Requesting App Ratings and Reviews Tutorial for iOS

Requesting App Ratings and Reviews Tutorial for iOS · Log in to App Store Connect · Select My Apps · Click on the app in the list App Information, ... Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Shape Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group Group SpringAhead2022Sale!AnnualProSubscriptions50%off Allraywenderlich.comAnnualProSubscriptionsandbooksare50%off—foralimitedtimeonly! Learnmore raywenderlich.com raywenderlich.com Hidecontents RequestingAppRatingsandReviewsTutorialforiOS WhyDoRatingsandReviewsMatter? GettingStarted RequestingAppRatings SKStoreReviewControllerLimitations FindingtheRightTimetoRequestaRating AddingReviewRequestLogicintheSampleApp PuttingItAllTogether ManuallyRequestingaReview AppStoreProductPageURL Inthistutorial,you’regoingtolearnaboutrequestingratingsandreviewsinyouriOSapps.StartingwithiOS10.3,AppleintroducedthenewSKStoreReviewControllerclasstostandardizethisinteraction.Inthistutorial,you’lllearnhowtocorrectlyimplementthisAPI,aswellaslearnsometipsonhowtomaximizeyourchancesofgettinggreatreviewsfromyourhappyusers. WhyDoRatingsandReviewsMatter? WithmorethanamillionappsontheiOSAppStore,thereareliterallyhundredsorthousandsofappsinanygivenappcategory.It’sbecomingmoredifficultforuserstoknowifanappisworthdownloadingandtryingout. Usershavealsobecomeusedtorelyingonratingsandreviewswhenmakingpurchasedecisions,whetherit’sbuyingproductsonAmazon,findingrestaurants,bookinghotelsorwatchingmovies.It’s,therefore,crucialyourpotentialusershaveaccesstoasmuchinformationastheyneedbeforedownloadingyourapp.Highratingsandlotsofreviewsalsoleaveapositiveimpressiononthesepotentialusersandincreasethelikelihoodtheywillinstallyourapp. AnotheraspectinwhichratingsandreviewshelpistoimproveyourrankingontheAppStore.AccordingtoastudydonebyForrester,63%ofappsarediscoveredthroughAppStoresearches.Howdoyougetyourapptorankhigherandstandoutinsuchacrowdedmarketplace?ResearchdonebyAppRadarsuggeststhenumberandaverageofratings,aswellasthenumberofreviews,hasastronginfluenceonhowyourappranksinAppStoresearchresults. Inordertoimproveyourapp’sdiscoverabilityintheAppStore,aswellasincreasethenumberofuserswhoinstallyourapponcetheyreachyourapppage,it’simportantyourapphasasignificantnumberofratingsandreviews. Beforeyougetstarted,youmightstillbewonderingtheimportanceofhavingabuilt-inpromptaskingyouruserstorateyourapp?Inordertoshowyouhoweffectiveitcanbe,let’stakealookatanotherpopularappontheAppStore—Instagram. ImagegeneratedbyAppbot.co Asyoucanseeinthegraphabove,somethinghappenedinAugust2017,butwhatcouldithavebeen?ThisMediumpostfromClémentDelanguepointsoutthatInstagramaddedtheSKStoreReviewControllerintoitsapparoundthistime—justlookattheimpactithad! Nextup,you’llseehowyoucanachievesimilarresultswithyourusersaswell. GettingStarted Inthistutorial,you’lltakeanappthatpresentsasearchablelistofbirdsoundsanduseSKStoreReviewControllertopromptuserstoratetheapp. Togetstarted,clicktheDownloadMaterialsbuttonatthetoporbottomofthistutorial.Inthedownloadedfolder,navigateintotheChirper-StarterfolderandopenChirper.xcodeprojinXcode.Buildandruntheapp,andyou’llseethefollowing: RequestingAppRatings Getstartedbyaddinganewfiletotheproject.Right-clickontheyellowChirperfolderintheprojectnavigatorandselectNewFile….SelectSwiftFilefromthepresentedoptions,clickNextandnameitAppStoreReviewManager.swift. Pastethefollowingintoyournewlycreatedfile: