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开发者发布应用前必须明确的5件事

作者:jerry nixon

你有想法,并开发了自己的应用。这整个过程中都很顺利,你很快就能看到终点了。但除了开发应用,你还需要做哪些事情?以下是你在发布应用之前必做的10件事:

1.找准平台

不要忘了市场上有多个应用商店。如果你的应用具有市场潜力,到哪里都会发光的。可以进入应用数量最多的市场看看,进入用户最多的平台瞧瞧,还可以进入最有潜力的市场看看。

对微软来说,其关键就在于用户数量。如果他们能够在扩大用户基础的同时,管理好应用平均收益情况,他们就有可能蚕食其他平台的市场。——《福布斯》

瞄准Windows平台意味着你要根据自己的技能在HTML5/JavaScript和XAML/C#之间做出选择。你可能会选择像GameMaker这种可以创造应用并向多个平台发布的应用框架。如果忽视Windows平台的低准入门槛,或者任何增长迅速的市场,那就无异于浪费机会。

mobile-app-development(from dreamstime.com)

mobile-app-development(from dreamstime.com)

2.本土化内容

即使你身边的人说的都是英语,也要清楚世界还有其他不同市场。创造了一个出色的工具固然很棒,但为何要令其局限于一种语言呢?让应用本土化意味着你将获得更多潜在用户。这个方法可行吗?值得吗?当然。

56.2%消费者认为允许他们使用自己的语言获取信息的能力比价格更重要。——(Common Sense Advisory, Can’t Read, Won’t Buy:  Why Language Matters)

在Windows平台本土化内容意味可利用运行时间的本地化附带功能,使用多语言工具,联系本地母语者来检验你的文本。Windows Store覆盖范围超过231个国家/地区,以及100种语言和货币。这已经是任何应用商店所能实现的最大覆盖面了,也是开发者可收获最大国际市场潜力的平台了。

3.遵从标准设计

从技术角度上讲,你的应用很棒。但它的视觉效果呢?每个生态圈中都有一种设计语言或界面指导。开发者都想设计出独特的用户体验,但更重要的是保持应用视觉形象与系统的一致性,独特很重要,一致性也很重要。要遵从操作系统指南的设计。因为这可能关系到应用被批准还是被拒绝,从而导致你花更多时间重新设计不同的元素。——design shack

微软平台(游戏邦注:包括Windows,Windows Phone以及Xbox)有个规范而独特的设计语言指导应用界面与生态系统相统一,但却不要求独特性或创意统一性。不要忽视设计的统一性。

4.测试易用性

应用并不会自我完善。并且它们真的很耗时间。投入足够的时间开发应用,还需要确认以下情况:用户第一时间就需要指导吗?任务能否在数个步骤内完成?这些问题正是杰出应用与无名应用之间的区别。

Visual Studio是微软开发者的代码评估、第三方库以及性能分析工具。但Microsoft Test Manager以及Team Foundation Services则允许真正的终端用户测试并在开发过程中提供反馈。在发布应用前一定要接触各个层次的用户。

5.制定计划

没有哪一个应用商店竞争不激烈。无论是在应用数量达10万还是70万的市场中,你的应用都不过稻草堆中的一根针。应用商店并不欠你的人情,你得自己让应用获得关注和曝光度。无论是采用游击战术还是传统惯例,你都需要为应用准备一个营销计划。这个计划应该包括真实的执行安排。这可不是业余爱好,而是事关赚钱的问题。以下是你的计划应该包含的内容:

1)YouTube Channel(非常重要)

2)网站/博客(非常重要)

3)Twitter帐号

4)Facebook帐号

5)社交书签

6)反馈/论坛

7)关键词检索

8)公告/媒体发布

9)多语言支持

10)测试设备/分析

Windows和Windows Phone应用可以生成网站。这很好,开发者可以从微软的免费资源中获益。但准备就绪的时候,决定应用质量的就是费力的工作,在线活动、交叉广告、第一印象以及草根势力。在你发布应用之前,一定要有个计划,没有人会替你打点这一切。

总结

要获得成功需要投入大量精力。并且 ,你还需要一定的运气和营销时机。但有些普遍步骤才是决定性作用。要优化你的应用,支持你的用户,朝成功方向前进。这是一项困难的工作。这里并没有什么妙方。祝你好运!

