Zak Dabbas is an Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) member from Chicago and cofounder of Punchkick Interactive, a digital agency that designs and develops world-class mobile apps and websites for some of the world’s biggest brands. With his experience in the digital realm, we thought Zak would be the ideal expert to advise brands on how to increase their chances of getting an app featured in the iOS App Store. Here’s what he had to say.
It’s one thing to turn a unique problem-solving idea into an innovative app with the potential to benefit thousands of eager users. It’s another thing completely to connect with those enthusiastic users so they can start enjoying your genius solution. Getting your new app featured in the iOS App Store is arguably the quickest way to boost visibility and dramatically increase downloads.
As a digital agency partnering with enterprise clients, we’re delighted every time one of our apps receives “feature” treatment. And while there’s no surefire way to get Apple to notice your app, we’ve observed a few trends–like if there’s one thing Apple loves featuring more than anything else, it’s apps that make use of its latest technologies.
Here’s the low-hanging fruit that the best iOS developers can explore to not only get Apple’s attention, but also to substantively improve user experience with their iOS apps. And–who knows–investing in these new channels could open revenue opportunities and feature ideas that attract a whole new audience to your app.
1. Design your app to be universal on iPhone and iPad.
It might seem like more work, but building iOS apps the right way from the beginning can make iPad-specific views a snap down the road. One iOS app can run device-specific views on iPhone and iPad while sharing a universal code base for app logic and communicating with an API. Smart iOS app designers can even find ways to be efficient with in-app views, using Auto Layout and size classes to make the app look great on larger iPhones and on iPads. With a little extra design and development effort, apps can target iPad relatively easily–and for certain apps, being universal is the price of entry for consideration as an App Store feature.
2. Ensure your app is built with native code.
There are many ways to build iPhone apps, including so-called “write-once” app platforms that aim to make development across iOS and Android more efficient. However, sharing code between platforms often decimates end-user experience, and introduces major complications with app updates for new versions of iOS in the future. Apple favors apps written in native code–Objective-C and its new Swift programming language–that take full advantage of the APIs and frameworks built into iOS. Not only do these apps offer best-in-class user experience on the platform they’re designed for, but they’re also better equipped to transition smoothly into the new technologies Apple will introduce with the next version of iOS.
3. Consider a version for Apple TV and tvOS.
Apple’s fourth-generation Apple TV set-top box opened the door to third-party developers with an all-new App Store in 2015, and Apple has aggressively promoted apps designed for its tvOS operating system ever since. Because tvOS apps can share code with their iOS app counterparts, many video streaming and game developers have introduced successful tvOS apps. But there are many other kinds of apps that make sense for Apple TV, and it’s worthwhile for iOS developers to consider how their apps could make the jump to the living room.
4. Integrate with the connected home with HomeKit.
HomeKit is a connected home platform that is just beginning to find its legs with an ever-expanding portfolio of hardware products that connect to Apple’s HomeKit APIs. Not every iOS app that uses HomeKit needs to have a hardware component, but it certainly makes sense for companies who make hardware for the home to find ways to connect their products to HomeKit. Since Apple introduced the dedicated Home app in iOS 10 for HomeKit features, it is prioritizing HomeKit-specific apps across the App Store to showcase its latest features. If you make lightbulbs or thermostats, your app simply must be there.
5. Design an experience people will love to use.
In the end, the apps Apple chooses for its Editors’ Choice or Essentials lists come down to those offering a user experience that iOS users will love. Having a household brand name simply isn’t enough to get noticed on the App Store these days, especially since new Silicon Valley start-ups are finding ways to improve UX and disrupt established industries. With customer expectations for mobile apps in 2017 at an all-time high, user experience matters most, and most of these technologies are really in service of removing friction or context switching from the user flow. All that matters is how well the iOS app user experience addresses end users’ real-world needs–and if the app fails to do that with a visual and interactive design users enjoy, it’ll fail to meaningfully connect with its audience.
The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.