importStoreKit enumAppStoreReviewManager{ staticfuncrequestReviewIfAppropriate(){ } } You’redoingafewimportantthingshere: ImportingtheStoreKitframework.StoreKitallowsyoutodomanythingsrelatedtotheAppleStoressuchasmanagingInAppPurchases,checkingAppleMusiccapabilitiesordisplayingproductrecommendationsinsideyourapp.Inthistutorial,however,you’lluseittotriggerthereviewprompt. CreateanenumcalledAppStoreReviewManager.You’llusethisasanamespacetowrapthestaticfunctionsandpropertieswithin.Enumsareusefulforthisbecauseyoucan’tinitializethemiftheydeclarenocases. Next,youneedtoaskStoreKittorequestareviewfromtheuser.YoucandothisbyusingstaticSKStoreReviewController.requestReview().AddthefollowingtorequestReviewIfAppropriate(): SKStoreReviewController.requestReview() Inordertotestthatitworks,callthismethodwhentheuserplaysasound.OpenBirdSoundTableViewCell.swiftandcallyournewfunctionattheendofstartPlaying(with:): AppStoreReviewManager.requestReviewIfAppropriate() Buildandruntheapp.TapthePlaybuttonononeofthesounds.Youwillseeapromptaskingyoutoratetheapp! Hooray!Withjustthatonelineofcodeyouwereabletorequesttheusertorateyourapp!:] Note:TheSubmitbuttonwillappeargrayedoutsinceyouareindevelopmentmode.ItwillappearenabledforusersusingyourappthroughtheAppStore. SKStoreReviewControllerLimitations AppledoesenforcecertainlimitationsonhowyouusethisAPI: Nomatterhowmanytimesyourequestthereviewprompt,thesystemwillshowthepromptamaximumofthreetimesina365-dayperiod. Callingthemethodisnotaguaranteethatthepromptwilldisplay.Thismeansthatit’snotappropriatetocalltheAPIinresponsetoabuttontaporotheruseraction. Thesystemmustnothaveshownthepromptforaversionoftheappbundlethatmatchesthecurrentbundleversion.Thisensuresthattheuserisnotaskedtoreviewthesameversionofyourappmultipletimes. Note:Thereviewpromptwillbehavedifferentlydependingonthetypeofbuildthatyouarerunning: Development:Showneverytimetheyourequesttheprompt. TestFlight:Promptisnevershown. AppStore:Shownwiththelimitationsdescribedabove. FindingtheRightTimetoRequestaRating ChoosingwhereandwhentodisplaythispromptiscriticaltoyoursuccessusingthisAPI. Themomentthesystemshowstheprompttotheusercanhavegreateffectontheresultwhenrequestingappratings.Forexample,youshouldn’taskforareviewwhiletheuserisinthemiddleofatask.Also,ifyoutrackappcrashes,youshouldmakesuretowaitadayormorebeforerequestingareview. Instead,youshouldmakeabigefforttoaskforratingswhentheuserishappy.Forinstance,aftertheuserhasreturnedtoyourapprepeatedly,completedalevelofyourgameorfinishedavideocall,etc.Whicheverengagementmetricyouchoosetotrackandtriggertheratingprompt,makesurethattheuserhashadachancetoexperiencethefullvaluepropositionofyourapp—thatway,apositivereviewisamorelikelyresult. Note:Afterfollowingtheaboveadvice,youmightwonderwhyyouaretriggeringthepromptwhenplayingarecording.Wouldn’titjustannoytheuserandresultinabadrating?You’reright;itwouldbemuchmoreappropriatetotriggerthepromptattheendofplayback.Tomaketestinginthistutorialsimple,you’llleaveitwhereitisbut,ifyoureallywant,youcouldmovethecalltoBirdSoundTableViewCell.didPlayToEndTime(_:). AddingReviewRequestLogicintheSampleApp Inthesampleapp,you’lluseastrategywhereyouwillaskusersforaratingoncetheyhaveplayedatleastthreerecordings.Thisnumberisdeliberatelylowsothatyoucantesttheconcept.Inareal-worldapp,youwouldwanttokeepthisnumbermuchhigherforasimilaruseraction. OpenAppStoreReviewManager.swiftandreplacerequestReviewIfAppropriate()withthefollowing: //1. staticletminimumReviewWorthyActionCount=3 staticfuncrequestReviewIfAppropriate(){ letdefaults=UserDefaults.standard letbundle=Bundle.main //2. varactionCount=defaults.integer(forKey:.reviewWorthyActionCount) //3. actionCount+=1 //4. defaults.set(actionCount,forKey:.reviewWorthyActionCount) //5. guardactionCount>=minimumReviewWorthyActionCountelse{ return } //6. letbundleVersionKey=kCFBundleVersionKeyasString letcurrentVersion=bundle.object(forInfoDictionaryKey:bundleVersionKey)as?String letlastVersion=defaults.string(forKey:.lastReviewRequestAppVersion) //7. guardlastVersion==nil||lastVersion!=currentVersionelse{ return } //8. SKStoreReviewController.requestReview() //9. defaults.set(0,forKey:.reviewWorthyActionCount) defaults.set(currentVersion,forKey:.lastReviewRequestAppVersion) } Breakingdownthecodeabove: Declareaconstantvaluetospecifythenumberoftimesthatusermustperformareview-worthyaction. ReadthecurrentnumberofactionsthattheuserhasperformedsincethelastrequestedreviewfromtheUserDefaults. Note:ThissampleprojectusesanextensiononUserDefaultstoeliminatetheneedforusing“stringly”typedkeyswhenaccessingvalues.Thisisagoodpracticetofollowinordertoavoidaccidentallymistypingakeyasitcancausehard-to-findbugsinyourapp.YoucanfindthisextensioninUserDefaults+Key.swift. IncrementtheactioncountvaluereadfromUserDefaults. Settheincrementedcountbackintotheuserdefaultsforthenexttimethatyoutriggerthefunction. Checkiftheactioncounthasnowexceededtheminimumthresholdtotriggerareview.Ifithasn’t,thefunctionwillnowreturn. Readthecurrentbundleversionandthelastbundleversionusedduringthelastprompt(ifany). Checkifthisisthefirstrequestforthisversionoftheappbeforecontinuing. AskStoreKittorequestareview. ResettheactioncountandstorethecurrentversioninUserDefaultssothatyoudon’trequestagainonthisversionoftheapp. PuttingItAllTogether Buildandruntheapp.Thistime,ifyouplayasound,itwon’timmediatelyshowthereviewprompt.Playthesoundtwomoretimesand,onlythen,theappwillpresentyouwiththeratingprompt.You’llalsonoticethatthepromptwon’tshowagainnomatterhowmanyrecordingsyouplay. ClickontheChirperprojecticonintheProjectnavigator,thenChirperagainunderthelistofpresentedtargets.UpdatethevalueintheBuildfieldtoupdatethevalueofCFBundleVersioninyourappsInfo.plist. Buildandruntheapp.Again,playmorerecordings.Oncethe.reviewWorthyActionCountvalueexceedsthreeagain,theversioncheckinstep7willsucceedand,becauseyou’vechangedthebundleversion,you’llbepromptedagaintogiveanotherratingforthenewversionofyourapp. ManuallyRequestingaReview Sonowyouknowhowtopromptyouruserstoprovidearatingwhileusingyourapp,you’llmoveontoexploringhowtoletyourusersmanuallyreviewtheappiftheywishtowithouthavingtowaitforAppStoreReviewManagertodecideiftheyshouldornot. AppStoreProductPageURL Firstofall,youneedtoknowtheurlforyourappontheAppStore.Ifyourappisalreadylive,thenthisisprettyeasy;youcansearchforyourappinGoogleandcopytheurl.Alternatively,youcanfinditontheAppStoreandtapthe…buttonontheproductpagetorevealaShareApp…optionthatallowsyoutocopythelinktoyourclipboard. Ifyou’restillbuildingthefirstversionofyourappandhaven’tyetreleaseditontheAppStore,don’tworry;aslongasyouhavealreadysetupyourappusingAppStoreConnect,thenyou’llstillbeabletogetthelinkbeforeyouevensubmityourfinaltoAppStoreReview.Tofindthislink: