Naming your app is like naming your baby, but more important.

The name of your app, alongside the logo, is the first thing users will see, so it needs to be good. No pressure, but this is one of the most important decisions you will make in your entire life…

Ok we’re only joking. Whilst the name is important, with the right team of app developers and a high quality app which is actually useful, you’ll be on the path to success. But, for those of you who are getting bogged down trying to pick a name, we have put our techie heads together and come up with some tips to help you out.

Short and snappy

Painfully obvious but painfully ignored. The name of your app needs to be short. Apple recommends keeping the app’s name to under 25 characters, which isn’t much, especially when compared to our 140-character Twitter allowance, something we still struggle with on a daily basis.

Choose something catchy, easy to remember and easy to pronounce. If it’s hard to say then none of your users will talk about it for fear of being embarrassed (we’ve all been there). Essentially, don’t try to be too clever. Don’t try to be too techie. Don’t add excessive numbers or random capital letters. Just…be cool.

Describing the function of the app alongside something a bit punchy generally works well. Think Evernote, Wunderlist or Dubsmash.

Keywords

Keywords are both a blessing and a curse. They are what keeps us marketers awake long into the night, wondering what went wrong and what we could possibly have done differently.

And for app developers, keywords are a nightmare. We want the apps we launch to be high quality and clean. We want the UI and UX to sell itself, for users to rave about the app’s perfection and get thumb-ache from excessive use (OK not really).

We don’t want to waste precious characters trying to squeeze in a pesky keyword.

But, if used sensitively, keywords can do wonders for your app store rankings and, if your existing user base consists solely of your mum and your computer-illiterate Nan, then they are essential. Try not to spam. Be strategic. We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, be cool – and also read this post where we go into keywords in more detail.

Competition

When you start brainstorming ideas, Google everything. Absolutely everything. There’s nothing more heartbreaking then coming up with the perfect name and then finding out someone named Mark Zuckerberg already trademarked it. Ugh.

Adding punctuation or changing the spelling of a competitors name is neither fun nor clever. Do this, and you risk looking unprofessional. Users download apps that they trust, and no one trusts a copy cat.

Remember that just because your name might be available in the App Store doesn’t mean it’s available everywhere. You will need social media handles and a domain name, so it’s worth checking these are available too.

Talk to your app developers

An experienced app development company will know the industry inside out, and they will know what works. When it comes to trends in app design, names and logos, mobile app developers know what’s hot and what’s not. Make sure you get their advice!

When we partner with clients, we put a lot of effort into creating fun and imaginative branding workshops, where we go through everything from logo design, to name, to colour palettes. Have a look at our guide to hiring an app development company if you’re unsure what you should be looking for, but essentially, your app developers should offer valuable insights and ideas.

Don’t be scared

Finally, don’t be scared to go with something a little abstract, a little funky, a little ‘out there’. Remember, at the end of the day, you want to stand out from the competition and a name that gets people wanting to know more can only be a good thing.

Whilst we appreciate choosing a name for your app can be difficult, stressful, exhausting – you name it, it really doesn’t have to be. With the right app development company and a strong MVP, you will be well on your way to App Store success.