App Store screenshots that get downloads: a design guide

In search results people see only the first screenshots, often before they read a word of your description. Those images are your landing page, and many people decide from them alone whether to tap.

This guide covers what the first screenshots must do, an order for the whole set, how to write captions, the store limits that shape the design, and how to test a new set once it is live.

The first screenshots do the selling

Apple says that, depending on orientation, the first one to three screenshots appear in search results when no app preview is available, and advises making them “highlight the essence of your app” (Apple).

Design the first two to work on their own. Someone who never scrolls further should still know what the app does and why it is better than the result above it. Everything after the first two is for people who are already interested.

The order of the set

1. The promiseYour main benefit, with the screen that delivers it.
2. The core taskThe one thing people do most, shown in use.
3. The proofA rating, award, press quote or user count, if you have one.
4. The detailsSecondary features, one per screenshot.
5. The closePrivacy, offline, widgets: whatever removes the last doubt.

Apple’s advice for the rest of the set is to “focus each subsequent screenshot on a main benefit or feature”. One idea per image keeps each one readable at thumbnail size.

Write captions people read in a second

A caption tells people why the screen matters. Without one, they have to work out the benefit from a small picture of your interface, and most will not try.

• One benefit per caption. “Split bills in seconds” beats a list of three features.
• Under six words. Captions are read at thumbnail size, on a phone, while scrolling.
• The user’s words. Use the terms people type into search and say in reviews, not your internal feature names.
• Large type, high contrast. If you have to zoom in to read it, it is too small.

Someone who never scrolls past the first two screenshots should still know what the app does.

Styles compared

Whatever the style, the screens must be real. Apple’s guideline 2.3.3 says screenshots should show the app in use, “and not merely the title art, login page, or splash screen” (App Review Guidelines).

Store limits that shape the design

Sources: App Store Connect screenshot specifications and Google Play preview assets. Google also recommends at least four screenshots of 1080 px or more for apps to be eligible for its larger-format promotion spots.

Build the set as a template with the caption, device frame and screen as separate layers. Then a new device size, language or app update is an export, not a redesign.

Localize for your top markets

Apple recommends localizing screenshots, along with the description and keywords, for each market where the app is offered. A caption in the reader’s own language, over a screen showing their language, is read faster than a translated description below it.

Start with the markets that bring the most installs. Check that every translated caption still fits: a caption that wraps to three lines is no longer readable at thumbnail size.

Test the set, then update it

Both stores let you test screenshots on real store traffic. Apple’s product page optimization tests alternate screenshots against your current page. Google Play’s store listing experiments test up to two variants against the current listing, and Google recommends changing one asset at a time so you know what made the difference (Google Play).

Test the first screenshot before anything else: it is the one most people see. Update the set whenever the app changes in a way users would notice, so the screenshots never show an older app than the one they download.

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