13 Tips for a Great Chrome Web Store Listing Page

With the Chrome Web Store launching by the end of 2010, there's still just a bit of time to create a compelling, beautiful, and conversion generating store listing page.  To help, here are 13 tips to help make your Chrome Web Store listing page the best it can be.
  1. Create a great icon!  It should look professional and encapsulate the identity of your application.  Consult the image guidelines for examples and technical details.  Make sure the icon is clear and not pixelated.
  2. Multiple Screenshots!  Upload four to five different screenshots, each showing a different element of the app.  If your app is a game, make sure to upload screenshots showing gameplay!  Each screenshot should be 400x275 and should follow the image guidelines.
  3. Best screenshot first!  Make sure your most compelling, exciting, interesting screenshot is the first one.
  4. YouTube Movie!  A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video is worth 10 bajillion.  Create a short video which shows your app in action, which is especially important if it's a new app or game.  Use a tool like Camtasia to make this quick and easy.
  5. Themed Background Image!  You can upload a background image to be displayed under the icon and one-liner description.  This background should match the identity of your app and possibly even blend into the screenshots.  Make sure your app's title and description are still readable.
  6. Descriptive One Line Description!  The manifest.json file has a description field, which can be up to 132 character (and no HTML).  Make this short, compelling, sum up the app and why users should care.
  7. Compelling Long Description!  Use the Description, set in the Edit Store Details page, to list all features and functionality of the app.  For example, include how many levels your game has, how many characters, how many different data sources the app integrates with, and any quotes from users or press.  This is the main place to describe and sell your app, so really go into detail.
  8. What's Included in Free Trial?  If your app has a Free Trial (if it's a paid app, it should have a Free Trial), be sure to explain what is included in the Free Trial and what people get if they pay for the full version.
  9. Disclose Known Issues!  Use the Description to list out all known issues.  Be transparent with your users.
  10. Verify Your Domain!  Some older apps were able to publish before the store required domain verification.  Be sure to verify your domain, it helps users feel more comfortable installing the "official" app.  Domain verification is displayed on the store listing page.
  11. Google Analytics!  You can attached your own Google Analytics code to your store listing page.  This is very helpful for your own metrics tracking.
  12. 1.0 or Greater Version!  Software versions are, let's face it, relative.  Give your users more confidence by bumping up the version number to at least 1.0 or higher.
  13. Official Domain Name!  The domain name, which hosts the app, should look official.  Avoid names like staging.myapp.com or dev.myapp.com.
If you have a web app, you'll find it very easy to publish into the Chrome Web Store with my Quick Start guide.  Follow up with the Chrome Web Store docs and join the discussion at the Chromium Apps discussion group.

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