Last night I posted a link outlining my annoyance with being bothered by apps that prompt—some would say nag—users to “Rate the App.” I received quite a few tweets and emails from developers explaining why they do it.
For instance, these tweets from Wil Shipley, a developer I have a lot of respect for:
We got REALLY boned with negative reviews until we added a “please rate” pane, which I hated having to do.
Went from 3-ish stars to 4.75-ish stars in one week, though. That’s life or death for a company like mine.
As long as the App Store has this much power, and ratings especially, we need to encourage positive reviews.
I think what bothers me is that the popup reminder to rate the app takes me away from what I’m trying to do. And if I do rate the app, it continues to ask me to rate the app. That’s annoying.
There has to be a better solution from Apple to encourage users to rate apps that works for everyone. Users should rate apps and give feedback to the developers so they can make the app better for everyone.
As with most things in life, there are two sides to every story.
I think an obvious problem is that it’s a modal dialog. It takes you away from what you are doing and you have to deal with it immediately. It would be interested to see if you could still get your users to review with a more passive prompt.
It would be a lot nicer if Apple provided an API for us to rate the app directly from within itself rather than take the user out of the app, into the store and a) Risk not having them back or b) Annoy them to such an extent that they remove the app or give it a bad review.
Apple should let you batch review recently purchased and updated apps in the “update” tab in the App Store app.
This way end users can conveniently rate many apps in one shot.
Speaking as an app developer, it is really hard to get ratings for your app (at least, if you’re honest and don’t buy reviews). I have a top 100 business app and I’ll get maybe one rating a week, even with the modal popup. If I issue a new update, it could be a long time before I get even one review, and then I’m praying it’s not a competitor or somebody who doesn’t like my app leaving a 1 star review, which would essentially put me out of business until the rating averages up over many weeks.
My “review modal” only pops up at the end of the workflow, so it’s not disturbing. Would still love to remove it from my app.
That’s why I don’t rate as well. Don’t take me away from my intended goal. If I could rate within the app, I’d do it.
My game is not out yet, but my idea is to have a button right on the main menu, in a corner where you can freely choose to ignore it: “Do you like this game?” Or “Want to support this game?” That in turn would open a menu of several options: “Requests and Ideas,” “Rate this game,” and maybe some Tell your friends/social stuff. If it’s a free ad-supported game, an IAP button to remove ads might be there as well; or even an IAP donate button if appropriate.
Alongside that positive button would be an equally-prominent negative button: “Having problems?” or “Need support?” This too would have several options: maybe in-game help, tricks and tips, a forum link, and a tech support site with some useful canned steps (the low-hanging fruit) plus a contact form.
Two things I would never do to get ratings: a) pop something up in front of other content, or b) nag repeatedly–not even with an option “Don’t ask me again.” Not good enough–it’s still nagging!
I’d rather build a positive relationship with my users than nag them.
Maybe non-game apps need a button from Apple that takes the place of a Game Center button. When you hit Game Center within a game app, a place to add a star rating (not a review) is right there. But that doesn’t apply to non-games. Maybe non-games could use a stripped-down version of certain Game Center functionality?
Being taken out of the app is a flaw in the way Apple has set up rating an app while you’re using it. The very idea of punishing a developer for something Apple has done is repugnant. I hope this one-starring idea of Gruber’s and King’s never gains any traction.
If you don’t want to be taken out of your app, just don’t agree to rate it at that time. And if you want to see the system improved, send Apple a request. Just don’t be so cruel as to take a swipe at a developer’s livelihood. That’s messed up.
Apple could make it relatively easy by allowing a rate-this-app option in the context of general sharing. Include it along with Facebook, Twitter &c. Easy for the developer, easy but relatively unobtrusive for the user.
BTW: use StoreKit for App Store access, rather than invoking the App Store app. At least you stay (nominally) in your app.
