Introduction

The goal of LiveChat Marketplace and HelpDesk Marketplace is to provide trusted space for high quality LiveChat and HelpDesk apps, plugins, and integrations.

With over 37,000 businesses using our products daily, we want to make sure that what we offer in our Marketplaces, provides our customers with tangible value and enriches their LiveChat or HelpDesk experience. Therefore, all apps in our Marketplaces must meet our basic criteria for quality and content.

This document will provide you with knowledge about the review processes offered by us and some good practices, guidelines, and rules that may help you to make your app an attractive and efficient product.

App review services

To ensure that your app meets our criteria to be published on our Marketplace and provides your customers with high-quality service, we require your app passes the review process.

During this process, we will make sure that:

• The app offers unique business value.
• The app is fully functional.
• The app provides a good user experience.
• The app matches the LiveChat's look and feel. For that reason, we highly recommend following our Design System.
• The app has all the necessary Marketplace listing details: app icon, images, description, key features and benefits, a tutorial, and privacy policy.

Best practices

Since we aim to offer a top-quality experience and you would like to provide your future customers with top-quality products, we've prepared a list of best practices for developers and app owners. We highly encourage you to familiarize yourself with all the aspects.

Restricted content

First things first, we don’t accept apps that offend other people. That includes: violence, threats, bullying, harassment, sexually explicit content, and discrimination based on nationality, race, ethnic origin, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, or religion. Any other forms of attack or discrimination, which are not present on the list, will also be forbidden.

During the basic review of your app, it is the reviewer who makes the final decision on whether an app violates the ethical norms.

Privacy, safety, data collection

To learn about terms and regulations, see Developers Terms.

Quality

Before you submit the app, test it meticulously to ensure it’s usable and bug-free. Make sure it looks and performs well on desktop, tablet, and smartphone for the best cross-platform experience.

Keep your code human-readable, clean, and optimized. Respect the generally accepted standards. Remember about the cleanup - remove all unused assets, references, etc.

Design System

We recommend using our Design System to keep apps consistent with the LiveChat look & feel.

Read more about apps’ components in the Design System, and to learn more about colors and typography, please go here.

App details

App details is where you can make your integration shine, exposing its features and benefits. Filling out this section is crucial for the promotion of your app on our Marketplaces. This is why you cannot skip it - it's always mandatory.

The most important fields are:

• App name
• Description
• Screenshots
• App icon
• Tutorial

App Name

Make your app name descriptive, yet snappy and easy to remember. Keep the name below 30 characters, otherwise it will be truncated. The name should be properly capitalized and use only English characters. Don't include app description in the title - there's plenty of space for that in other fields.

If you want to use the word "LiveChat" in your app name, the only acceptable way to do this is "App Name for LiveChat". "LiveChat App Name" will be rejected.

Let's use an example from the App ideas section in Developer Console.

Acceptable name: Agent Alert for LiveChat

Not acceptable name: LiveChat Agent Alert

Or, you could simply go with Agent Alert.

Description

Based on the app descriptions you provide, potential users will be able to find your app and decide if it matches their needs. You need to include short and long descriptions. They should be accurate and up to date. The recommended length is one sentence for a short description and not more than 10 sentences for the long one.

Both descriptions must be written in English, but if you offer the app in another language, feel free to add a translated version as well.

Apart from descriptions, remember to add at least one feature and one benefit.

To make the copy review process as seamless as possible, we have prepared the app review copy guidelines. Read this document before you start writing to get helpful advice and insightful tips on writing good copy for your application.

Screenshots

Most of us are visualizers. We're tempted by images, videos, or animations. That's why you should include 3 - 5 screenshots presenting the most important features of your app. And not just some screenshots. Give them extra care, it will pay off.

The screenshots should be crisp and clear, accurately picturing the functionalities of your app. The maximum file size can’t exceed 1 MB.

App icon

A good icon helps your app stand out. Design something original, unique. Something that represents your app or even your entire brand. Make the logo crisp and readable. The icons should have full-bleed background, and their size should be at least 240 x 240 px.

Using the LiveChat logo, its derivatives or fragments in your icon is not allowed.

In our example, Agent Alert, we used the icon generator available in Developer Console. However, it's always better if a logo conveys more meaning regarding the app it represents.

Tutorial

As soon as your app is ready, prepare a guide for it. Remember, you know your product backwards and forwards, but your customers don't. Make sure their first experience of your application isn't frustrating or discouraging. A good first impression may tip the balance in your favor when the trial period ends.

App settings

If your application has some sort of settings, the best way to present them from the UX perspective is in Settings > Manage apps in the LiveChat or HelpDesk Applications. This is where users intuitively look for the settings of the integrations they have installed.

Read more about how to configure your app settings in Developer Console.

App requirements

Before you submit the app for a required basic review, ensure you meet the following requirements:

• You've added at least one Building block.

• You accept the Marketplace Terms.

• You can provide a valid reason for using specific authorization scopes in your app (if asked by us).

• You can provide us with the testing instructions for the app.

• You've got your demo testing environment ready.

• You can provide the main use case of the app.

• You're capable of providing support during and after the App Review process, both for the reviewer and app users.

Support

Make sure that users know how to get started with the app, how to use it, and are never left on their own.

It is mandatory to provide your users with a simple tutorial that covers its basic usage and explains all its features. As an example, see how the ChatBot integration is described.

If your application requires from users some more advanced configuration, provide a link to a guide or manual. It should be written in English and contain all necessary instructions. Keep in mind that not all customers are tech savvies, so consider combining text and visual materials in the instruction.

Always keep the contact details in your profile up to date, and check your email regularly.

App Statuses

Developers have constant access to the current status of the app in Developer Console > App > Monitor > Overview.

• Developing - Your app is in development. As a developer, you're able to work on the app and make changes to it.

• Submitted - The app has been submitted for review. You can no longer change the app unless you decide to cancel the submission.

• Accepted - The app has been accepted. You can now publish the app on the LiveChat or HelpDesk Marketplace.

• Published - The app has been published to the Marketplace. You can cancel the publication and we will take down your app from the LiveChat or HelpDesk Marketplace. If you want to change your app, you need to fork it, and then submit its new version for the App Review process once again.

Common problems

Before you submit the app for any of the two offered reviews, make sure you tackled the following issues:

1. Testing the give consent step

It's easy to forget about testing the give consent step. Since you're the app owner, the app never asks you for access. Use the prompt=consent parameter to test how this step looks from the user's perspective.

2. Providing testing credentials

Usually, you need to provide us with some credentials so we can test your app. If your app integrates LiveChat with different software, provide us with credentials for the latter. To speed up the review process, remember to include the credentials when you submit the app for the review.

3. Following the LiveChat Design System

It's best if your app follows the LiveChat look & feel. To ensure it does, make use of the visual guidelines specified in our Design System. It opens the door to possible promotion on our Marketplace, for example via campaigns. It's particularly important for integrations located in the message box or in the Details section. We allow for adopting your brand's design, but it should be in harmony with ours. It is also important that the design of your app is compatible with the app location you selected for your application.

4. Testing your integration on LiveChat mobile

Make sure to test your integration on the LiveChat mobile app. If your integration makes use of Accounts SDK for authorization, ensure the SDK version is 2.0.1 or higher. Otherwise, your integration won't work with the LiveChat mobile app. In that case, consider migrating to the latest version of Accounts SDK.

Contact us

If you found a bug or a typo, you can let us know directly on GitHub. In case of any questions or feedback, don't hesitate to contact us at developers@text.com. We'll be more than glad to hear from you!