Windows Dev Center comes up with more updates and improvements!

It was back in 2012 that the popular development center AppHub was transformed into Windows Dev Center and now the latter comes up with even further developed and improved updates for better and more comfortable performance.

According to the official announcement of Microsoft, the development center has been enhanced with really significant and radically new features, “to enhance your development experience: the lifetime Dev Center account, and the new Dev Center Benefits program. I’d like to encourage you to visit the Dev Center and take advantage of the new benefits available to you.” 

In the long run, as the announcement states this is also meant to increase the scale and the progress of the advertising platform for apps, which is in its turn based on the increasing pace of ad revenue in Windows Phone.

So the first and one of the primary improvements that have been applied here is the change of the principle of registration, turning it into a one-time lifelong registration, thus requiring a one-time payment, giving the developer a chance to submit apps to both Windows and Windows Phone Stores without any additional annual fees. So this is a really great stimulus for the developers to be more productive and to have more chances of development and professional progress without limitations.

The next this that’s new here is the Dev Center Benefits program launched just recently and aimed at accelerating “your success on our platform by helping you develop, improve and market your apps with a variety of offers and tools and is available to all registered developers worldwide of all experience levels and platforms.”.

Thus there are three basic packages in this program, grouped according to the level of proficiency, listed as follows:

• Explorer, gets you started quickly with design and architecture guidance and consulting help from a Microsoft expert, Gift Cards, and Dev Center registration fee.
• Expert, helps you reach more users faster with advertising offers, a publishing contract, and more.
• Master, unlocks VIP access to developer marketing and support, SDK early access and more.

So this path leads from the explorer level to more sophisticated expert and master levels the transition of which is based on the level of downloads your app has. The more the number the higher the level.

Accordingly the revenue of the developers also increases which is an additional impetus for the developers to work harder for better results. The announcement also specifies the next range of achievements and improvements that have been carried out recently in order to help the developers succeed with their apps, listed as follows:

• Last month, pubCenter launched custom reports that developers can use to analyze their ad performance by market.
• Earlier this month, Microsoft Advertising released several systems improvements that allow Windows Phone ads to be matched better with apps. Initial results are very encouraging, with +50% higher total ad revenue for Windows Phone apps. In fact, last week we saw the highest total weekly Windows Phone Store ad revenue so far this year.
• Also in September, streamlined payout process, resulting in more than 50% faster payout. Any developer that has reached the payout threshold will receive payment earlier than in previous months.
• Yesterday, announced that Windows and Windows Phone Ads-in-Apps inventory is now available on the Microsoft Advertising Exchange in 10 markets. This opens up more screens for advertisers to run campaigns globally, helping to increase the fill rate in the future.

Thus, if you are an app developer than this is really great news for you! What the loyal fans, followers and users can expect from this is the newest and the coolest range of apps developed with an increased number and speed from now on. So we are just waiting to see the results of these innovations.