Marketplace App Requirements and Guidelines

For customers who have purchased a Marketplace App as a part of your SeeClickFix 311 CRM contract, these requirements and guidelines will help you understand the process of releasing your app to the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store.

Getting Started

Creating a dedicated mobile app can seem like a daunting task, but we hope to make the process as easy and painless as possible. Within this short guide, you'll find the necessary steps to:

Create an intuitive interface that promotes your town or organization's messages & information.
Simplify the active participation of citizens or members through thoughtful planning and design.

Requirements and Examples

To ensure compliance with app store policies, a marketplace app branding may not use the SeeClickFix 311 CRM or CivicPlus name or logo in any of the brand elements for your organization's mobile app. This includes the name/title, icons, or logos, as it could lead to rejection by the app stores.

Logo/Graphic

For the app graphics, please send the following items:

Logo for store icon (please see notes below regarding Android requirements for the icon). This should be in vector format (EPS (Encapsulated PostScript file), SVG, or Illustrator/AI). If vector format is not possible, we can work with a raster image (such as Photoshop/PSD), but the results may vary.
Splash screen image
Banner image
Background image or confirm color for the background

Here are further details on the design elements needed:

App guidelines for Android and iOS with design options and specifications.

Android Design Guidelines

It can be a bit challenging to take advantage of all aspects of Android icons, but we recommend the approach shown below. See the full technical details.

Provide the HEX code for your background color
Provide a foreground icon image file formatted as a 1024 by 1024 PNG or an SVG file with the same dimensions
- For the app icon logo, the icon artwork must have a transparent background. To accommodate the adaptive icon framework of Android icon artwork needs to fit inside of a 72 by 72dp (dp is same as a pixel) inner frame
Make sure all important content appears in a circular safe area at the center of the square icon
The circular safe area for a 1024 by 1024 image has a diameter of 308px (60% of the width of the icon)
Content outside the safe area may be masked on some devices
The foreground icon image will be rendered on top of the background color so the background color should not be incorporated into the foreground icon, use alpha transparency to select where the background color will appear
Do not use any shadow effects in your foreground icon

If you follow these guidelines SeeClickFix 311 CRM can generate all the appropriate icons and images for your app automatically.

App Name

The name you choose plays a critical role in how users discover your app in the iOS and Android stores. We recommend:

Choose a simple, memorable, and easy-to-spell.
Avoid names that use generic terms or are substantially similar to existing app names.
Long names may be truncated, which means users will not see all the characters. We recommend your app name does not exceed 23 characters, for optimal presentation on every device.
Reflects the branding and marketing chosen for your dedicated mobile app including a goal/theme.

Here are a few examples:

Goal: General/Government App

Examples: Pinellas County; City of Monroe, GA

Goal: Problem Reporting App - "Location Name 311" or "Location Name Fix It"

Examples: Minneapolis 311; Houston 311; ABQ 311; Greensboro Fix It; Fix It! Portland

Goal: Citizen Engagement App - "Location Name Connect" or "Engage Location Name"

Examples: Chatham County Connect; Commonwealth Connect; Engage Toledo; Engage SSF

App Description

This is your opportunity to provide an engaging description that highlights the basic purpose and functionality of your app. The ideal description is a concise, attention-grabbing paragraph that lets potential users know why this is worth installing (such as Anytown 311 is the easiest and most efficient way for you to communicate directly with local government staff!).

After this opening description, we recommend including a short list of features in the app. You should not add unnecessary keywords to your description in an attempt to affect search results. This provides a bad experience for users and can create a negative impression of your app's quality.

For a good example, here's the description from Access Princeton (iOS & Android):

For those potholes, damaged street signs, and other local problems that need attention, the Access Princeton app makes reporting a problem easier than ever. This app uses GPS to recognize your location and gives you a menu of common quality-of-life conditions to select from. The app allows you to upload pictures to accompany your request. The mobile app can also be used for a variety of other requests such as street maintenance, street light requests, damaged trees, parking meters, and others. Residents can track the status of reports they or other members of the community have submitted. Residents can also call Access Princeton (609-924-4141) for information on any municipal service and to report a problem in town or visit us at Monument Hall, 1 Monument Dr., Princeton, NJ for free notary service or general town information.

Proof Approval

Within 2 to 5 business days of receiving the logo/graphic, app name, and app description requirements, we will send a visual proof for your review and approval.

Please send your approval as a written response to our proof email. Once we have received your final approval, we will begin building the app and submit it for release in the app stores.