seo/answer-block.astro’;