

Limelight creates a beautiful site for your apps in seconds. - aculver
http://limelightapp.com/

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aculver
My friend and I launched this last weekend after a couple months of building
it on nights and weekends. (There is a video there that can give you a quick
idea of how it works.)

The idea is to make it cheaper and easier for the average app developer to set
up sites for their apps, while providing websites that are visually and
functionally better than they would typically do on their own.

It scrapes info from the App Store, creates complex product shots from
multiple screenshots, provides text message and QR code downloads, allows for
custom domains, does logging and reporting, supports custom stylesheets, etc.

We're looking forward to adding more templates and providing this to other
markets (e.g. Android, iPad.) However, we think it should useful to a lot of
folks now. :)

~~~
allenp
Can you post a link to an app that is using it?

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aculver
<http://whatll-it-cost.limelightapp.com/> is a site I put up for my own app.

~~~
allenp
Great work - can't wait to see more themes!

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mootothemax
Just out of interest, is this costing megabucks for licensing the themes
correctly? I'm under the impression that on a lot of sites (such as where you
got your homepage theme ;)) you need to buy a special license if you're going
to offer multiple users access to the same theme (e.g. akin to running a
wordpress-mp site and letting users choose from themes you have purchased).
I'd look into this now, as it's a fantastically well executed idea you're
running with, and it'd be a shame for you to lose out as soon as you start
gaining traction.

~~~
aculver
Great question. The templates for the actual app sites are built by
@nickmjones.

Before I started working with Nick, I looked at some of those template
options. They were really expensive for the type of licensing we would need
and more importantly, I didn't find enough of them that really clicked with
me.

~~~
mootothemax
Ah, fantastic stuff, really pleased that you have that covered :-D

I really like the concept and execution... now I just need to write a phone
app ;)

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avgarrison
This is a great idea and executed very well, however it looks like you are
using the marketing resources from Apple for the iPhone graphic and the
Available in the App Store graphic. You should be aware that the use of these
graphics requires compliance with the App Marketing and Identity Guidelines
for Developers:
[https://developer.apple.com/appstore/AppStoreMarketingGuidel...](https://developer.apple.com/appstore/AppStoreMarketingGuidelines.pdf)

Relevant Sections: For the App Store badge: "The App Store badge can be placed
on a black or white background, on a solid color background, or on a
background image, as long as legibility is not diminished. Do not place the
badge on a visually cluttered or patterned background. If the badge is placed
on a photograph or other image, it must be positioned in an area that is
uncluttered and provides strong contrast and clear legibility."

For the iPhone graphic: "The Apple-provided product image can be displayed
only on a white background. Never place the image on a black background or on
any color or pattern."

I know these guidelines may seem ridiculous, and I often wonder what
consequences may come from not complying with them, however given this is the
core of your app, I think it deserves special consideration from you.

~~~
aculver
Thanks for the kind feedback! The iPhone image we used to compose the product
shots is actually not one of the marketing resources provided by Apple. It's
based on a vector-based image made available by an independent designer for
this sort of use.

As for the use of the App Store badge, I think our use fits within the
guideline of "on a background image, as long as legibility is not diminished."
I'm sure we'll hear from them otherwise. :)

Would be curious to hear other folks thoughts on this as well.

~~~
avgarrison
Sounds good to me. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of a potential
headache. Good luck to you, it is an awesome app, and I will most likely use
it in the future.

Also, where did you get the art for the iPhone image? I would like to have
more flexibility than what the Apple images provide. Thanks!

~~~
aculver
Had to go looking for it again, but here it is:
[http://psd.tutsplus.com/freebies/psd/freebie-vector-
iphone-4...](http://psd.tutsplus.com/freebies/psd/freebie-vector-iphone-4-psd-
file/) . "It was designed by Cambridge-based designer, Hector Janse van
Rensburg."

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erickhill
Is this service a competitor to App.net, which was much discussed on HN a week
ago? <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2765602>

~~~
aculver
Yeah, we had been working on this for a couple months when they launched last
week. I wasn't surprised that someone else had executed on the same idea, but
couldn't believe the timing was so close to the weekend we had set to launch.
:) That being said, to us it was a great validation of the idea.

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highace
A great idea and youve executed it really well. However is it not ironic that
a site offering to provide templates is using a template themselves.. :p

~~~
aculver
Very. :) We used a template for our marketing site (and backend) for the same
reason we think some app developers will use our service: A well designed
template will get you 80% of the benefit for 20% of the effort.

~~~
rokhayakebe
I think the fact that you are using a template is a great selling point.

Edit: You eat your own dog food.

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zsiec
Bravo, this site looks to meet the needs of many of us who want a one-click
showcase. Great work with the domain management!

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viscanti
Would be helpful to have more (easy to find) info about how you're doing the
a/b testing.

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gte910h
Fantastic guys! Excellent for a certain segment of apps.

