How to Get Featured on the App Store: A Practical Guide for Small Businesses
Most small business apps never get featured — not because they're bad, but because they miss Apple's editorial criteria. Here's exactly what Apple looks for and how to qualify.
Inside this article
- What Getting Featured on the App Store Actually Means
- The Criteria Apple Editors Use When Selecting Apps
- How to Make Your App Ready for Editorial Consideration
- How to Submit Your App for App Store Feature Consideration
- What to Expect After You Submit
- Increase Your Chances With Ongoing App Store Optimization
- Frequently Asked Questions
Apple's App Store editorial team features thousands of apps every week — and most of them are not from big companies. What separates featured apps from the rest isn't budget: it's a short list of quality and timing criteria that any well-built app can meet.
Getting featured on the App Store can mean thousands of additional installs in a single week. This guide walks you through exactly what Apple looks for, how to submit your app for consideration, and how to give your small business app the best possible shot.
What Getting Featured on the App Store Actually Means
There are several types of App Store featuring, and they work differently:
Editorial featuring is what most people mean when they say "featured." Apple's editors hand-pick apps for curated stories in the Today, Games, and Apps tabs. These placements can drive a significant spike in downloads and give your app lasting credibility.
New Apps We Love and Apps We Love Right Now are rotating editorial picks that appear in the Apps tab. These are among the most accessible placements for small business apps because they're frequently refreshed and focus on quality over category.
Today Stories are longer editorial features written by Apple about a specific app or developer. These are rare for small businesses but not impossible.
Category ranking boosts are not formal editorial features but result from strong momentum: good reviews, high installs, and recent updates can push your app up in category search results without any editorial involvement.
For most small business owners, the realistic target is New Apps We Love or Apps We Love Right Now. The criteria for these placements are public and achievable.
The Criteria Apple Editors Use When Selecting Apps
Apple does not publish a formal rubric, but based on what consistently gets featured, editors look for:
Design quality. The app must look polished on the current iPhone and iPad screen sizes. Low-resolution icons, inconsistent fonts, and broken layouts are immediate disqualifiers. For WebView apps, this means your underlying website must be fully responsive and render cleanly at mobile dimensions.
Stability. Apps with recent crashes or poor ratings are not considered. Apple's internal tools surface crash data before editorial review even starts. If your app has stability issues, fix them first.
Recent activity. Apple strongly favors apps that have been recently updated. A fresh release, a new major version, or a significant feature launch gives editors a news hook to write the feature around. Submitting a 3-year-old app with no recent updates is unlikely to get traction.
Relevance to seasonal or cultural moments. Apple's editorial calendar is organized around seasons, holidays, and cultural events. An app that helps people prepare for the holidays submitted in October is well-timed. Connecting your app to an upcoming moment significantly improves your chances.
A good story. Editors write short descriptions of featured apps. They need something to say. If your app solves a specific, relatable problem in a clear way, it gives the editor a narrative to work with.
How to Make Your App Ready for Editorial Consideration
Before you reach out to Apple, check these requirements:
Icons and screenshots must be current. Use the latest iPhone Pro display dimensions. All screenshots should show real, polished screens — not placeholder content. The first screenshot is the one most users see in search results and the one editors evaluate first.
App rating must be 4.0 or higher. If you're below this threshold, focus on improving your App Store listing and encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews before submitting for editorial consideration.
App description must be clear and specific. Editors read app descriptions as part of their evaluation. Vague descriptions ("the best app for your needs") reduce your chances. Be specific: what does the app do, who is it for, and what is the main benefit?
Privacy practices must be complete. Your Privacy Nutrition Label in App Store Connect must be accurately filled out. Apple's guidelines penalize apps with incomplete or misleading privacy declarations.
The app must be live and publicly available. Apple editors review apps that are available to all users, not restricted to specific regions or account types.
If you're using a WebView wrapper to convert your website into an app, services like Webvify handle the build and submission process with these quality standards in mind — including icon sizes, screenshot templates, and metadata guidelines.
How to Submit Your App for App Store Feature Consideration
Apple has an official submission form called App Store Connect Promotion Request. Most small business owners don't know it exists.
To access it:
- Log in to App Store Connect
- Navigate to your app
- Click Promote Your App in the sidebar
- Fill out the request form with: launch date, what's new in this version, which countries you're targeting, and a short description of why this app is timely or notable
Submit this at least 4–6 weeks before the date you want to be considered for. Apple's editorial planning is done well in advance, especially for seasonal placements. Submitting one week before a holiday will not make the cut.
You can also submit a feature request directly through Apple's developer website. This route is occasionally used for major new releases.
Be brief and specific in your pitch. Apple editors read hundreds of submissions. State what the app does, who it's for, what's new, and why right now is the right moment.
What to Expect After You Submit
Apple does not respond to most feature requests. No reply does not mean rejection — many featured apps never received a direct response before the feature went live.
The process typically works like this: editors scan submissions, filter by quality criteria, and make their picks based on editorial calendar themes. If your submission aligned with something on their calendar, you may get a brief email asking for additional assets.
If you're featured, you'll usually find out when downloads spike — Apple rarely announces it in advance.
If you're not featured in a given window, resubmit before the next major window (New Year, Valentine's Day, spring season, back to school, holiday season). Apps that consistently show quality improvements over time accumulate credibility with the editorial team.
Increase Your Chances With Ongoing App Store Optimization
Getting featured gives you a temporary boost. App Store Optimization (ASO) ensures your app keeps growing long after the feature ends.
The fundamentals that support both featuring and organic growth are the same: strong keyword coverage in your title and description, high-quality screenshots, a rating above 4.0, and regular updates. For a detailed breakdown of how to optimize each element, this ASO guide for small businesses covers the full process step by step.
Pairing an editorial feature with a strong ASO foundation turns a one-week spike into sustained download growth — and that sustained growth makes future features more likely.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I apply to be featured on the App Store?
Submit a promotion request through App Store Connect under "Promote Your App" at least 4–6 weeks before the date you're targeting. There's no application fee. Include your launch date, what's new, the target countries, and a brief explanation of why the app is timely or notable.
Does Apple feature WebView apps?
Yes. Apple features WebView-based apps that meet the same quality criteria as native apps: polished design, stable performance, strong ratings, and a compelling use case. The key requirement is that the app provides a complete, useful experience — not just a browser wrapper around a marketing page. Apps that convert real business websites with genuine functionality (booking, ordering, member access) are routinely approved and have been featured.
How long does it take to get featured on the App Store?
Apple's editorial team plans features weeks or months in advance, especially for seasonal content. You should expect to wait at least 4–6 weeks from submission before knowing whether your request was considered for a given window. Many apps that get featured do so on their second or third submission after refining their quality and timing.
Getting featured on the App Store is not reserved for enterprise apps or well-funded startups. It requires a polished, stable app, a well-timed submission, and a clear story about what your app does and who it helps.
If your app isn't live yet — or you want to make sure it meets Apple's quality standards before submitting — Webvify converts your existing website into a fully branded mobile app and handles the entire App Store submission process for you.