AppsGeyser Blog

Naming a Million-Dollar App

August 11th, 2011

Let’s say you’ve developed the most fantastic app in the world. It’s exactly what everyone needs.  It does something fantastic that people have been waiting for their Androids to do for months or even years! It’s beautiful to look at. It’s easy to use. The next thing to do is give it the right name. The name has to do one important thing:

It has to tell people what the app is or does.

Everything else is secondary. It can be pretty or flowery or gimmicky, but if it doesn’t tell people what the app does, it’s not a good name.

If the app is a faster way to log in to Facebook, then it should be called Facebook-Fast Login or Facebook Speed Login or Speedy Facebook Login. Whatever name it has, it needs to say exactly what the app is and does.

If the app is a way to read mail from Gmail and Hotmail at the same time, it should be called Gmail and Hotmail Reader. Call it something gimmicky like GHotmail-Reader and people won’t find it or know what it is when they do. If there is one thing you take away from this post, let it be this – it’s more important for the name to tell people what your app does than for it to be a catchy name.

If the app is a game, the name should describe what happens in the game, so that people don’t describe the game as “that game with the yellow balls that fly up and you have to catch them.” If people don’t remember the name of the game, their friends won’t download it. Everyone remembers Pong. Everyone remembers Pac-Man. Think of short names that sound like what’s happening in the game.

Here are some important things to keep in mind:

1. Try to keep the name short. Two or three word names are best, but some apps might really need four or five words to explain what they do.
2. Follow grammatical rules. People remember things better when they’re grammatical.
3. Spell keywords correctly. If you misspell words, they won’t show up in search. ‘Howse Bilder’ may look cute, but ‘House Builder’ is a search term.

Remember that it’s very important to take your time choosing an app’s name. Once an app is in the Android Market, it is possible to change the description. Changing the app itself is called upgrading, and it’s an easy process.  Changing the app’s name, on the other hand, isn’t allowed. The only way to do it is to create an entirely new app with a new name, description, and screenshots.

We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter,
If you’re interested in making your own Android apps, start creating apps here.

We'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter, If you're interested in making your own Android apps, start creating apps here.