AppStore and Mac Store: What you need to consider when publishing an application update

Having published the application, after some time you will probably think about version 2.0. This idea may be prompted to you by a person’s natural desire to improve and develop, or by more pressing needs, for example, the fight against competition. You will get the largest portion of motivation if you read the user reviews (first get better with Corvalol and handkerchiefs). The desire of the user is the law, and the user in the present conditions of a glut of the application market is capricious, picky and picky. If the reading of users' comments to your application did not break you, but on the contrary, to the brim filled with desire to fight for a place under the sun by all means, this article is for you.

In this article, I will not go into details of the development of the update, but will only cover the essence of the process of publishing it on the AppStore and Mac Store, having slightly touched on the topic of marketing.

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What can be updated?

Pressing the cherished New Version button (New Version) again makes active, and therefore, all fields in the profile of your application can be changed and adjusted. By creating a profile for version 2.0, you get the opportunity to edit the application name (Name), a set of keywords (Keywords), a video about the application and screenshots (App Video Preview and Screenshots), an icon (Icon, for the AppStore only), a category (Category), age restrictions (Rating), as well as sections such as the Game Center and, in fact, the binary file itself (Build).

It is worth noting that there are sections in which you can make changes without adding an update. These are the “Description” and “Contact Details” fields (App Review Information, Support URL), and “Pricing”. Thus, you can always correct errors in the description or change the pricing policy without uploading a new binary file.

If you still have developed an update, then after you create a sub-profile for the new version, you will have to fill in the What's New field. It is here that you can excitedly and with pride literally point by point inform the offended users that their complaints did not remain unnoticed by you and all (or almost all) errors were corrected, and the defects were refined. Do not be shy, because this is a great opportunity to show off "" new things. " It is the “What's New” field that should convince the user that you are not throwing work halfway through and listen to his opinion.

And finally, if you hold your nose to the wind and have developed an app for the App Store with Apple Watch support, do not forget to make happy the owners of the new-fashioned gadget and also upload the icon and screenshots for the “clock”.


What is really worth updating?
Although at the beginning of the article it is said that the side of the publication will be mainly affected, but there is no way to do without addressing the topic of marketing. Of course, you can improve everything. But what is really worth improving?

1. Screenshots and icon
The appearance of the application plays no less a role than its functionality. If you updated the interface, it is definitely worth showing. Even if it so happened that the appearance of the application remained unchanged, the new “wrapper” would still attract attention. Make beautiful promoscreens (real-life screens or a collage), draw an attractive icon, or even shoot a video for the application. Remember that you can upload a maximum of 5 screenshots and 1 video about the application to the profile, and on the Mac Store the video is not needed, and the icon is embedded directly in the build.

All this, no doubt, your application will benefit, especially if it is a game. After all, then your target audience is children and adolescents, on which the colorful pictures act smoothly.

2. Content
Descriptions written in a competent language in compliance with all the rules of spelling and punctuation - this is the norm. If you really decide to take the bull by the horns, make your description attractive. Add humor or intrigue, but remember that most users do not read descriptions at all, and on the market itself there are some two and a half lines of text. Therefore, in no case should you turn the description into a psychological novel with thriller elements, make a better emphasis on the localization of the description (the market supports 28 languages). Let half of the users not even bother to read it - do not forget that adding a new language will allow you to add new keywords, which means to reach a larger audience and get more profit.

3. Name
It happens, lies on the market your wonderful application, but no one shakes it. Instead of indulging in gloomy thoughts about the unfairness of life, think: is the name of your application appropriate? Does it reflect the essence? Does it contain keywords? Does it attract the eye? Is it the fruit of your creativity? If you answered “yes” to all these questions, and the application is still not in demand - well, you tried. If these questions made you think, perhaps it is time to change the name. Remember, the name field on the App Store and the Mac Store can contain up to 255 characters for the book - and this is a huge space for your imagination, and, more importantly, many valuable keywords can fit in a long name (however, you shouldn’t get carried away: the line displays only the first 25 characters, so put the most important one at the beginning).

Of course, the name should not contain TM - this will cause a rejection (failure to publish) from the moderator.

4. Pricing
This, again, is a matter of pricing policy, which sometimes makes sense to reconsider. Spying on competitors has never stopped anyone.

Best the enemy of the good


Well, you understand. This, of course, does not mean that it is better not to touch anything at all if everything works. This means that you can touch, but carefully. This is especially true of the name. If the application enjoys some popularity, changing the name can harm its ability to "be" users. After all, the name is the business card of your offspring.

The same applies to the icons. If your icon is recognizable, then it “works”. A global update that updates your application is easier to release as a separate new masterpiece. Do not forget also that the tendency to copy the icons of popular applications also leads to a reject.

Tricks quick publication
The two greatest tyrants on earth: case and time. (M. Herder)

October 31 in many countries is celebrated Halloween. Suppose you decide to publish an update on the subject of this holiday, but only realized it the day before. No problem! Apple has provided for the forgetful hurried magic button Contact the App Review Team .

Enter contact details and additional information regarding the reason for your request. Your task is to explain to the moderator as clearly and touchingly as possible why testing your application should be in his priority. Here, all means are good, especially since the Apple team is famous for its informal style of communication with developers. Not the fact that the magic will work, but this is the will of the case. Some, they say, are lucky.
Successful publications and a minimum of rejects!