

Why iPhone App Screenshots Matter and How to Make Good Ones - makeshifthoop
http://blog.appstorerankings.net/blog/2013/05/05/why-iphone-app-screenshots-matter-and-how-to-make-good-ones/

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drharris
I'm sick of screenshots like this: [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/war-of-
the-fallen/id59401994...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/war-of-the-
fallen/id594019940)

I want to see the app itself, not just a collection of stuff you can do. That
means nothing to me. I don't want to download junk, free or paid, and want to
see an accurate representation of what I'll be getting. This shows me some
character factions, what a card looks like, and tells me I can fight with it,
but all that is meaningless to the app itself.

I have similar feelings about quotes being used at the top of the description,
before I even know what the app is. First, tell me what it does for me, then
go into detail, and then use cherry-picked quotes from reviewers (but I'll
ignore those anyway and check your star rating; manufactured social proof is
meaningless to me).

At least this makes a good filter for me; usually apps that are unwilling to
use actual screenshots and require feel-good quotes aren't worth anything. Of
course in this example, the developer name would generate an automatic pass.

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nhm
Good points all round, but this article make quite a few claims with no
sources (e.g. "Then they will generally compare two or three options and view
the full descriptions."). Is this based on user surveys or guesswork? AFAIK
Apple doesn't release that kind of information.

Also, the text overlay in Documents to Go looks quite ugly to me. Perhaps not
to the average user, though.

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JLehtinen
I'd add screenshot collages to the list of things to avoid. Instead of showing
just one, informative screenshot at a time, some developers stick 4
screenshots into one, making all of them too small to be legible or
comprehensible.

~~~
interpol_p
We used a screenshot collage in one of the screenshots for our app, and I
think we used it tastefully (though I'm biased). It's the second screenshot
here: <https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/codea/id439571171?mt=8>

~~~
JLehtinen
Oh yeah, for iPad apps it's certainly different. App store for iPhone is far
too cramped for that.

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dragontamer
Poor example.

Kingdom Builder is made by legendary board-game designer Donald X. Vaccarino
(creator of "Dominion"). The art style is reminiscent of the board game and
clearly communicates to me at least "Oh snap, Vaccarino made another game". It
clearly has Vaccarino's signature on the top.

The screenshot is perfect for the target audience: people familiar with
Vaccarino's name, as well as his reputation. It is simultaneously an
advertisement for itself, as well as an advertisement for the boardgame that
Vaccarino has made.

Its the official iPad adaptation of the board game. And as such, it looks
exactly like the board game. If you're not into turn-based board games, you
won't know Vaccarino (and probably won't enjoy the game). If you are into
those games, you will know who Vaccarino is.

If you're advertising Monopoly, the last thing you want to do is point out the
complicated board state. Action will be slower and graphics will be
terrible... after all, this is a port of a board game. However, those who are
interested will recognize your board game port... so you want to make it look
like its cardboard form that you'd find at a toy store.

