Best Practices for Naming Apps

created on July 6, 2023

Overview

When it comes to naming an app it's important to choose a name that is memorable, descriptive, and aligned with your app's purpose and brand. While there are some differences between progressive web apps (PWA) and Apple App Store apps, there are some basic best practices to consider as well as device-specific considerations. In this article, we will cover both the best practices and device specifics.

Best Practices

1. Keep it simple: Go with a name that is simple and easy to understand and remember. 
2. Keep it evergreen: Try to avoid including one-off or dates. For example rather than Eventfinity 2023, just go with Eventfinity. 
3. Be descriptive: Pick a name that reflects the purpose of your app.
4. Build on your branding: With established brands, incorporating your brand name can strengthen recognition.
5. Make it unique: Giving your app a unique name ensures that it is not easily confused with other apps or websites. 
6. URL friendly: For PWAs, they are generally accessed directly through the URL. Aim for a URL that is concise, has no special characters, or is otherwise complex to type on a mobile device.
7. Localization: If your app will target multiple languages and regions, consider whether your app name can be easily translated and understood in different cultures.
8. Legal Considerations: Conduct a thorough search to ensure that your app's name doesn't infringe upon any trademarks or copyrights.

Technically Speaking

iOS - Apple App Store

It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with Apple’s Creating your product page and App Store Review Guidelines Accurate Metadata section for more details on creating your app name and product page.

Key Points:

• The iOS App Store name is the name of your app as it will appear on the App Store and is limited to 30 characters.
• The homescreen icon name is limited to around 11-13 characters, including spaces. (There is no absolute length since different characters have different widths.)
• If the app name is longer than 12 characters, spaces will be truncated and will include an ellipsis at the end. For example, The Jukebox Channel will display as TheJukeboxC…
• Apple allows for both an app store name and a display name as a solution for apps with longer names. For example, the Eventfinity Live app has 16 characters including one space. To avoid truncation, the app display name is EF Live on the homescreen icon.

Progressive Web Apps

All Eventfinity PWA names are created and edited in the web manifest editor in the dashboard. There are full-name and short-name options.

Key Points:

• The full name is the name of your app as it will appear in the installation dialog box if presented and is limited to 30 characters for iOS and 45 characters for Android.
• The short name is limited to around 11-13 characters, including spaces. (There is no absolute length since different characters have different widths.) This is used underneath the app icon when installed on the homescreen. 
• If you don't specify a short name, then the long name will be truncated to fit the space.