Facebook announces hub for social apps - App Center

In an official blog post today, Facebook has announced a new hub for social apps - their App Center, which will be launched in a few weeks from now. The App Center, as Facebook puts it is not only a feature to watch out for for their 900 million stronghold, but is also something that would make developers happy. For one, the new social hub will give developers a platform to introduce their best-made apps and see them grow and get successful on the platform. And to this end, the blog post sees Facebook urging developers to get going with their apps, so that when it is the time for launch, they are right there with their wares. For users though, the post further details that in the weeks to come, they will be able to access the App Center on the web and in the iOS and Android Facebook apps, and the center, itself will become their new hub to find apps, like Draw Something, Pinterest, Spotify, Battle Pirates, Viddy, and Bubble Witch Saga.

Now a new hub for all social apps

Everything on the App Center will have an app detail page, which essentially will tell the user, what makes a certain app unique and gives them enough details about it before they hit the download button. Facebook adds that by the way of their App Center they want to grow apps that use the platform, whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web. As an important detail, earmarked for developers, Facebook states that all developers should create an app detail page on the App Center, for not only finding their place in the listing, but to also ensure their visibility to non-users, who would search Facebook for apps. Facebook adds that developers can “..create an app detail page in the App Center section of the Developer App. There you can upload images, provide additional details, and configure the permissions your app requires. Learn more about setting up your app.” Additionally, the App Center will allow developers to also offer Paid apps, whereby they can offer an app to the user for a flat fee. 

So how does one determine the success of their app on the App Center. To this end, Facebook will introduce user ratings and engagement signals, which will help them gauge how well or otherwise an app is performing. This in turn will decide, which apps will be shown on the listings, and which won’t - “Well-designed apps that people enjoy will be prominently displayed. Apps that receive poor user ratings or don’t meet the quality guidelines won't be listed.”

To know in detail about this latest Facebook feature, click here.