After going through all the effort to build a Windows 8 Metro app before the OS is released, you'd think the hard part is behind you when development is done - what with the in-progress documentation, empty Google searches, and constantly mutating API. Now it's time to deploy to the Windows Store. How hard could that be? Based on my own experiences, and insights from other early-bird developers, here's a look at some of the common offenses that will surely take you down the path of rejection:
1). Read the Certification Requirements. Really.
2). No items in the left and right swipe margins. No exceptions.
3). Buttons, in app functionality, credits, go down in the app bar or under Settings, not on screen.
4). Snapview - your app has to be usable when "snapped" to the 320 pixel sidebar section in Windows 8.
There are standard ways to handle the switch to Snapview in Windows 8, but for Metro HTML5/JavaScript apps you also should consider using Responsive Design, Which I'll talk about next week.
1). Read the Certification Requirements. Really.
2). No items in the left and right swipe margins. No exceptions.
3). Buttons, in app functionality, credits, go down in the app bar or under Settings, not on screen.
4). Snapview - your app has to be usable when "snapped" to the 320 pixel sidebar section in Windows 8.
There are standard ways to handle the switch to Snapview in Windows 8, but for Metro HTML5/JavaScript apps you also should consider using Responsive Design, Which I'll talk about next week.
