When Windows 8 launches next week, the Windows Store will officially open to end-users. Microsoft has already discussed how developers can submit their apps to be published on the Windows Store. But what about after the app is available for download? In this week's new post on the Windows Store developer blog, Microsoft's Russell Wolf talks about how developers can get the word out on their Windows Store app via the web.
Wolf says that Microsoft has created a Windows 8 protocol for the Windows Store that will allow app developers to post a link to a web page that will take them directly to the Windows Store app listing. The protocol will work for Internet Explorer, Safari or Firefox browsers.
Once a Windows Store app is published, a web page is automatically generated that users on any platform can see. Only Windows 8 users will be able to go directly to the app's listing inside the Windows Store, however. Wolf writes:
The web listing surfaces all the content you submitted for your app in the Windows Store Dashboard including info shown on the Overview and Details tabs of the Store-based listing, along with the price and user rating information. This makes the data available on the web to be indexed by search engines, and makes your app easier for users to discover.
In addition to the web page, Internet Explorer 10 Metro users will have an extra way to access the app. When IE10 heads to an app listing's web page, they will see a special button that will enable users to go to the Windows Store and download the app via a click or tap. This is just for the Metro version of IE10, however; the desktop version won't have this extra feature.
Images via Microsoft
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