Web Apps Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to frequently asked questions about Amazon web apps

• General Questions
• Web App Development
• Web App Submission
• Web App Support

General Questions

Q: How do I get started with submitting my web apps to the Amazon Appstore?

Amazon accepts HTML5 apps and mobile websites to help expand the reach of your web apps to customers in nearly 200 countries worldwide on Fire and Android devices. By submitting your web app to the program, you can grow your business and make money. See Setting Up Your Development Environment to get started with development.

Q: How do I test my web app?

With the Amazon Web App Tester, you experience your app or site in a production-like environment without first submitting it to our store. The Web App Tester also offers a suite of tools to help you debug your web apps to ensure they’ll look and work great on Fire tablets, Fire phone, and Android devices. The tester is available in the Amazon Appstore for your Fire tablets, Fire phone, or Android device. See Installing and Using the Amazon Web App Tester.

Q: How do I submit a web app?

The developer portal will guide you through the submission process. See New Web App Submission.

Q: Can I make money with web apps on Amazon?

Yes. You can earn revenue by either setting a base list price for your web app in the ‘Availability & Pricing’ tab during the submission flow or by selling digital content and subscriptions—such as in-game currency, expansion packs, upgrades, magazine issues, and more— using the Amazon In-App Purchasing API for JavaScript. The In-App Purchasing API is available as part of the Amazon Web App Development Resources. It is provided as a ZIP file that contains the JavaScript files that are required for your application to access the necessary Amazon services.

Q: How can I make my web app look good on all devices?

Visit Web App Best Practices page for detailed information on making sure your web app looks and works great.

Q: What is the Web App Runtime?

Amazon’s web app runtime is GPU-accelerated and optimized for fluid performance on Amazon devices. Built on the open-source Chromium project, the runtime supports the latest HTML5 features and includes standards-based extensions that give you access to offline storage and to location sensors. With the web app runtime, your web apps can achieve fluidity and performance comparable to that of native apps. Read more about Web App Runtime Feature Support.

Q: How will customers find my web apps on Amazon?

Web apps are listed alongside Android apps in the store on Amazon.com and in the Amazon Appstore on Fire tablets and other Android devices (API version 10 or above). The experience of discovering, purchasing, installing and using web apps is the same as that of native Android apps.

Q: Can I list paid web apps with Amazon?

Yes, you can set a base list price for your web app in the ‘Availability & Pricing’ tab during the submission flow. Additionally, If you have part of your experience behind a pay-wall, and would like to sell that to Amazon customers, you can do so using the In-App Purchasing API for JavaScript.

However, if all of your content is freely available on the Internet we recommend that your app also be free in our store.

Q: On which devices will my web app be supported?

We currently support all Fire devices. Apps approved before February 13, 2015 are also able to target non-Amazon Android devices and will continue to work on those devices. However, apps approved or updated on or after that date will no longer be able to target non-Amazon Android devices.

Amazon device targeting lets you select the devices you intend to distribute your web app on. You can choose to target your web app by selecting one or more of the devices during the app submission process.

Q: Is there an approval process for web apps?

Yes, web apps need to be approved before they are made available in the Amazon Appstore. You can read more about the approval process and content guidelines in Understanding App Submission.

Q: How do I market my web app?

You can think about two types of marketing for your app: detail page content and assets, which customers see once they’ve already decided to learn more about your apps; and traffic drivers, those marketing assets or opportunities that drive new customer eyes to your apps, like featured marketing placements. Our marketing team recommends that you start by optimizing the former before focusing on the latter. Read more about developing your marketing strategy.

Q: There is a customer review regarding my app that I feel is inappropriate. How can I resolve this?

If you find a customer review inappropriate and think it should be removed from Amazon, click on the Report abuse link under the review. This information will be sent to Amazon for review, and we will take appropriate action.

Web App Development

Q: What HTML5 features are currently supported in the web app runtime?

A compatibility matrix can be found here.

Q: What user agent strings can I use?

Q: Where can I get Fire tablet hardware specifications?

Device and Feature Specifications for Fire tablets can he found here.

Q: How do I update a previously submitted web app?

Follow the steps below to update metadata (screenshots, descriptions, etc.) for your web app:

1. Go to the My Apps section in the developer portal.
2. Click on the current live version of your app.
3. Click the “Description” or “Images & Multimedia” tab, depending on what you would like to update.
4. Click the “Edit” button (in the bottom right corner).
5. Do one of the following:
   • To remove an existing image, tap the “X” in the top right corner.
   • To add a new image, click the “Upload Image” image.
6. Click the “Save” button in the bottom right corner.
7. Click the “Submit App” button.

To update to a new version (e.g. adding In-App Purchasing):

1. Go to the My Apps section in the developer portal.
2. Hover over the app that you want to update, and then choose ‘Add Upcoming Version’ from the menu on the right.
3. If you do not wish to update the metadata with the new version, tap the ‘App Files’ tab, then update the URL of your app.
4. Review and certify your app for Export Compliance. ?
5. Click ‘Release Notes’, and then click ‘Edit’. Add in release notes. Click ‘Save’.
6. Click the ‘Submit App’ button.

Q: How do I localize my app?

See Resources for International Locales to get your web apps ready for an international audience.

Web App Submission

Q: I have both a web app and Android app version of the same app. Which one do I submit?

You should test both versions on Fire tablet and general Android devices and submit the one that looks and performs the best. Our goal is to have only one version of any single app in our store.

Q: Can I use Google Adsense in my app?

We do not currently limit the use of third-party advertising programs in web apps. However, we recommend that you review the terms of use of any such third-party advertising program prior to incorporating it into a web app.

Web App Support

Q: How do I get support in case I have a problem?

Contact us by going to this link: https://developer.amazon.com/help/contactus.html.

Q: How do I ensure my app looks as good as it can on all devices?

Visit our Best Practices for Developing Web Apps page for detailed information on making sure your app looks and works great.