Guide
What to put on listing screenshots
Listing screenshots are the pitch above the fold. Most people decide from the first frame, sometimes the next one, before they read your description. Put one clear outcome on each slide, show the real UI underneath, and write headlines short enough to survive another language. Search terms belong in the store title and keyword fields. The image is there to earn the install.
Last updated September 28, 2026. Pixel rules are in the App Store and Google Play size guides. Play's text guidance is in Google's preview asset help.
The short version
- Slide 1 carries the outcome. The product page opens on that frame, before anyone swipes.
- Five slides is a full story: outcome, core action, difference, a second proof, then trust if you have something real to say.
- One short headline per slide, sitting on the real UI. Play wants that tagline under about 20% of the image.
- Localize the headline. Keep the layout. Recapture the UI only when the screen itself is full of words.
The first frames do the work
On the App Store product page the gallery opens on screenshot 1. The next image is only partly in view until someone swipes. Search and editorial placements often use that same opening frame, or a short strip of the first few. Write slide 1 for the person who never swipes.
Google Play can show screenshots in search and on the homepage, and its preview guidelines ask you to prioritize the real in-app experience in the first screenshots. A logo card, a ratings badge, or a "welcome" splash spends that slot on something the icon already said.
The description, subtitle, and keyword field are a different job. Someone scanning images will not read a paragraph baked into the PNG. Put the searchable phrasing in the store text fields, and put a human sentence on the picture.
A slide order that holds up
Upload in the order you want people to read. Connect and Play Console do not rearrange a story for you. Five slides cover most indie apps. Eight starts to repeat itself. Ten is the Apple cap, and it is rarely a better pitch.
- 01The outcome. Who it is for, and what changes after they install. Pair it with the screen that proves the claim.
- 02The core action. The one flow people will repeat. If slide 1 was a promise, slide 2 is the product doing it.
- 03The difference. One feature that sets the app apart in its category, shown, with a short line.
- 04A second proof. A habit, a detail, or a screen skeptics ask about. Skip it if you are repeating slide 2.
- 05Trust, if you have it. Privacy, offline, or a plain explanation of what the app will not do. Leave this off if it is filler.
If you only have three strong screens, ship three. A weak fourth slide trains people to stop swiping. Match this order on iPhone, iPad, and Play so a user who sees both stores gets the same story. The canvases still differ. Sizes are in the guides linked above, and the capture-to-ZIP path is in screenshots without Figma.
Headlines that fit the frame
One claim
One sentence on the image. If you need a comma and a second idea, that idea is the next slide.
Short on purpose
Aim for a handful of words. German, French, and Japanese will run longer than English. Leave room so the line does not collide with the device.
Show the UI
Google asks you to prioritize the in-app experience in the first screenshots, and to keep taglines under about 20% of the frame. A headline sitting on a blank gradient does not explain the product.
Skip store-policy bait
Leave off Best, #1, New, sale language, and Download now. Google's preview guidelines call those out on screenshots. Apple expects the images to match the app you actually ship.
A useful headline names the change: "Split a bill in one tap." A weak one names the screen: "Home tab." You can add a quieter subtitle under it, but if the subtitle repeats the headline, delete the subtitle. The app name is already beside the gallery. You do not need it on every PNG.
Copy that survives another language
Translation is where tight English breaks. A six-word line can become ten. If the headline is locked to the exact width of the English phrase, the next locale wraps into the device or gets clipped. Leave vertical room, and avoid clever line breaks that only work in one language.
- Keep one layout. Change the strings. Rebuilding every frame per language is how decks go stale.
- Recapture when the UI is sentences, labels, or a keyboard in that language. Icon-heavy screens can stay.
- Play's own guidance: in-app UI does not have to be localized on every shot, but extra taglines should be.
- Skip idioms and wordplay. They rarely survive, and they rarely explain the product anyway.
In AppScreenPro, each headline is stored per locale. The free plan stays on the default English locale. Pro unlocks extra locales and a CSV import (first column is the string key, other columns are locale codes) so you can rewrite the lines and export the same deck again. You still upload each language in App Store Connect or Play Console yourself.
Leave these off the image
- Ranking and award language: Best, #1, Top, Editor's choice you did not receive.
- Download now, Install, and other calls to action. The store button already says that.
- Prices, discounts, and holiday lines that will be wrong next month.
- Tiny feature lists. If it needs to be read at thumbnail size, it is too much type.
- A second app icon that fights the real icon next to the gallery. Play also asks you to avoid device art on the 1024×500 feature graphic.
A simple checklist
- 01Write slide 1 as if nobody will scroll.
- 02Order the rest as outcome, proof, difference. Stop at five unless a later slide adds a new fact.
- 03Keep each headline to one short claim, with space for a longer translation.
- 04Use the same layout across locales. Swap headline strings, and recapture only when the UI text changes.
- 05Export store-sized files, then upload them in that same order in App Store Connect or Play Console.
Listing screenshot copy FAQ
What should the first App Store screenshot say?+
The outcome, in a few words, with the screen that proves it. Slide 1 is the frame people see before they scroll. A feature tour that starts on settings wastes that slot.
How many listing screenshots should I upload?+
Five is enough for a focused story. Apple allows 1 to 10 per display size. Google Play allows up to 8 per device type and wants at least 2 to publish. Extra slides only help if someone is still scrolling.
Do screenshot headlines affect App Store search ranking?+
Treat screenshots as the conversion surface. Put searchable phrases in the app name, subtitle, and keyword field on the App Store, and in the title and short description on Play. A headline on the image should be readable by a person, not a list of keywords.
How much text can I put on a Google Play screenshot?+
Google says taglines should stay under 20% of the image, and that the first screenshots should show the real in-app experience. Skip ranking claims such as Best or #1, and skip download calls to action.
Should I redesign every frame for each language?+
Keep the layout. Rewrite the headline and any overlay. If the UI itself is full of text, recapture that locale. If the UI is mostly icons and photos, the same captures can sit under translated headlines. AppScreenPro Pro stores copy per locale and can re-export the deck, including from a CSV.
Can I reuse the same story on iPhone and Play?+
Yes, the story can match. The files cannot. iPhone 6.9-inch and Play phone canvases are different pixel rules, and Play also needs a 1024×500 feature graphic. See the size guides before you export.
Sizes: App Store screenshot sizes and Google Play screenshot sizes. Workflow: screenshots without Figma.
Put the line on a store-sized slide
Drop in captures, write a short headline, and export a ZIP. Pro adds locales so the same layout can ship in more than English.