You spent weeks building something. You put it online, told a few friends, and then nothing happened. No visitors, no feedback, no idea whether anyone even wants it.
That is normal. Building is the part most people are good at. Getting the first hundred people to look is a different skill, and nobody teaches it. The good news is that there are places on the internet that exist purely so people can show what they made, and most of them are free.
Before you post anywhere
Three things decide whether people click and stay:
- One clear sentence. Say what it does and who it is for. "A free tool that turns any recipe into a shopping list" beats "an AI-powered productivity platform".
- A page that works on a phone. Most of your first visitors will tap your link on a phone. If it is slow or broken there, you lose them in seconds.
- Something to try right away. A demo, a free version or a screenshot. Asking for a sign up before anyone has seen anything is the fastest way to lose them.
12 free places to share your side project
1. NexURLs
Share your link on NexURLs and it gets its own page, then shows up for people pressing Next to find something new. It is free, and every visit, like, save and comment shows up in your dashboard, so you can see exactly what people think. You also earn NexCredits by exploring a few links a day and every time someone likes or saves yours, and you can spend them to show your link to more people.
2. Show HN on Hacker News
Show HN is for things people can actually try. The audience is technical, honest and sometimes blunt, which is exactly what you want early on. Post the plain facts, then stay and answer every comment.
3. Product Hunt
Product Hunt works best when you plan the day: good images, a short video and a few people ready to try it. Even a small launch there leaves a page that keeps sending visitors for months.
4. r/SideProject
r/SideProject exists for exactly this. Tell the story of why you built it and what you learned. Posts that read like ads sink; posts that read like a person sharing their work do well.
5. r/InternetIsBeautiful
If your project is a website that is fun, useful or beautiful on its own, r/InternetIsBeautiful can send a huge wave of visitors. Read the rules first: no sign up walls, no ads-first pages.
6. Indie Hackers
Indie Hackers is full of people building their own products. Share your numbers and your mistakes, not just the link. People there love an honest progress update.
7. BetaList
Still early? BetaList features products before they are finished and sends early adopters who like trying new things. There is a free option if you do not mind waiting in the queue.
8. DEV Community
If you wrote code, write about it on DEV. "How I built X" posts get read, shared and searched for long after the day you publish them, with a link back to your project at the end.
9. X, building in public
Post what you are working on as you go: a screenshot, a small win, a bug that cost you a day. People follow the story and then show up for the launch. Tag the tools you used; their accounts sometimes share what people build with them.
10. AlternativeTo
If your project does something a well known product does, list it on AlternativeTo. People searching for a free or simpler option to the big name will find you there.
11. Uneed
Uneed is a launch directory with a daily list of new tools. It is a quieter crowd than Product Hunt, which makes it easier to stand out.
12. Small communities in your niche
The best visitors are often in a Discord server, a forum or a newsletter about the exact problem you solve. Join, help people first, and share your project when it genuinely answers someone's question.
After you share it
The post is only half of it. Reply to every comment, even the harsh ones. Note what people misunderstood and fix your one sentence. Watch which places sent people who stayed, and go back to those next time instead of posting everywhere at once.
And keep going. Most side projects that got big were shared dozens of times before anyone noticed. The first post is just practice.
Share your project on NexURLs →
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