RailwayBadge & your dofollow link
Every listing links back to your site. Here is when that link is dofollow, what the badge looks like, the exact code for HTML, React, Markdown or your coding agent, and the checker that verifies it.
Your link
Your profile links to your website either way; the question is whether search engines count it as a recommendation.
- dofollow, with the badge (free): put the badge on your homepage and verify. Search engines count the link as a real recommendation and it helps your site rank. Keep the badge after launch — we re-check weekly.
- dofollow, paid: Premium ($19 one-time) or Premium+ ($39). The same dofollow link, no badge required, permanent — plus instant approval, priority placement and the Verified badge on the profile.
- nofollow (free): the link works either way, it just carries no ranking weight. Nothing required.
The badge code
<a href="https://www.exitfounder.io/startup/your-slug?ref=badge" title="Featured on ExitFounder"> <img src="https://www.exitfounder.io/badge/your-slug.svg" alt="Featured on ExitFounder" width="220" height="56" loading="lazy" /> </a>
- The link points at your ExitFounder profile (or the ExitFounder homepage); keep the ?ref=badge it carries.
- No rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc" on the link. rel="noopener" is fine.
- The badge is in the server-rendered HTML of your homepage, for every visitor, in every region — not behind a cookie, an A/B test or a geo variant.
- Keep it there after launch: we re-check weekly, and the profile link goes back to nofollow when the badge disappears.
Signed in? Your own slug and a one-click Verify are in the listing editor: Dashboard → your startup → Badge.
What the checker rejects
The check fetches your homepage like a crawler (no JavaScript) and looks for a link to your ExitFounder profile. It fails unless all of these hold:
- The link points at your profile page on ExitFounder (or the ExitFounder homepage). Query parameters are fine — keep the ?ref=badge the code carries.
- The link carries no rel="nofollow", rel="sponsored" or rel="ugc". rel="noopener" is fine.
- The badge is served to every visitor, in every region, unconditionally — not behind an A/B test, a geo variant, a cookie or a client-only island. In Next.js, put it in a Server Component such as the footer.
- The badge is still there the next time we look. When it disappears, the profile link goes back to nofollow until you verify again.
Styles
Three styles: light, dark and amber. The badge is a live SVG — it shows your current Domain Rating and upvotes, so it is a stat, not a sticker. A style switch changes only the image URL; the link stays exactly the same.
Verify the badge
Checks the server-rendered HTML of the page for a dofollow link to ExitFounder — the same check the dashboard runs.