LogintoAppStoreConnect . SelectMyApps . ClickontheappinthelistAppInformation,whereyouwillthenfindalinktoViewonAppStoreatthebottomofthepage. Note:Ifyouaren’tyetupandrunningwithAppStoreConnect,thencheckoutthisVideoCourseorthisTutorialtoexplaineverythingthatyouneedtoknow. TheURLyouendupobtainingwilllooksomethinglikethis: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rwdevcon-conference/id958625272?mt=8 Beforeyoucontinue,you’llcleanuptheURLalittlebitassomecomponentsarenotrequiredandcanchangeovertime.Youcanexcludethecountrycode,appnameandqueryparameterfromtheURLsothattheaboveexamplewouldbecomethefollowing: https://itunes.apple.com/app/id958625272 TheexactURLaboveisalreadyincludedinthesampleproject,inSettingsViewController.swift.IfyouwanttosubstitutetheURLforyourownapp,goaheadandchangetheproductURLconstant,otherwiseleaveitasitisandyou’llbereviewingtheRWDevConapp.Bekind! WritingaReview NowthatyouhaveaproductURLforyourapp,youcanusethistotakeyourusersdirectlytotheWriteaReviewactionintheAppStore.Allyouhavetodoisappendaqueryparameterwiththenameactionandthevaluewrite-reviewtotheproductpageURL;then,openitonaniOSdevicetogodirectlyintotheAppStoreapp. Addthisfunctionalitytothesampleapp! OpenSettingsViewController.swiftandaddthefollowingcodetowriteReview(): //1. varcomponents=URLComponents(url:productURL,resolvingAgainstBaseURL:false) //2. components?.queryItems=[ URLQueryItem(name:"action",value:"write-review") ] //3. guardletwriteReviewURL=components?.urlelse{ return } //4. UIApplication.shared.open(writeReviewURL) ThecodeaboverunswhentheusertapstheWriteaReviewcellintheSettingsscreenofthesampleapp.Goingoverthecode: CreateaninstanceofURLComponentswiththeproductpageURLthatyoufoundearlier.URLComponentsisastructthatassistswithparsingandconstructingURLobjectsinasafemanner.It’softengoodpracticetouseURLComponentsinsteadofjustappendingstringstogether. SetthearrayofqueryitemstocontainasingleitemwiththenameandvaluetomatchtherequirementsthatwilltriggertheAppStoretoopentheprompt. CreateaURLobjectbasedonthecomponentsthatyoumodifiedinthelaststep. AskthesharedUIApplicationinstancetoopenthegivenURL. Note:BecausetheiOSSimulatordoesn’tincludetheAppStoreapp,youwillhavetobuildandrunthesampleprojectonaphysicaldevicetotrythisout.Inordertodothis,you’llneedtoselectaDevelopmentTeamandchangetheBundleIdentifierintheprojectsettings. Buildandruntheappontoyourdevice.TaptheSettingsiconinthenavbarandthenWriteaReview.You’llbetakenfromthesampleappandintotheAppStorewhereyou’llseethefollowingscreen: SharingYourApp Whenusersarereallyenjoyingyourapp,theymightwanttosharethegreatexperiencetheyarehavingwiththeirfriendsandfamily.Becausethereisn’tcurrentlyaneasilydiscoverablewaytosharealinkofyourappdirectly,andyoualreadyhavealinktoyourapp’sproductpage,youmightaswellprovideyouruserswithaconvenientwaytosharethelink.Afterall,themoreusersyouhave,themerrieryouwillbe! You’regoingtouseadedicatedAPIforthiscalledUIActivityViewController.Todoso,openSettingsViewController.swiftandaddthefollowingcodetoshare(): //1. letactivityViewController=UIActivityViewController( activityItems:[productURL], applicationActivities:nil) //2. present(activityViewController,animated:true,completion:nil) UIActivityViewControllerworksbyacceptinganarrayof“activityitems”.Itwillthenpresentasysteminterfacewithoptionstolaunchotherappsinstalledonthedevicethathaveregisteredtheirownsupportforanyoftheprovidedactivityitemtypes. Inthecodeabove,youprovidetheURLobjectthatrepresentstheAppStoreproductpageandthenmodallypresenttheactivityviewcontroller.Anyappsoractionsthatcanaccepttextorlinkswillthenbepresentedtoyousothatyoucansharethelinkhoweveryoulike!YoucanevenAirDropittoanotherdevicetoimmediatelyopentheAppStoreifyou’dlike. Note:IfyouwanttolearnmoreaboutthisAPIyoucancheckoutthefollowingtutorial:UIActivityViewControllerTutorial:SharingData. Buildandrunyourprojectontoeitheraphysicaldeviceorsimulator(thesimulatorwillpresentfeweroptions)andyoushouldseesomethinglikethefollowing: Theseareadditionalwaystoimprovetheratingofyourappandgethappyuserstospreadthewordaboutit! WheretoGoFromHere? YoucandownloadthecompletedversionoftheprojectusingtheDownloadMaterialsbuttonatthetoporbottomofthistutorial. Youhavelearnedallaboutrequestingappratingsandreviewsforyourappandhowtodoitattherighttime.Totakethisevenfurther,addSKStoreReviewControllertoyourappsinthenextupdatethatyourelease.Hopefully,youwillseeanuptickinthenumberofreviewsandratingsandmoretraffictoyourappontheAppStore. Tolearnmoreonthistopic,thesearefewothergoodresources: RequestingAppStoreReviews BestPracticesandWhat’sNewwithIn-AppPurchases RayWenderlichscreencastonSKStoreReviewController AppStore:Ratings,Reviews,andResponses Ihopeyou’veenjoyedthistutorial;ifyouhaveanyquestionsfeelfreetoleavetheminthediscussionbelow!:] How-tos iOS&SwiftTutorials DownloadMaterials raywenderlich.comWeekly Theraywenderlich.comnewsletteristheeasiestwaytostayup-to-dateoneverythingyouneedtoknowasamobiledeveloper. Signupnow Website Getaweeklydigestofourtutorialsandcourses,andreceiveafreein-depthemailcourseasabonus! Reviews Allvideos.Allbooks. Onelowprice. Themobiledevelopmentworldmovesquickly—andyoudon’twanttogetleftbehind.LearniOS,Swift,Android,Kotlin,Dart,Flutterandmorewiththelargestandhighest-qualitycatalogofvideocoursesandbooksontheinternet. 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Apr132022·Article(10mins) Completed Grabourbestdealsoftheyear:AnnualProSubscriptionsat50%off—andeverysinglebookonoursitefor50%offtoo.Savebigduringthisyear’sSpringAheadsale! Apr132022·Article(10mins) Completed Contributors SanketFirodiya Sanketisadesignandproduct-focusedengineerwholikestosolverealuserproblemswithsimpleproducts.Heisbasedoutof... Author LiamNichols iOSTechLeadworkingforCookpadInternational. TechEditor MandaFrederick Mandahasbeeninvolvedinpublishingforover12yearsthroughvariouscreative,educational,medicalandtechnicalprintand... Editor AdrianaKutenko GraphicIllustratorwithaBachelor’sDegreeinFineArts.IamaperpetualperfectionseekerwithabigpassionforHistory... Illustrator RichardTurton RichardisaniOSdeveloperforMartianCraft,prolificStackOverflowparticipantandauthorofadevelopmentblog,Command... Fpe RichardCritz Richardhasbeendoingsoftwareprofessionallyforover40years,primarilyoperatingsystemsandnetworkinfrastructurewitha... TeamLead Inthistutorial,you’lllearnaboutrequestingappratingsandreviewsinyouriOSapplicationsusingSKStoreReviewControllerandotheravailableAPIs. Comments ShowComments. Allvideos.Allbooks.Onelowprice. Araywenderlich.comsubscriptionisthebestwaytolearnandmastermobiledevelopment—plansstartatjust$19.99/month! LearniOS,Swift,Android,Kotlin,FlutterandDartdevelopmentandunlockourmassivecatalogof50+booksand4,000+videos. Learnmore