Recently I attended the Windows 8 AppFest at Bangalore and I am now preparing for Wowzapp (Windows 8 Hackathon) in Agra and learned a lot about developing Windows Store apps. I found many folks here are confused about Metro style apps (Windows RT Style). This article is to keep in mind some points of what to do and what not to do while developing apps for Windows 8.
Use of Buttons
Use of buttons in Windows Store apps is strictly prohibited, it's not that the button control is not present there, but the classic button view is ignored and preferred not to be used, as the Windows 8 UI is a completely new one and these buttons make them look clumsy. There won't be any issues while getting your app certified but ignoring them are the standard developing rules, you can use the Image element instead and can use the image click events to add events to it or if you want to stick to button control you need to completely customize it, use some background foreground images and color such that it doesn't look like a classic button.
Color Range
I have seen many developers adding gradients in the background which may look good to them but not to all the users, so try to keep your app simple and don't add such gradients; use a single color in your background and some contrast color for the foreground items.
App Bar
This is located at the bottom of the app and appears when the app is right-clicked, this contains all the actions that can be performed on that particular app page. Your app page is meant to be kept very clean, just the data that is to be accessed and all the setting/actions/navigation should come to the charm, app bar or navigation bar.
Navigation Bar
This is located at the top of the application and comes up on right-click, this contains all the navigation's which are possible, like menu items etc. Remember, menu items can't be in the app bar, the app bar only contains the actions to be performed on a particular page. Having a separate view of AppBar and NavigationBar in mind is very important.
A few other points to be kept in mind are:
- Your app should be Fast and Fluid
- Snap and Scale Beautifully
- Use the right Contracts
- Invest in a Great Tile
- Feel Connected and Alive
- Embrace Metro Principles
Hope you emerge out to be a great app developer, cheers.