1 page.title=App Developer Best Practices 2 page.image=/distribute/images/gp-app-practices.png 3 page.metaDescription=Essential tips for launching successful apps in Google Play. 4 @jd:body 5 6 <div id="qv-wrapper"><div id="qv"> 7 <h2>Best Practices</h2> 8 <ol> 9 <li><a href="#essentials">Get the Essentials Right</a></li> 10 <li><a href="#users">Get Users</a></li> 11 <li><a href="#engage">Engage and Retain</a></li> 12 <li><a href="#beyond">Beyond the Basics</a></li> 13 <li><a href="#related-resources">Related Resources</a></li> 14 </ol> 15 </div></div> 16 17 <p>The following best practices have enabled developers worldwide to build great, successful apps for Google Play.</p> 18 19 <div class="headerLine"> 20 <h2 id="essentials">Get the Essentials Right</h2> 21 </div> 22 23 <h3>1. Make it Android</h3> 24 25 <ul> 26 <li> 27 <p> 28 Build your apps to make best use of the unique Android features, such as 29 <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/engage/widgets.html">widgets</a>, <a href= 30 "{@docRoot}distribute/engage/notifications.html">rich notifications</a>, 31 <a href= 32 "http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2012/02/share-with-intents.html">sharing 33 through Intents</a>, and more. 34 </p> 35 </li> 36 37 <li> 38 <p> 39 Add the power of Google features your users already love, such as 40 <a href="https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/android/">Google 41 Maps</a>, <a href="https://developers.google.com/drive/">Google 42 Drive</a>, and more, all with <a href= 43 "https://developers.google.com/+/mobile/android/sign-in">single sign 44 on</a>. 45 </p> 46 </li> 47 </ul> 48 49 <h3> 50 2. Make it quality 51 </h3> 52 53 <ul> 54 <li> 55 <p> 56 Make sure your apps follow the <a href= 57 "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/core.html">Core App Quality</a> 58 guidelines. 59 </p> 60 </li> 61 62 <li> 63 <p> 64 Create apps that are available on all form factors and screen sizes, by 65 following the <a href= 66 "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/quality/tablets.html">Tablet App 67 Quality</a> guidelines. 68 </p> 69 </li> 70 71 <li> 72 <p> 73 Test and <a href= 74 "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/optimizing-your-app.html">optimize your 75 quality</a> at every step and make use of the Google Play <a href= 76 "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/developer-console.html#alpha-beta">beta-testing</a> 77 and <a href= 78 "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/developer-console.html#staged-rollouts">staged 79 rollouts</a> features to test with users before launch. 80 </p> 81 </li> 82 </ul> 83 84 <div class="headerLine"> 85 <h2 id="users"> 86 Get Users 87 </h2> 88 89 90 </div> 91 92 <h3> 93 1. Build buzz 94 </h3> 95 96 <ul> 97 <li> 98 <p> 99 Create a great <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/users/your-listing.html">app 100 listing page</a> to showcase your apps and grab users attention. Dont 101 forget to include a <a href= 102 "{@docRoot}distribute/engage/video.html">YouTube video</a>. 103 </p> 104 </li> 105 106 <li> 107 <p> 108 <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/tools/launch-checklist.html">Launch</a> on 109 multiple platforms simultaneously to maximize your reach. 110 </p> 111 </li> 112 113 <li> 114 <p> 115 Promote your apps with the official <a href= 116 "{@docRoot}distribute/tools/promote/badges.html">Google Play badge</a> 117 and <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/tools/promote/linking.html">link to 118 your products</a> on Google Play. 119 </p> 120 </li> 121 122 <li> 123 <p> 124 Build a community with social media, <a href= 125 "http://groups.google.com/">forums</a>, and <a href= 126 "http://plus.google.com">communities</a> to get and keep users talking. 127 </p> 128 </li> 129 </ul> 130 131 <h3> 132 2. Optimize for great ratings 133 </h3> 134 135 <ul> 136 <li> 137 <p> 138 Get to <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/users/know-your-user.html">know your 139 users</a>, listen to and <a href= 140 "{@docRoot}distribute/engage/app-updates.html">update your apps</a> from 141 their feedback. 142 </p> 143 </li> 144 145 <li> 146 <p> 147 Focus on your strength markets first, get these right before expanding. 148 </p> 149 </li> 150 </ul> 151 152 <div class="headerLine"> 153 <h2 id="engage"> 154 Engage and Retain 155 </h2> 156 157 158 </div> 159 160 <h3> 161 1. Keep users coming back 162 </h3> 163 164 <ul> 165 <li> 166 <p> 167 Use <a href="{@docRoot}google/play/billing/index.html">Google Play In-app 168 Billing</a> to offer subscriptions to extended features. 169 </p> 170 </li> 171 172 <li> 173 <p> 174 Hold competitions and offer promotions, then announce them through 175 <a href="{@docRoot}design/patterns/notifications.html">notifications</a>. 176 </p> 177 </li> 178 </ul> 179 180 <h3> 181 2. Earn users love 182 </h3> 183 184 <ul> 185 <li> 186 <p> 187 <a href= 188 "http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/05/all-google-play-developers-can-now.html"> 189 Respond to reviews</a> and get valuable feedback from the community 190 you've built. 191 </p> 192 </li> 193 194 <li> 195 <p> 196 <a href= 197 "http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2013/10/improved-app-insight-by-linking-google.html"> 198 Measure</a> your campaigns to see what is driving users to install your 199 apps. 200 </p> 201 </li> 202 203 <li> 204 <p> 205 <a href= 206 "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/optimizing-your-app.html#measuring-analyzing-responding"> 207 Analyze in-app use</a> to steer content updates and prolong the life of 208 your apps. 209 </p> 210 </li> 211 </ul> 212 213 <div class="headerLine"> 214 <h2 id="beyond"> 215 Beyond the Basics 216 </h2> 217 218 219 </div> 220 221 <ul> 222 <li> 223 <p> 224 After youve launched in your market of strength, <a href= 225 "{@docRoot}distribute/users/expand-to-new-markets.html">expand into other 226 markets</a> strategically and <a href= 227 "{@docRoot}distribute/tools/localization-checklist.html">localize</a> 228 your apps as you go. 229 </p> 230 </li> 231 232 <li> 233 <p> 234 Keep users engaged, and stay ahead of the competition, by continually 235 <a href= 236 "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/optimizing-your-app.html">optimizing 237 your apps</a> to offer new and better features, or retire those that 238 users arent using. 239 </p> 240 </li> 241 242 <li> 243 <p> 244 Build educational apps: learn <a href= 245 "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/edu/start.html">how to make apps for 246 Google Play for Education</a>. 247 </p> 248 </li> 249 </ul> 250 251 <div class="headerLine"> 252 <h2 id="related-resources">Related Resources</h2> 253 </div> 254 255 <div class="resource-widget resource-flow-layout col-13" 256 data-query="collection:distribute/toolsreference/bestpractices/apps" 257 data-sortOrder="-timestamp" 258 data-cardSizes="9x3,9x3" 259 data-maxResults="6"></div> 260 261