

How the new Chrome Web Store increased signups by 1000% - primigenus
http://blog.handcraft.com/2011/10/how-the-new-chrome-web-store-increased-signups-to-handcraft-by-1000/

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roykolak
This is absolutely true and for me, it was a real shocker. I developed an
extension called Better History. Before the redesign, I had 500 active users.

On the day of the redesign, installs skyrocketed. Everyday since has seen a
2,000 to 3,000 user increase. At the moment it's up to 11,000.

I did prepare some promotions that I think really helped get Better History
some face time.

~~~
primigenus
These are the promotions: [http://automagical.posterous.com/three-promotions-
for-better...](http://automagical.posterous.com/three-promotions-for-better-
history) \- I think it's important to note that these three banners offer a
much better idea of what you're installing than just the icon by itself.

That may also be the case for Handcraft, as our banners show the code editor.
Before last week we got some people signing up and asking "What is this?" as
if they weren't aware it was a HTML prototyping tool. Now the questions are of
a different nature. I wonder if that's because the banner is more upfront
about what the app is.

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dpcan
I think it is WAY too early to start giving the new design credit for the
surge in sign-ups.

For the last week there has been a ton of press leading people back into the
chrome web store.

As the next 30 days go by, the question is really, did the new chrome web
store design make a big enough difference that people will actually come back?

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aderaynal
The new pages look good but I wonder how they chose the new featured
extensions...

I created a fantasy sport extension
[https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cnnckoodldcbgegkml...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/cnnckoodldcbgegkmlgponhofcngihnp)
It was featured in the old webstore in the sports category

In the new webstore, it is buried behind random team-based themes (university
of Texas, Philadelphia Flyers...) and non sports related extensions (geo
chaching, body mass index...
<https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/ext/13-sports>

Did they pick the extensions with the best looking banners ???

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subpixel
Are there really no prices listed in the Chrome Web Store? Many of the apps
may be free, but I couldn't find a single listed price.

If I install an app that appears to be free, and then realize I'm on a free-
trial or limited-freemium plan, I'd find that pretty annoying.

~~~
aderaynal
this used to be indicated in the previous version of the Chrome store.

But if I remember correctly there was no option for freemium. So most freemium
apps were shown as free (mine included)

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danso
"While the original Chrome Web Store mirrored the design of Apple’s iTunes
Store quite closely, the new Web Store follows its own path with banners of
varying sizes representing apps in most places rather than icons. "

I love the dynamic grid layout they use for the store, and I assume it's the
same one that G+ photo albums use. Are they using an open JS library
(something like isotope), or is it all in-house code?

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MatthewPhillips
My (not featured) app has also seen an uptick.

On an unrelated note, the new Web Store doesn't run very well on Chromebooks.

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gregw100
I think another reason for the increase in signups is Google's latest
marketing campaigns. They have been starting to aggressively advertise the
Chrome App Store much more than before. Just yesterday I saw an entire
commercial with the Angry Birds developers discussing how great apps on Chrome
are.

Google knows its Chrome store is legit now, so they're ready to show it off to
the world in an attempt to make it as mainstream as the iTunes store is now.

