You must have been familiar with the default App Store of Apple(iTunes), Android(Google Play) and other default mobile web stores wherein you would have searched a number of applications available for your device and downloaded many of them, But we are sure you wouldn’t be knowing much about Facebook’s latest featured product, i.e. The Facebook App Center.
Yes, you read it right. The Facebook App Center is the central place to find great social apps (primarily facebook related). The App Center is an additional channel to grow canvas apps, mobile apps and websites integrated with Facebook. The Center is currently in its beta version and will be soon launched in a couple of weeks for public at www.facebook.com/appcenter.
Categories in App Center
If your app meets the App Center guidelines set by Facebook, people will be able to find it by clicking a category (e.g., Games or Music).
Here is a list of all the Categories which will be able to classify millions of apps proposed to be submitted in the app Center:
| Category | Description |
| Books | Apps for finding, sharing, rating and buying books. (Examples: Scribd, Kobo, Nook by Barnes & Noble, Goodreads) |
| Business | Apps that help people find or share jobs, learn about professions, etc. (Examples: BranchOut, LinkedIn) |
| Communication | Apps that help people interact and have conversations with one another by chat, video, status updates, etc. (Examples: Skype, Zoosk, Twitter) |
| Education | Apps that help people learn new skills by taking courses, buying textbooks, finding tutors, etc. (Examples: Chegg, Khan Academy) |
| Entertainment | Apps for finding shows, rating movies, keeping up with celebs and general enjoyment. (Examples: Netflix, Hulu) |
| Fashion | Apps for sharing clothing, trends, and styles. (Example: Pose, Pinterest) |
| Finance | Apps that help people track and learn about money, spending and investments. (Examples: PayPal) |
| Food & Drink | Apps that help people share recipes, discover new restaurants, track where they’ve eaten, etc. (Examples: Foodspotting, Foodily) |
| Games | Apps for structured playing and having fun. Games should be interactive, with plenty of goals, rules and challenges. |
| Health & Fitness | Apps that help people with their health, wellness or fitness. (Examples: Runkeeper, Nike, Endomondo) |
| Lifestyle | Apps related to lifestyle trends and habits. Topics might include fashion, entertaining guests, interior design, real estate, etc. (Examples: Causes, Horoscope, Calendar) |
| Local | Apps that help people find places around them. (Examples: Yelp, Foursquare) |
| Music | Apps for listening to music, discovering new bands, creating playlists, keeping up with musicians, etc. (Examples: Spotify, Pandora, SoundCloud) |
| Navigation | Apps that help people get where they’re going by providing maps, directions, etc. (Examples: MotionX) |
| News | Apps for reading the news, understanding current events, sharing important stories, etc. (Examples: Washington Post Social Reader, The Guardian, Huffington Post) |
| Apps for Pages | Apps that help businesses manage or enhance their Facebook Pages. (Examples: Static HTML, BandPage, Wildfire Iframes for Pages) |
| Photo | Apps for viewing, sharing and editing photos and artwork. (Examples: Instagram, iPhoto) |
| Productivity | Apps that help people organize and manage their time. (Examples: DropBox, SlideShare, Wunderlist) |
| Reference | Apps that give people comprehensive or additional information on a variety of topics. (Examples: Bing) |
| Shopping | Apps for buying clothes, housewares, jewelry, etc. (Examples: Etsy, Fab.com, Groupon, LivingSocial) |
| Sports | Apps for watching, following and learning about sports. (Examples: ESPN, NFL Fan Zone) |
| Travel | Apps for discovering places around the world. (Examples: TripIt, TripAdvisor, Gogobot) |
| Utilities | Useful apps that make everyday activities, like tracking battery life or searching on the web, easier. (Examples: Norton Safe Web, Bump, RockMelt) |
| Video | Apps for creating, finding and watching videos, trailers, short clips, etc. (Examples: Social Cam, Viddy) |
| Weather | Apps for tracking and planning around the weather. |
The Games category supports an additional subcategory:
| Subcategory | Description |
| Action & Arcade | Games with very short levels, simple and intuitive control schemes, and rapidly increasing difficulty. (Examples: Diamond Dash, Bubble Island, Bejeweled Blitz) |
| Adventure | Games with little reflex challenges or action. Players are required to solve puzzles by interacting with people or the environment, mostly in a non-confrontational way. (Examples: Wild Ones, Backyard Monsters) |
