Step 12: How do I set up the Submission Period?

The Submissions tab in your manager dashboard allows you to set the dates of the submission period and ask participants specific questions based on your submission requirements.

This article will review the below:


Submission Period


This is when your hackathon is accepting registrations and submissions. When this deadline is reached, it blocks participants from editing and submitting their submissions and blocks new registrations. Your Submission Period can be set in the Submissions tab under Edit hackathon on your manager dashboard. Note: You can launch your site before your submission period starts, but you will only be accepting registrants (not projects) until the Submission period starts.




Some recommendations


  • For an online hackathon we suggest 6 - 8 weeks to allow enough time to sign up, get inspired, and build an amazing project.
  • We highly recommend online hackathons set their submission due date on a Monday or Tuesday to give participants the weekend to focus on their projects.
  • Don’t set a deadline at 12 PM or AM as it leads to confusion.


Final Reminders


The Final Reminders text will appear on the last step of the Submission form. This is a great opportunity to briefly summarize the requirements and explain what must be included with each submission.



File Upload


If you are requiring your submitters to attach documents, you will want to toggle the  File Upload to On and check the box Make this field required. It is only possible to upload one file, so if you are asking your submitters for multiple files, they will have to combine them all into one PDF or upload them all in a ZIP file. The file upload size limit is 35 MB.


Require Video


If you are requiring your submitters to add a video to their submission, you will want to make sure to toggle Require videos to On. It is only possible to add videos as a URL from Youtube, Facebook, Vimeo or Youku.  Your participants will need to upload their video, make sure it is public (participants must enable the appropriate privacy settings in order for their video to be publicly visible on their project page), and ensure playback settings allow the video to be played on other platforms.



Custom Registration Questions


Devpost tries to make registration for a hackathon as seamless as possible. You can add up to 2 custom registration questions, but we automatically will ask the below:


  • Do you have teammates? (Working solo, Looking for teammates, Already have a team)
  • Who told you about [Hackathon Name]? (Devpost, Organizer, Friend, My college, Other) If Other type in.
  • I have read and agree to be bound by the Official Rules and the Devpost Terms of Service.


Registrants are required to have a Devpost account when they register for your hackathon. Information derived from their account and responses to your custom questions can be found in your metrics and reporting. Check out this article on Metrics and reports for more information.


Custom Submission Form Questions


There is a 4 step submission process (5 steps if you add custom submission form questions) for all Devpost hackathons. We have standard questions which are generic and useful for all hackathons to ensure you are set up for success. Here is an article about the submission process from the participant’s perspective.


Here is a list of questions we cover for you:


  • Submission name*
  • Submission tagline (140 characters)*
  • Built with list (what tech is included)
  • Teammates
  • Text Description* 
  • Try it out link
  • Image gallery
  • Video demo link (to Youtube or Vimeo)
  • Agree to the Terms and Conditions (checkbox)*

You can add custom submission form questions as step 4 (Additional Info) of your submission form to ensure participants are guided through the specific requirements for your hackathon.



Here are some questions we use often:


  • [URL field] Please provide a URL to your code repository.
  • [Dropdown] Is your project new or did it exist prior to this hackathon?
  • [Dropdown] Please select the category in which you would like to submit.

Note that the dropdown option will make the responses visible in the submission gallery as a filter. 


To ensure your custom questions show up to the judges, be sure to select that option when creating each question as seen below.



Please be sure that any custom submission/registration questions are nota duplicate of what is already asked. Remember that participants are more likely to submit if there are fewer questions and a simpler process!

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