While your app must compete with millions of other apps to reach the app store ranks, even long before question of beating such competition arise you have to go through a similar struggle. Yes, even for publishing the app on app store to put it even more precisely, getting approved by app store is no less challenging a job. Here you have to comply with 141 stringent regulations from Apple before actually your app can find itself in the store. That is the first step before you face the real competition for getting views, downloads, app store ranks and installs.
If from the above mentioned you decided the scenario as inexpressibly bleak, the other side of this stringent regulations and threats of getting banned is the story belonging to millions of apps who are alive on the app store, obviously by getting approval from Apple Inc. So, the moral of the story is, if millions of apps can pass these rules and regulations and land on App Store, your app can also do the same. Only a few precautions and alertness of certain mistakes will save your app from getting banned.
Here we have explained 8 Blunders that can make your app banned in Apple’s App Store.
- Make sure your app is bug free
Apps with bugs are like products in a store that are older than expiry dates. Similarly, apps that frequently crash either due to bugs or due to some other development mistakes are like defective products. Apps with any of these faults meet the same fate, a straightforward rejection from the App Store. Apple is focusing hard to make better user experience in every possible way and so such apps with such casual faults are very likely to pass the review process.- Test the app thoroughly to make sure it is bug free.
- Test the app performance and make sure it does not crash.
- Make sure the app does not suffer from any loading difficulty or slower navigation.
- Broken links are strict no-no
Broken and non-working links fetch a strict negative mark from app store authorities. As a developer you may need to provide link as it statutory for conforming to privacy policy but make sure that the link is proper and works perfectly to take the user to the respective web page. If you provide other links belonging to the publisher company make sure they work.- Make sure you have manually tested all the links before submitting the app.
- Even when you use a link checker tool, do not forget to check manually.
- Say no to complex UI
A majority of great apps share the same attribute – they have a simple and easy to use interface. We can also refer to the large number of apps rejected by App Store simply because of their complex UI. Complexity in many apps simply is an outcome of lack of development skill and Apple in pursuit of adding value to user experience often punishes that. Simple UI enjoys a far higher chance of getting approved than apps with unnecessarily complex UI.- Avoid loading the app with unnecessary features to make it feature rich.
- Make sure you offer simple and easy navigation for accessing any area of the app.
- Be straightforward, contextual and simple throughout in design elements.
- Don’t use placeholder content
There are many apps that are simply rejected by App Store simply because of their use of Placeholder content in the Meta data. Placeholder content lacks the required relevance and readability as expected from Meta data.- Make sure your app description offers a nice original content with text and image or through only text.
- Meta description of the app is not a statutory area but it is crucial to gain app store visibility. So ensure offering relevant content regarding your app.
- Make sure all app elements are in sync
Now if you have an app in which several elements look disjointed enough it is very likely that it would fail to make an impression. But when such loosely connected attributes of an app looks too casual it gets a straightforward rejection.- Apps name, app description and screenshots should be in sync.
- Make sure that the app description is precise, meaningful and relevant to the app.
- Do not offer a clone app
Why make an app when you do not have a unique idea or usability in mind? Just copying an app and submitting it to the app store will waste your time as it would be rejected. Even an app having a lot of similarity with another app is likely to get rejected from app store. Apple is focused in every possible way to add value to app store rather than offering a crowd of similar apps.- Make sure your app in idea, usability and design offers something unique.
- Make sure your app address a particular usability for a niche audience.
- Avoid giving wrong and incomplete information
Wrong, misleading, incomplete and incorrect information in app will invite rejection before anything else. There can be three scenarios, respectively as knowingly offering wrong information, misleading the user with a notion that is wrong and finally, offering incomplete information. In any of these cases your app will be banned from stepping in the app store. Many apps do not get approval simply on account of wrong or incomplete information.- Make sure that the statistics and information provided is correct and verify it from trusted sources.
- Avoid misleading the users for the sake of your benefit with wrong information.
- Make sure the information provided is complete and proper credit is given to the source of information.
- Maintain proper norms for in-app ads
Apps being developed with provision for in-app ad as a monetization strategy are required to use Advertising Identifier (IDEA). But even after doing that if the app does not offer functionality for ads or offer proper ad display, the app will be rejected in the review process.- Make sure the app offers ad functionality even when you do not have an in-app ad plan in place.
- Make sure that the ads display properly on iOS devices.
To Conclude:
It is often tougher to make a comeback when an app gets banned. Moreover, for a start-up or a new business venturing in the app store such experience is demoralizing as well. So, following the app store guidelines throughout the course of app development will actually garner more confidence and chances of approval in the first instance itself.
