Android 101: Publish to the Android Market
This article is part of an Android Development Guide. The guide focuses on several subjects necessary to build a fully functional basic app, talking about several features that were introduced in Honeycomb and are still valid for Ice Cream Sandwich. We use a Google Buzz client called Honeybuzz as an example for each topic. Refer to the introduction for a complete list of all articles.
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Although we haven’t actually published our Honeybuzz application (for obvious reasons), we still learned some things that might be useful for any Android developer.
Your app on the Android Market
Now that you have built a great app and you’re ready to publish it in the market, don’t disregard the information you put in your market page. Put as much thought in your market page as you’ve put into building the application. The user might decide not to download your app if:
- You description is poor, has typos and/or doesn’t describe clearly what the app does.
- You have few screenshots, the image’s quality is poor or you don’t show screenshots of the main functionality.
- The app’s logo, name or your developer’s name looks bogus, unprofessional or cheap.
This information might make it or break it for your app. If the user finds you page messy or unprofessional, he will simply search for another app that does the same as yours. Don’t throw all your development work down the drain just because you didn’t want to put in the extra time to write a decent description or take good quality screenshots. Continue reading for some more tips on this.
The app logo: Love at first sight?
A user searches for “note taking app”, hundreds of results show up. Which app will the user choose to click on to take a second look? Which one(s) would you choose?
You’d probably check first the apps with the sleekest looking logo and the better sounding name. Among so many options the user needs to make a decision, so he’ll make generalizations and assumptions based on that ten seconds look at the search results.
Check out these resources and guidelines to create a great app icon.
Write a great app description
- Study the market. Read the pages of your competitor apps. Be better than them. Don’t just do what they do, go a step further. If your competitors only have screenshots of their apps, add a video demo to yours.
- Description above the fold. If you have a big description part of it will be collapsed on the market. The user may or may not expand the whole description to read it. Be sure to write the enough information above the fold to convey your point, say why your app is great.
- List the all main features in your app.
- Don’t be afraid to brag. If your app won some award or was positively reviews by a very relevant publication, say it. This kind of information gives the user the security he needs to know this is the app he’s been looking for.
More resources