+1000. Even if the review popup is the wrong way to approach this, remember that most app developers aren’t big companies with deep pockets. Often it is over worked, over stressed individuals. Hitting these people where it hurts the most for being slightly misguided is not very constructive.
It isn’t just Apple. Android takes you to the Play Store as well. In-app ratings would definitely be a plus.
+1 for protecting a devs livelihood.
“And if I do rate the app, it continues to ask me to rate the app. That’s annoying.”
Exactly!
Seems to me that the simplest solution would be to have a ratings stars input field in the Settings for each installed app, with the default option to have the user-selected rating be uploaded to Apple’s servers. Then people can rank the apps as they see fit on their devices, and let it feed back to the app store rankings in real time. One vote per device.
If Apple felt like it, they could even start off with a default of 3 stars, and let users change it up and down as they see fit.
The reason for that is that with every new version released, Apple stops showing rating and reviews from the older versions — they are there, but hidden from plain sight.
That’s why the developers keep asking — not always, as it seems, but after the app is updated.
I am a developer, and my App asks exactly ONCE per device for a review and never asks again (unless the App is deleted and re-installed).
There is an easy way in my App’s settings to go to the App review at some later point if the user wants, but I only pester the user once. My thought is that once is forgivable, but if you keep pestering people, they are more likely to just give a negative review anyway.
Personally, I don’t get annoyed when I get asked once, but I really get ticked off when the app keeps asking me over and over again. Especially when I have either already reviewed the app, or when I have clicked “Never ask again” (which many apps offer as a choice, but seem to ignore).
Let developers designate their app as no reviews allowed. There are a lot of apps that really just don’t fit into the system and the stress caused by competitors and crazy people spraying the equivalent of graffiti on your app’s page is not worth it. If a developer is willing to have no reviews, that should be their choice.
I see.
I wrote up some best practices for developers to prompt for app ratings in a user-friendly way: http://codeslinging.com/2013/12/on-rate-this-app-customer-satisfaction-and-the-economics-of-the-app-store/
Absolutely. If I could rate it in app, I would do it. Why do I have to go out of the App into the app store? And why do I have to write a whole review? Just let me give stars.
I think the obvious problem is the App Store ratings system…like ANY publicly accessible forum on the Internet the squeaky wheels dominate. People are generally much more motivated to complain than write “Yep it works as advertised! No problems here.”
While it is interesting to see the developer perspective, Gruber is still right: the needs of the developer do not entitle him to burden consumers. Even if (or even though) the problem comes with how Apple has set up their rating system, developers don’t get to shove the problem off on consumers.
And, unfortunately, the only way to change this is by giving one-star rankings.
And yet, it’s OK for podcasters to ask listeners to rate their podcast in iTunes during the podcast? Those bloggers that would complain about a request for a rating in an app will turn around and do the same thing in their podcast.
You (and Gruber) can’t have it both ways.
It’s the developer’s work, not yours. They are entitled to to do whatever they want in their app.
If you don’t like the rating prompt you can always get off your ass and write your own app without one.
Or you could, you know, just write a positive review for the app that you’ve been using for ages and presumably getting value from, like the developer reasonably asks.
I don’t mind the popups if they aren’t too frequent. However if they are all the freaking time yeah I’ll post a nasty review over them. Or if they screw with use.
It sounds to me like that bump in ratings equates to “hush money” and offers only false encouragement to developers. My “hush” action is the “never vote” option. I agree with what others have said, if I could vote in-app, I would, but modal nag-ware is a huge turn-off.
It’s easy to say we (as developers) shouldn’t do it but unless you are in that position its hard to know what it means.
I have developed 3 games now, and its taken MONTHS of my time, expensive hardware and licensing and after all that I earn maybe $2 a week. My games are good, its just so hard to get noticed that you need to (unless you have a big advertising budget) resort to less than best practices in order to gather some interest.
To put it into perspective a standard MBP is like $2k, with apples take (not including taxes) you earn maybe $0.70 per app. Thats ~3000 sales just to recoup initial hardware costs (let alone device costs).
