How To Create An Engaging App Store Product Page
With the arrival of iOS 15, Apple introduced the ability for developers to create multiple versions of their app’s App Store product page. This is a great opportunity to review how your app is presented to would-be users and test what design works best. Product pages showcase your app’s fundamental value and, if done right, will drive visitors to download it.
With that in mind, here are some tips for creating an engaging App Store product page.
First Impressions Last
As soon as the customer lands on the App Store, the onboarding process begins. It is vital that the first graphics the visitor sees grab their attention and communicate what the app does and who it is for.
When someone visits the App Store, they will have one of three responses to their first view of your app:
Instantly download without engaging with your app’s product page
Explore your app product page, looking at the information displayed and communicated by your product page
Continue to scroll and not engage with your app
So what are the key elements that need to be designed with that in mind?
App Name
Your app’s name is often the first thing that people see. It plays a critical role in how potential customers discover the app in the App Store. The name should be simple, easy to spell and memorable, hinting at what your app does. For example, the key feature of our app, SharkSmart, is to notify the community of the location of shark sightings. The app name doesn’t divulge the intricacies of what the app does, but it does inform people it has something to do with sharks.
When deciding on a name, be aware that it can not be longer than 30 characters. Make it unique, and ensure that people won’t confuse your app with others. It’s best practice to not change your app name after launch, especially if you have an established customer base, as this may confuse the very people who have spent time enjoying your app.
Icon
Working in tandem with your app’s name is its icon. Your app icon should immediately communicate app quality and purpose, so design it with a clear intention in mind. You want your icon to be simple but recognisable for the same reasons that your app name should be distinct. The App Store icon is the only creative element that will appear throughout the store. A snappy icon can be the difference between someone stopping at your product page, or continuing to scroll.
To understand the technical elements required of your icon and the specifications that must be adhered to, visit theHuman Interface Guidelines. The Guidelines give a full explanation of the icon requirements (format, colour space, resolution, size and shape) and what you will need to provide when submitting your app.
You will be able to trial different icons thanks to the introduction of iOS 15. Try using different colour schemes and design elements to see what best attracts people to your product page, and how best to convert visitors of your product page into satisfied customers.
Subtitle
Your app’s subtitle, unsurprisingly, appears under your app’s name. It is intended to be a concise summary of your app. It can be a difficult task, but it is important to try to encapsulate the core service that your app will deliver. What is it that your app does at a fundamental level? Wilson Parking’s app offers many features to parkers, but at its core, it allows people to book parking before they arrive at a carpark. The subtitle “Locate, Book, Pay” succinctly states the features that people can expect when they download the Wilson Parking app.
It is important to communicate the value and the key features of your app in your subtitle, keeping in mind that a subtitle can only be up to 30 characters long.
Convert Explorers
If an App Store visitor does not take one of the instantaneous actions of downloading or dismissing your app, they still might decide to investigate further. We call these people ‘explorers’. Explorers are those visitors that decide to look further into your app and engage with its product page. Here they will find more content that should be designed to convince them that your app should be downloaded.
Explorers are simply that, people who spend time on your product page, reading the app description, scrolling through reviews, swiping through screenshots and watching preview videos. Explorers are a valuable group of potential customers as they are willing to invest their time to learn about your app, and are more likely to retain your app after downloading it, as they will better understand what your app offers.
App Previews
Your app preview demonstrates the features, functionality, and UI of your app in a short video that can be up to 30 seconds long. This video plays directly through the Apple App Store on your app product page. You can have up to three previews, and there is no perfect design and layout for your app previews. The aim should be to use your first (and potentially only) preview to exhibit your app’s core features. Showcase a typical user experience, and highlight what makes your app great.
App previews are viewable by anyone, so they should be appropriate for all ages and audiences. App previews can only use captured footage of the app itself. Try using graphic elements such as touch hotspots to demonstrate navigation through the app. When your app previews do not autoplay, a poster frame will be shown. Ensure that the poster frame chosen is compelling and encourages the Explorer to watch the video.
Screenshots
You can add up to 10 screenshots to your app product page. If you or your client do not have the time or budget to create app previews, screenshots are a valuable feature to leverage in order to convert visitors to your product page. Use still images captured from your app’s UI to communicate its user experience. Emphasise the fundamentals of your app, the home screen, key features—make sure that you let Explorers know what to expect when they download your app. You will want to ensure that your screenshots are from the latest version so that new downloaders of your app are not confused by inaccurate or out-of-date screenshots.
Description
Your app description should be concise and informative. You can only update your description when you submit a new version of your app, so spend sufficient time planning what you want to highlight. Focus on communicating the features and functionality of your app and emphasise what separates it from competitors. Aim to maximise buy-in from your product page visitors within the first sentence. ‘Sell’ your app with your greatest differentiator and then expand on that selling point in a paragraph. Below that, have a short list of its main features and then, if you have accolades to mention, include those at the bottom of your description.
Promotional Text
Promotional text appears above your description and can be up to 170 characters long. Your promotional text can be updated at any time, without requiring you to submit a new version of the app. You do not need to use the Promotional Text feature, however it offers the perfect opportunity to communicate limited time events and will allow you to inform the public without having to update your app.
What’s New
For people already using your app, the ‘What’s New’ section of the product page communicates the changes in the latest update. It is an important tool to let your customers know that you have listened to feedback and are actively making sure that your app has a living road map. The last thing your loyal downloaders want to feel is that the app has been forgotten, and won’t continue to receive improvements and maintenance after launch.
Test Your Product Pages
The best way to find out what works for your app and your product page is to test multiple designs. The introduction of iOS 15 and the ability to have multiple product pages gives you and your team an opportunity to simultaneously trial different approaches. Custom product pages can make your product page more relevant and effective than ever before if you take advantage of what iOS 15 has to offer.
This feature can be found in App Store Connect in ‘Features’ and then ‘Custom Product Pages’. From within this page, you will be able to click on the ‘Create Custom Product Page’ button, and also see any of the Custom Product Pages that you have created.
You will be able to publish up to 35 custom product pages at any one time. Use this as an opportunity to trial targeted design changes. Custom product pages can have different icons, screenshots, promotional text and app previews. Ideally, only change one feature of your product page at a time, so you can compare the analytics between pages and identify what works stylistically. If you were to change your icon and your preview at the same time, you wouldn’t be able to identify which element led to the changes in viewing impressions, downloads, or conversion rate. Tests can run for up to 90 days.
You will be able to use ‘Product Page Optimisation’ to run tests and see what ideation of your Product Page is performing the best. You will then be able to view the relevant analytics within App Store Connect’s ‘App Analytics’.
Ultimately, the goal is to create an engaging and informative product page. Design eye-catching and unique visual elements that will promote and convert instant downloads. Grab App Store visitors’ attention with an interesting app name, simple icon and relevant subtitle. For those visitors who are willing to spend time on your product page to learn more about your app, make sure that you have sufficient information so that the explorers are convinced of the value that your app will deliver. Emphasise your differentiating factors and show off your user interface and experience with your app previews and screenshots.