Apt app names - criteria

Making users smile rather than scratch their heads

This post will address the question of what makes an app name good or not. Next Sunday’s blog is Apt app names - process, about how to come up with good names.

Is the name you choose for your app that important? Let’s consider a few examples to help consider the question: Eefoof, Grazr, Pikipimp, Super-Hero Blocky Craft Avenger Run 3D. Do the names give a clue as to what the app is about? Would you remember them tomorrow? Do they conjure up a positive image? How do they make you feel? Could you spell and pronounce them? Might they be truncated because they are too long?

Criteria

When I was considering how to name my apps, I discovered the book Hello, My Name Is Awesome which provided excellent practical guidance on the matter. The author, Alexandra Watkins, developed her SMILE and SCRATCH test for naming products and services. This Mini Masterclass video, given by Alexandra, goes into more detail on these tests which I briefly summarise here.

Good names make you SMILE

• Suggestive: relates to aspects of your app

• Memorable: often associated with the already familiar

• Imagery: conjures up an image

• Legs: facilitates evolution

• Emotion: makes people feel something

Bad names make you SCRATCH your head

• Spelling Challenge: hard to spell

• Copycat: closely resembles another name

• Restrictive: inflexible use

• Annoying: clunky, crude or cringeworthy

• Tame: lacks character

• Curse of knowledge: requires specialist insight to understand

• Hard to pronounce: a tongue twister

Other criteria

• Short enough to sit below the app icon

• Associated domain name can be secured at reasonable cost

• Legally usable

Other resources

Brand New Name book by Jeremy Miller

How to name an app blog by ThinkLoins

Read next Sunday’s post to find out how I came up with Scarper (Game), Aim For (Personal effectiveness), Nip To (Public utilities) for my apps.

Until next Sunday, keep smiling.

Phil…