The UK has long been recognised as a hotbed of tech talent – just take a look at some of the innovative start-ups launching at Silicon Roundabout and elsewhere in the country. But no matter how talented the individual, it can be next to impossible to get noticed without the right platform. We believe skilled people deserve to be given the opportunity to showcase their offering, which is where the Amazon UK Developer Spotlight initiative comes in.

This initiative is all about making sure that great apps don’t go unnoticed. But that’s not to say the competition isn’t rife. So in a world where awesome new apps appear in our palms on a daily basis, what can you do to make yours stand out from the crowd? As part of the Amazon Developer Spotlight initiative, here are some of the factors we look at for featuring new apps and games:

Engagement level

Users only spend around two hours each day using apps and there is plenty of competition out there, so fostering engagement is crucial. We’ve found that developers can boost engagement by making the sign-up process quick and easy, using push notifications and making sure your customer service is awesome.

Average review score

Customer satisfaction is really important to us at Amazon and so positive reviews are a great way of getting featured on our app store. Encourage your users to submit reviews and try to maintain a good average score. If you do receive negative criticism then take it on board and use it to improve your app.

How the app renders across devices

The app landscape is about more than just smartphones. When developing an app, consider how it will render across different devices like mobile phones, tablets, or even TVs if you are developing for Fire TV.

Appropriate permissions requests

At Amazon we take the protection of customer data seriously, so make sure that your app only asks for information that is essential for its functionality. Requesting excessive permissions does little to enhance the user experience, and can raise privacy and security concerns amongst some users.

Non-intrusive ads integration

In-app ads can play an important role in monetising many free-to-play apps, and we want you to be successful if you choose this method of monetisation. However, when selecting your monetisation model, try and place yourself in your user’s position and design and try and integrate this into the app or gameplay, with as little interruption as possible.

Quick launch

Your app has a split second to convert initial interest into long-term engagement, so consider whether user registration or a log-in screen is really needed. Unnecessary hurdles are likely to cost you users.

Clear instructions for use

Ease-of-use is naturally one of the main considerations when producing any app. Think carefully about your user interface (UI) and include clear instructions that are easy to find and easy to follow. Better yet, try to make your app as intuitive as possible for its intended audience. For example, incorporate appropriate and distinctively designed icons that are tailored to your target audience.

Uniqueness

Customers and app stores alike gravitate towards originality and creativity. If you create a unique app idea that doesn’t exist anywhere else then that’s great. If, however, you decide to sample or improve upon existing intellectual property that does not belong to you, make sure you have the appropriate copyright permissions to avoid putting yourself at risk of IP infringement claims as the app is your responsibility.

Marketing assets

Images are really important in helping your app to stand out from the crowd. Focus on creating a look that is relevant, vibrant, and attractive. Whether it’s your app icon, supporting marketing materials, a video demo or any other image-based content, make sure your visuals are consistent, high quality, and available in a number of dimensions to suit your various needs.

Free vs paid

The free-to-play business model has been adopted by lots of apps, and offers a number of benefits. It can grow your user-base very quickly and still lets developers make money, whether it’s through ad revenue or in-app purchases.

Updates

Apps of all kinds, not just games, need regular updates to fix glitches, make security patches or to introduce new features. Although the frequency will vary depending on the app, regular updates demonstrate your commitment to quality and security for your customers.

If you have a UK registered developer account and want to shine a light on your talent, then you can submit your app to the UK Developer Spotlight here.