HelloPackDocumentation

Write captions that convert

Captions are optional. Turn one on to get a suggestion, type your own, and learn how we polish it and how long it should be.

Make it yours · 2 of 3

The caption is the short headline above each screenshot. It's the first thing people read on your store page, and it's the only text HelloPack translates. We never change the text inside your app's screens.

Steps

  1. