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App naming best practices
Friday, January 26, 2018
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Grant Polachek |
App name best practices and tips that can help your brand rise in the app store rankings, and get noticed by more users.
Choosing an intriguing and sticky name for your app at times can be the hardest part of the whole development process. You want it to call out to potential users, be unique, yet timeless.
This content is made possible by a guest author, or sponsor; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of App Developer Magazine's editorial staff.
When someone is looking in your category for an app, you want it to standout as the best app name amongst the rest.
Here are a few recommended dos and don'ts when naming your app, from what we at Squadhelp have learned while helping over 12,000 companies name their businesses.
- Grab a team of people to help you brainstorm names. Family, friends, colleagues, and especially - potential app users.
- Write a brief that has the core positioning, target audience, general mission and objectives, plus key criteria for the name.
- Keep it short. While some experts recommend choosing a 1 word, 2 syllables and only 6 character name, don't be that rigid. You decided how short is short. Not a whole sentence is what we mean. Short and snappy. Easy to say.
- Don't forget you (most likely) need an URL (website) too for your app. When researching top app names use a web engine to see if your name is available as a .com. Or determine if a .co, .io, or some other ending would work for your URL.
- When choosing an app name, keep it simple, easy to spell and pronounce, as well easy to remember. Repeating letters or sounds work great when naming an app and it will make your title unforgettable. Rhyming also works well in some situations.
- Be relevant when choosing a name for your app. If you have a social or gaming app, you can be a little freer when coming up with a good name; however, when your app is for business, the name should be relevant to its use and functionality. Creativity is critical - remember that your app name needs to give users an idea of what it is for and what it can do.
- Never include special characters in your app name. Adding any character that isn’t a number or letter will have a negative result when it comes to SEO results.
- Avoid names that are similar to popular apps already in the market. Not only to avoid getting flagged for copyright infringement, but because you want a unique name that stands for the differences your app will provide.
- Being abstract is an option that may help you get a.com URL. And you never know, maybe your abstract word will become renowned, think Zumba, Google, Twitter, kleenex, etc.
- Don’t give up. It may take more than 1 session to find the perfect name with an available URL. With creative projects one never knows, the answer could happen right away - or it may take a few days or weeks to find the perfect moniker.
- We recommend audience testing your name with potential users beyond the ideation group to assure your potential users would pick it above other options.
- Don't fall in love with a name until it clears with your trademark attorney's approval. We recommend getting a trademark report on your top 2-3 picks. Then file for a trademark after you have listened to your attorney’s recommendations.
Hoping these do's and don’ts encourage you to go out and find an amazing name for your new app. After all the time devoted to development, deciding on a name will be child’s play. Or at any rate, at the very least it will be fun. Enjoy the process.
Here are a few recommended dos and don'ts when naming your app, from what we at Squadhelp have learned while helping over 12,000 companies name their businesses.
DO’s:
- Grab a team of people to help you brainstorm names. Family, friends, colleagues, and especially - potential app users.
- Write a brief that has the core positioning, target audience, general mission and objectives, plus key criteria for the name.
- Keep it short. While some experts recommend choosing a 1 word, 2 syllables and only 6 character name, don't be that rigid. You decided how short is short. Not a whole sentence is what we mean. Short and snappy. Easy to say.
- Don't forget you (most likely) need an URL (website) too for your app. When researching top app names use a web engine to see if your name is available as a .com. Or determine if a .co, .io, or some other ending would work for your URL.
- When choosing an app name, keep it simple, easy to spell and pronounce, as well easy to remember. Repeating letters or sounds work great when naming an app and it will make your title unforgettable. Rhyming also works well in some situations.
- Be relevant when choosing a name for your app. If you have a social or gaming app, you can be a little freer when coming up with a good name; however, when your app is for business, the name should be relevant to its use and functionality. Creativity is critical - remember that your app name needs to give users an idea of what it is for and what it can do.
DON’TS:
- Never include special characters in your app name. Adding any character that isn’t a number or letter will have a negative result when it comes to SEO results.
- Avoid names that are similar to popular apps already in the market. Not only to avoid getting flagged for copyright infringement, but because you want a unique name that stands for the differences your app will provide.
- Being abstract is an option that may help you get a.com URL. And you never know, maybe your abstract word will become renowned, think Zumba, Google, Twitter, kleenex, etc.
- Don’t give up. It may take more than 1 session to find the perfect name with an available URL. With creative projects one never knows, the answer could happen right away - or it may take a few days or weeks to find the perfect moniker.
- We recommend audience testing your name with potential users beyond the ideation group to assure your potential users would pick it above other options.
- Don't fall in love with a name until it clears with your trademark attorney's approval. We recommend getting a trademark report on your top 2-3 picks. Then file for a trademark after you have listened to your attorney’s recommendations.
Hoping these do's and don’ts encourage you to go out and find an amazing name for your new app. After all the time devoted to development, deciding on a name will be child’s play. Or at any rate, at the very least it will be fun. Enjoy the process.
Mobile App Name Generators
Editors note: If you are searching for the perfect app name and need a little help, try one of these popular mobile app name generators. They basically take the words you provide, and use internal algorithms to provide you ideas on naming your app, or business. Here are a few we've tried that seem to work well.
Panabee - http://www.panabee.com
This content is made possible by a guest author, or sponsor; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of App Developer Magazine's editorial staff.
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