Why a Waitlist Page Before Launch
A waitlist page does three things before you have a product: validates demand (if people sign up, there is interest), builds an audience to launch to (your first users are waiting), and creates social proof through urgency (position numbers show momentum). Building it with Replit and Claude takes one afternoon -- there is no reason to wait.
The one feature that makes waitlist pages work: showing the submitter their position number. "You are #47 on the waitlist" creates both confirmation and social proof in one moment. Ask Claude to add this to your waitlist app -- it requires tracking a count in the database and displaying it on the thank-you page.
What to Describe to Claude
"Build a waitlist page for [product name]. The page should have: headline [your headline], subheadline [your subheadline], three bullets about what the product does, a form with first name and email fields, and a submit button.
When the form is submitted: store first_name, email, created_at, and an auto-incremented position number in a SQLite table called waitlist. Redirect to /thank-you?position=[their position number]. On the thank-you page, show them their position number and a message saying the first [X] people get [your launch offer]."
The Sharing Prompt
Add a sharing element to the thank-you page: "Move up the list -- share with a friend who needs this." Include a pre-written tweet and a copy-link button. Ask Claude to add this -- it is three to four lines of HTML and JavaScript and it meaningfully improves your waitlist growth rate.