GoKawiilDevelopers are arguing that Apple’s App Store ratings are fundamentally broken in at least a couple of different ways – including the fact that your 4-star rating could do more harm than good.
They also highlight the conflict between users not wanting their app experience to be interrupted, while Apple effectively forces developers to nag you for a rating and review …
All iPhone developers know that Apple highlighting their app can mean the difference between languishing in obscurity and a runaway success. This, they say, is where the first problem with App Store ratings arises.
Prompting/nagging users to review
App users generally don’t like being nagged to rate and review an app, especially when it interrupts the very thing they are using the app for. Developer Steven Troughton-Smith says they have absolutely no choice about it because a critical mass of 5-star reviews is what leads Apple to highlight apps – and prompting users is what generates those reviews.
Review prompts are the difference between a great app getting five positive reviews, and thousands of positive reviews. I would never recommend to a developer to not implement the APIs. It’s App Store Editorial suicide for most apps, since Apple tends to only pick things up when they have that body of review data.
He argues developers should show this prompt when a user opens the app, and repeat it every few months. However, others argue that this is the most annoying time to do it.
Show it after an action that finishes what the user wanted to do. Like saving or publishing. But please never after opening the app. I opened the app because I want to do something with it – this is the worst moment for distractions.
This can be tricky, however, as developers don’t necessarily know when you’ve met your objective.
A 4-star rating is a negative review
... continue reading