Microsoft gives developers hints on creating more visible Windows 10 apps

Any app developer knows that it’s an intense struggle to try and be noticed in today’s climate of mobile applications. With thousands of new apps being brought into the app store on any given day – even on the Microsoft Windows Store, which has a selection currently paling in comparison to its competitors – it’s becoming increasingly difficult to try and be heard among the sea of apps that vie for the attention of users. In a blog post, Microsoft gives us a rundown of 6 ways an app developer can give their apps more visibility when trying to stand out.

#1: Create an original app. Make sure you own the name, brand, icon and content

This is one of the big pitfalls several budding developers fall into. Whether they’re using assets on the internet to try and cut corners in development, or if they’re purposefully using the name of a more popular app to try and get cheap attention, things never turn out well for developers who rely on others’ work.

#2: Make sure your app stands out and has compelling capabilities

This is pretty much common sense for developers, but still, it needs to be said. There are such an overwhelming amount of apps out there that just plain aren’t ambitious – as a result, they’ll never succeed. If you have an idea for an app, bring it to the drawing board and start expanding it before you begin production. Think about what other apps are doing with that idea and try to combine all of those ideas into one package. Once you have one dedicated app that can tackle multiple issues, you’ve got a good app on your hands.

#3: Build one great app instead of several related apps

It’s a simple, all-encompassing concept: quality over quantity. When users look through your history, they don’t care how many apps you’ve made. They care about how polished your products are. If a developer makes their name pumping out shovelware, they’ll never get anywhere.

#4: Make a good first impression with metadata that’s compelling and accurate

When users are deciding whether or not an app is worth their time, all they really have to go on is the metadata. Your app’s name, description, and especially its screenshots have to be chosen very carefully. It may have taken you months of hard work to put together your app, but if your metadata isn’t interesting, it only takes a user a second to close the page. Microsoft put up this post not too long ago to help polish this data.

#5: Know and follow the Windows Store certification process and policies

It’s beyond important that you check the Windows Store policies and the common certification failures before you try and submit your app to the Microsoft store. Microsoft checks every app that’s given to them for malware and compliance to their rules, so if you aren’t absolutely sure that you’re playing by the rules, you risk having your app rejected. For your own sake, double check and make sure your app checks out before you submit it.

#6: Keep a clean record

If you put something up on the app store, you’d better believe in its quality. Your reputation as a developer matters when you put apps out there, and that reputation is easily tarnished if you have a history of sub-par products. Just make sure that you’re proud of everything that you work on, and your time as an app developer is guaranteed to be more fulfilling.