| Board | Turn-based games. (Examples: Words with Friends, RISK: Factions, Farkle) |
| Card | Games that revolve around cards. (Examples: Uno, Poker) |
| Casino | Games where advancement is based on chance or luck. (Examples: Bingo Blitz, Slotomania) |
| Family | Easy to moderately difficult games that are appropriate for kids. (Examples: Ice Age Village) |
| Puzzle | Games that require players to solve logic puzzles or navigate visual challenges like mazes. (Examples: Hidden Chronicles, Tetris Stars) |
| Simulation | Games that mimic a real or fictional reality. (Examples: Cityville, The Sims, Café World) |
| Sports | Games that mimic playing sports or managing teams. (Examples: FIFA Superstars, Madden NFL Superstars) |
| Strategy | Games that require careful thinking and planning to win. (Examples: Empires & Allies, Social Empires, Chess with Friends) |
| Trivia | Knowledge-based games where players are required to remember names, facts and events. (Examples: Family Feud, Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?) |
| Word | Games that require players to use letters or words correctly or creatively. (Examples: Scramble With Friends, Scrabble) |
Guidelines to Choose Correct Categories
To make your app easy to find, please choose a category that:
- Reflects what your app is and does
- Makes sense to most people
How Does the App Center Works?
The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web. From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Eligibility Criteria for Apps in the App Center
These apps are eligible for the App Center:
- An app on Facebook.com in a canvas page
- A mobile app built for the web, iOS or Android that uses Facebook Login
- A website that uses Facebook Login and has an immediately logged-in, personalized experience
- An App for Pages built to manage or enhance other companies’ Facebook Pages
The Success of the Apps will be marked upon the user ratings and engagement in the app center. Users will also be able to give their feedback comments which will be reviewed by the App Owner to calculates its overall Success.
Well designed and the most talked about apps will be prominently displayed and Apps that receive poor user ratings or don’t meet the quality guidelines of the App Center won’t be listed.
App Quality Guidelines
To be listed in the App Center, your app should:
- Have an easy-to-use interface, clear content, value to users, and no significant bugs.
- Show a clear distinction between ads and content, without excessive advertising.
- Have high app ratings and a low negative feedback rate.
- Set clear expectations about what user activity it shares on Facebook, and when.
- Not mimic Facebook UI elements in a way that’s misleading or unintuitive.
- For websites: Have a logged-in, personalized experience when users arrive on your website from your app detail page. Users shouldn’t have to click a “Log in with Facebook” button again when they arrive. The experience should be somewhat personalized so that they know they are logged in (e.g. showing their name and profile pic).
How to Submit your App in the App Center
To submit your app in the Facebook App Center, you just have to configure your app according to the App Center Guidelines in 4 Simple steps which are:
- Creating an App Detail Page
- Uploading Image Assets
- Authorization
- Submitting your app for the App Center
App Detail Page Submission
Creating an app detail page is the first step in submitting your app. Once your app detail page is created, your app will show up in search results and be eligible to be listed in the App Center. Follow these guidelines when creating your page:
- Display Name - Use the exact name of your app, with no extra words or characters.
- Short & Detailed Descriptions - Describe how your app works and what makes it unique. Be accurate, so people aren’t surprised when they start using it. Use standard spelling, grammar and capitalization. Don’t include URLs, excessive punctuation, price information, keyword lists or non-standard symbols.
- Category & Subcategory - Select a category that most people would expect.
- Icons - Upload attractive, relevant, original icons. Icons should be simple and free of visual clutter (ex: buttons or additional info). Different-sized icons should be similar, with no distortion and pixilation.
- Cover Image - Choose an image that conveys what your app is all about. Use simple imagery that people will easily recognize, with limited text, shadows, and distracting patterns. Don’t use arrows or other references to the buttons below your cover image to encourage people to install your app.
