Every element of your App Store product page has the power to drive downloads of your app or game. And with iOS 11, product pages offer more opportunities to showcase your work with additional app previews, localization, and new text fields. Creating a great app is just the beginning. Use your product page to help customers find and engage with your app through thoughtfully crafted metadata.
Your app’s name plays a critical role in how users discover it on the App Store. Choose a simple, memorable name that is easy to spell and hints at what your app does. Be distinctive. Avoid names that use generic terms or are too similar to existing app names.
The length of your app name is limited to 30 characters and will appear on the App Store for each device, including each version of iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV.
Subtitles are limited to 30 characters and appear below your app’s name throughout the App Store in iOS 11. Using a subtitle to briefly summarize your app in a concise, compelling way can encourage visits to your product page and downloads. Avoid generic descriptions such as “world’s best app.” Instead, consider using your subtitle to highlight features or typical uses of your app that resonate with your audience.
You can test different versions of your subtitle at different points in your app’s lifecycle — when you release a major update to your app, for example — to determine the subtitle that’s most effective for engaging users. You can update your app’s subtitle when submitting a new version of your app.
An app preview demonstrates the features, functionality, and UI of your app in a short video that customers watch directly on the App Store. Previews can be up to 30 seconds long and use footage captured on the device to show the experience of using your app.
You can feature up to three app previews on your product page in any order, and localize them for all available App Store languages. Your app previews appear as the first images on your product page. Screenshots appear after your app previews and description.
App previews autoplay with muted audio when customers view your product page, so make sure the first few seconds of your video are visually compelling. App preview poster frames appear whenever videos do not autoplay.
To learn more about creating great app previews, see Show More with App Previews.
Use images captured from your app’s UI to visually communicate your app’s user experience. You can feature up to five screenshots on your product page. Your first two screenshots should highlight the essence of your app, as these images display in search results when no app preview is available. Focus each subsequent screenshot on a main benefit or feature so that you fully convey your app’s value.
Provide an engaging description that highlights the features and functionality of your app. The ideal description is a concise, informative paragraph followed by a short list of main features. Let potential users know what makes your app unique and why they will love it. Communicate in the tone of your brand, and use terminology your target audience will appreciate and understand.
The first sentence of your description is the most important — this is what users can read without having to tap to read more. Every word counts, so focus your description on your app’s unique features. If you choose to mention an accolade, we recommend putting it at the end of your description or as part of your promotional text.
Don’t add unnecessary keywords to your description in an attempt to improve search results. Also avoid including specific prices in your app description. Pricing is already shown on the product page, and references within the description may not be accurate in all countries and territories.
You can update your app’s description only when submitting a new version of your app. Think carefully about what you want to convey to your customers and the features you highlight in your app description. If you want to share important updates more frequently than your submission schedule, consider updating your promotional text instead.
Your app’s promotional text appears at the top of the description and is limited to 170 characters. You can update it at any time without having to submit a new version of your app. Consider using promotional text to share the latest news about your app, which can include new promotions for your app or in-app purchases, upcoming features or content, limited- time sales, or other events within your app.
Keywords help determine where your app displays in search results. Carefully choose your keywords to ensure your app is easily discoverable. Think about the specific words your audience might use to search for an app like yours, and use those words when entering your keyword metadata. Broad or less-relevant terms can make it hard for users to find your app.
Keywords are limited to 100 characters total, with words separated by commas. Maximize the number of words that fit in this character limit by avoiding the following:
Improper use of keywords is a common reason for App Store rejections. Do not use the following in your keywords:
For more details, see Optimizing for App Store Search
Users can view and start an in-app purchase from your product page. Subscriptions and in-app purchases are shown on separate sections on your product page, and you can showcase up to 20 total items across both. Each item has its own display name, promotional image, and description. In-app purchases can also appear in search results and be featured on the Today, Games, and Apps tabs.
Your app must support the new SKPaymentTransactionObserver method to make in-app purchases available on the App Store. You can list in-app purchases in any order on your product page to help drive awareness for specific content. If users don’t have your app installed on their device when they make an in-app purchase, they will be prompted to download or purchase the app to complete the transaction.
When you update your app, you can use What’s New to communicate changes to customers. This text appears on your product page, and users can view a two-line preview below your app name and icon on the Updates tab.
If you added a feature or fixed a bug based on feedback, use What’s New to let customers know that you’ve listened to them. List new features, content, or functionality in order of importance, and add call-to-action messaging that gets users excited about the update.
You can assign two categories to your app so that customers can find it while browsing the App Store. The primary category you select is particularly important for your app’s discoverability on the App Store. This will be the category in which the app appears when customers browse by category or filter search results, and it determines whether it appears on the Apps tab or Games tab. Be sure to select a primary category that best describes the main function of your app.
For more details, see Choosing a Category.
Metadata you provide in iTunes Connect is shared across the App Store on iOS 11 and iOS 10.3 and earlier, so you only need one version of product page elements, such as app name, icon, screenshots, and keywords.
If your product page showcases multiple app previews, customers on iOS 10.3 and earlier will only see the first preview. Prioritize the order of your previews to make sure the first one best highlights your app’s full experience. We also recommend adjusting your app description for the new App Store on iOS 11.