Apple's new App Store website hints at bigger changes on the way

Less than a week after a report that Apple plans to radically change how it works with developers in its App Store, the company has rolled out a new website for App Store developers.

The site provides a range of resources for developers, including guidelines, best practices and information about developer tools. 

While Apple had previously made many of the tools -- like App Store review guidelines and its developer software Xcode -- available elsewhere on its website, the new site marks the first time Apple has offered these alongside educational videos and other tutorials.

Notably, the new site also includes a section called "Discovery on the App Store," which details the criteria Apple uses to select featured apps and other apps it highlights in its editorial collections. Developers often rely on these featured sections of the App Store to boost downloads as it's one of the few ways users can find new apps without directly searching for them.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Apple's shiny new developer site arrives on the heels of a report last week in Bloomberg that says Apple is working on revamping the App Store's search and discovery process. Cupertino reportedly has a team of almost 100 staffers working on the new features, which may include sponsored search results in the App Store. 

The new site also comes just after Apple officially announced the dates of its annual Worldwide Developer Conference, now slated for June 13, in San Francisco. (Siri spilled the beans on WWDC dates yesterday.) While the specifics of Apple's plans around the App Store are still unclear, the new developer site suggests we'll be hearing a lot more about developers in the App Store in the weeks to come.

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