- Small and Large Banners - Drive people to your app detail page with visually compelling images that clearly show the name of your app. Don’t include buttons, URLs, excess text, promotions, or price information.
- Screenshots - Show off unique and engaging parts of your app, and demonstrate how the app is social. Don’t use images that are unrelated, misleading, or dramatically different from what most users experience.
- Images (general) - Don’t put calls to action (ex: “Click here” or “Play now”) or arrows to Facebook UI elements in your images.
Uploading Image Assets
Facebook expects it’s developers to upload icons, banners and screenshots. Image assets required will display automatically in the App Center tab if the appropriate platforms are marked as supported in the app’s Basic Settings tab.
Image Asset Sizes
Icons:
| Size (px) | Display Location | |
| 16 x 16 | News feed stories, bookmarks | |
| 64 x 64 | Auth Dialog, hovercards | |
| 96 x 96 | Mobile app detail page | |
| 128 x 128 | Web app detail page |
Web Promotional Banners:
| Size (px) | Display Location | |
| 155 x 100 | Lists on the main page, category pages, and subcategory pages | |
| 394 x 150 | Featured unit at the top of the main page (optional, only used if selected) | |
| 180 x 115 | Featured units on the right side of pages (optional, only used if selected) |
Mobile Promotional Banners:
App Center supports the following mobile screen resolutions:
- MDPI: 240 x 480 phones
- HDPI: 480 x 800
- XHDPI: 640 x 960 and up
| Size (px) | Display Location |
| 136 x 188 | Lists on the main page, category pages, and subcategory pages (MDPI) |
| 204 x 132 | Lists on the main page, category pages, and subcategory pages (HDPI) |
| 272 x 176 | Lists on the main page, category pages, and subcategory pages (XHDPI) |
Cover Images:
When designing the Cover image, developers should keep in mind that the 128×128 px icon slightly obscures the lower left corner of the Cover image, as displayed above.
| Size (px) | Display Location |
| 800 x 150 | App detail page |
Screenshots:
Developers can submit up to 5 screenshots per platform that the app supports (Web, Canvas, Mobile Web, iPhone, iPad, Android). Developers are required to submit at least 1 screenshot per supported platform and at least 3 screenshots in total.
Screenshots should display real gameplay and not contain any marketing materials or banners. Screenshots support dimensions between 320 x 320 to 2048 x 2048 pixels.
| Size (px) | Display Location |
| (320 – 2048) x (320 – 2048) | App detail page screenshots |
Image Selection Guidelines
When creating your images:
- Put the name of your app in the banner.
- Give important graphics some breathing space.
- Don’t put logos and text against the border of images.
App Authorization
The app detail page in the App Center displays the permissions required for new users. It can be considered a version of the Auth Dialog in this capacity, making it easy for new users to install your app directly from the App Center.
Submitting App for the App Center
Developers can submit their app by clicking the button at the top of the App Center section. Once submitted a message will be displayed indicating that the submission is pending review. This message will be updated once your app has been approved for App Center.
Caution!
Once you have submitted your app detail page, the values cannot be changed until the submission has been approved or you cancel the submission. Once your app detail page is listed in the App Center, all future changes to the page will also be subject to review.
The Review Process
After you submit your app detail page, the facebook team will review it and will be published in the app center if and only if it meets the quality standards set by them initially.
Keep in mind that creating an app detail page doesn’t guarantee you’ll be listed in the App Center, and we reserve the right to remove apps from App Center that don’t meet a high quality bar. If your app is initially rejected, we’ll explain why and give you suggestions for what to change. Once you make the changes we suggest, you can resubmit your app to be listed in App Center.
-Facebook App Center Team
Even if your app doesn’t gets listed in the App Center, users can still find it through search, bookmarks, and social channels like requests, feed, and timeline. And You can definitely Try Again!
We really hope you will find a place for your amazing app in the app center. Your feedback/queries/comments are respectably welcomed. You may submit them in the comments below and we will try to respond/help you in the best way possible.
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