Descriptions and Screenshots

Apple’s Mac App Store is very restrictive about what you can do on your apps store shelf: You can use a description, a changelog, two links and five screenshots. All texts are limited to the first few lines, everything else is hidden behind a “…More”-Link. You should use this limited resources wisely!

First, the description: The very first line should be spot on. What does your app do? You can be lax about that if (and only if) your app is an blockbuster but be aware that it is quite likely that you potential user is searching for a very specific solution. If she does not know what your app does when she reaches the more-button, she might be gone. Try to make your first sentence answer the question “What does this app do?” Do not answer anything else in this sentence.

Dupe Devil for iCal does a good job here: “Dupe Devil for iCal is the quick, easy way to fix duplicate entries in iCal.” but it could be better:

Dupe Devil for iCal

Do you really need to write the full name here? Wouldn’t simply “Dupe Devil” be enough?

is the quick, easy way

Seriously? It is not slow and complicated? If it is obvious, leave it out!

to fix duplicate entries in iCal

Actually that is not what I want. I do not want them to be fixed. I want them to be removed.

My take on the sentence would be: “Dupe Devil removes duplicate entries from iCal.”

Second, the screenshots: A app with a limited scope as this app has, does not need five screenshots. Dupe Devil uses two. Well, it shows the very same screenshot twice. Not quite. The only difference is that in the first screen shot there were 144 duplicates removed, in the second there are no duplicates in iCal. I do not need this second screenshot.

You are using Apple’s default background? That’s great. But I do not care. Unless you want to show several windows, do not show much of the background. Crop your image to contain your single window, only. That way it is bigger and does not contain that much noise.

Closing Words

I did not buy Dupe Devil. I’ll give the free iCal Dupe Deleter a shot, first.

I don’t think that Dupe Devil’s presentation is overly bad. It just is not as good as it could be.

There are other apps that do way worse. You will find them.