Its a very hard climate
Leave it to Apple and App Store to ask for ratings and reviews!
Offer users credit, like a free tune, for every 25th entry or so.
As a developer, I have had two people leave 1* reviews in the last couple of days around this. I normally don’t get 1* reviews at all, and when I do I usually fix the issue raised. My average is 4.5 stars. I pride myself on the quality of my apps, and the people who buy them give feedback that they love the apps.
I present the prompt after 30 days of use, and provide a button to not be nagged again. Unfortunately, Apple hide reviews on a new version of the app, so I do ask on every new version of the app after 30 days, again providing a never ask again button. Apple also place importance on reviews. They rank higher because of this.
It is VERY important to realise that people do not voluntarily leave reviews. They have better things to do with their time.
The two people who have left 1* reviews because of this issue chose to leave them on apps that haven’t been updated in 6 months and 3 months respectively. This means that they will have received the prompt once in 6 months on one app, and once in 3 months. I’m don’t like nagging either, but asking once in 6 months is hardly a nag.
The many many hours of effort that goes into an app, only to receive $1.50 per sale, it makes me cry that people could even think that it is justified to even remotely complain about this. You should be ashamed of yourselves. I barely make enough out of this to pay my rent, and someone is complaining that I display a prompt once in 6 months, to which all they have to do is move their finger to get rid of it.
I also can’t believe that instead of moving their finger once in 6 months, these choose to spend many hours of their very precious life going to all the trouble of hunting down apps that do this, and then write negative reviews to try and stop it, something I cannot do as I don’t know what people think otherwise. I do not get it.
Please consider the effort that goes into writing apps. We are not multi-zillionaires.
“It is VERY important to realise that people do not voluntarily leave reviews.”
It is VERY important to realize you’re wrong. Lots of people voluntarily leave reviews, myself included.
You are wrong. As a developer I know that your generosity in leaving reviews is unfortunately not typical at all. Please see below.
I have a free app that has just over 50,000 users. It does not prompt, because I don’t like prompts. It has had 25 reviews left in about 6 months, they are very positive.
I have another paid app, it has about 16,000 users. It does prompt. It has had over 300 reviews left in about a year. They are even more positive.
This shows:
1) The prompt does NOT affect the users perception of the app. They still leave positive reviews.
2) The prompt is effective, and increases reviews left by 12x to 25x. I get very valuable feedback from these so I know how to advance the product. People like to know how their feedback is valuable
I would also ask that you don’t just pick one statement from what I wrote out of context. All of it is meant to be read together, please comment on it all. In particular all you have to do is move a finger and it goes away, Somehow the perception that I am somehow rich and evil in doing this is wrong.
I have a new release of the free product coming up, and I have similarly added in a review prompt after a month.
I said nothing about “typical”. You made a blanket statement. Like most blanket statements, it’s wrong. Nothing was taken out of context.
“Please comment on it all”? LOL Like reviews, I comment where I see fit.
“Somehow the perception that I am somehow rich and evil in doing this is wrong.” I said nothing of these sort and have no idea how you could possibly take that from what I wrote.
Once again you ignored most of what I wrote. You don’t realise that what you think and do in your small part of the world is not what happens globally. I test to find out what people think and do globally, as shown above.
I’m done here.
“Once again you ignored most of what I wrote.” Yes, because it wasn’t relevant.
“what you think and do in your small part of the world is not what happens globally.” LMAO Yet, you make blanket “global” statements that are demonstrably untrue. Sorry you can’t see that. Have a nice day.
Game devs work hard to produce FREE games for players, I think requesting a review is fair, especially if it’s to fans who are willing to help, no?
Various off the shelf free tools to do that anyway now, so it’s not difficult. eg- https://polljoy.com and https://github.com/arashpayan/appirater etc
Here’s another approach for Rate-the-App:
https://engineering.linkedin.com/blog/2016/06/linkedin-listens–a-better-way-to-prompt-for-member-feedback