App Center Best Practices

Last week Facebook announced a new App Center where developers can submit applications they've built.  Like any API owner, Facebook is looking for high quality applications to list in its directory and has published a list of App Center Best Practices:

• Websites must provide a personalized experience - All websites and mobile web apps need to immediately present authenticated users with a logged-in experience. Specifically, we’re looking for personalization, such as name and profile picture, so users know that their Facebook information is being used to create an account.
• Review your app settings - App detail pages are dynamic based on the integrations you’ve specified on the basic settings page of the Developer App. Be sure to review this and remove any old or non-functional integrations.
• Provide high-quality images - Your images should match the quality of your app. As specified in the guidelines, images shouldn’t have buttons, excessive text, borders, dropshadows, URLs, promotions, pricing, or third-party logos.
• Input accurate names & thoughtful descriptions - Don’t add any additional keywords to the name of your app. Proofread your app description for spelling and grammar and remove unnecessary symbols, like stars, hearts and multiple exclamation points.

Some food for thought. Every app center will be different and have different requirements. I think I will add App Center Best Practices as a building block, after I look at a wide selection of other API app showcases, and identify some common best practices.

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