原文发表于2013年8月28日,所涉事件及数据以当时为准。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

5 things you must do BEFORE you publish your app.

You have your idea. You are developing your app. It’s coming along great. You can see the finish line. But do you need to do more than just develop your app? Here are 10 things you should do before you publish.

1. Include platforms

Don’t mistakenly forget there are several app stores in the marketplace. If your app has potential, it has potential everywhere. Hit the one with the most apps. Check. Hit the one with the most users. Check. Hit the one with the most potential. Check.

For Microsoft, the story is all about the number of users. If they were to manage their average revenue per app while growing their user base, they could potentially out-earn all the other platforms. – Forbes

Targeting Windows platform means choosing between HTML5/JavaScript and XAML/C# depending on your skills. Then again, you might choose an app framework like GameMaker that can build a compelling app and export to several platforms, including Windows. Ignoring the low barrier of entry to the Windows opportunity, or any burgeoning market, is an opportunity wasted.

2. Localize content

Even if everyone around you speaks English, the rest of the world is different. Creating the perfect widget is wonderful, but limiting to only a single language? Why? Localizing your app means you reaching exponentially more potential users. Is it work? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.

56.2 percent of consumers say that the ability to obtain information in their own language is more important than price. – (Common Sense Advisory, Can’t Read, Won’t Buy:  Why Language Matters)

Localizing in Windows means leveraging the localized strings features of the runtime, using the multilingual toolkit, and reaching out to native speakers to validate your text. The Windows Store reaches more than 231 countries and 100 languages and currencies. That’s the broadest reach of any Store. That’s the most international potential you can get.

3. Follow the design

Technically speaking, your app is amazing. But, visually, where is it? Every ecosystem has a design language or interface guide. It’s tempting to create a distinctive user experience, but it’s imperative to maintain visual consistency with the ecosystem. Distinctive? Yes. Consistent? Yes.

Stick to operating system guidelines. It could be the difference between an app being approved or an app being rejected and then having to spend lots more time redesigning different elements.

– design shack

Across the Microsoft platform – Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox – a regular and distinctive design language guides app interfaces to unity with the ecosystem but not requiring a uniformity that undermines uniqueness or creativity. Don’t ignore design consistency. Less training. More goodness.

4. Test for usability

Apps don’t build themselves. And, they take real time. Spend enough time building an app and the trees start to obfuscate the forest. Do first-time users need instructions? Are tasks completed in few or several steps? Is it nice? These questions separate hero apps from the zeros.

Visual Studio is Microsoft’s developer tooling for code evaluation, third-party libraries, and profiling. But, Microsoft Test Manager with Team Foundation Services lets real end-users test and provide usability feedback during development. Reach out to every level user before publishing.

5. Have a plan

No app store is small. 100,000? 700,000? Your app is a needle in a haystack. The store owes you nothing. It’s up to you to get noticed, to gain traction, and to break through. Guerilla or conventional, your app has to have a marketing plan. That plan has to have a realistic execution schedule. This isn’t a hobby, this is money. Here’s what your plan might include:

YouTube Channel (absolutely critical)

Web site/Blog (absolutely critical)

Twitter account

Facebook account

Social bookmarks

Feedback/Forums

Keyword research

Announcements/Press release

Multilingual support

Instrumentation/Analytics

Windows and Windows Phone apps have generated web sites. That’s nice. They benefit from Microsoft’s free resources. But when the dust settles, it is elbow grease, online activity, cross-advertising, first-impression quality, and grass roots momentum that drive apps. Before you publish, you must have a plan. Nobody will do it for you.

Conclusion

There’s a lot to do in order to be successful. And, you’ll need some luck and market timing. But some common sense steps can tip the scales. Improve your app. Advocate your users. And, drive toward success. This is a hard nut to crack. There’s no magic bullet. Anymore, all we really know is what doesn’t work. The “dumb tax” has already been paid. (source:jerrynixon


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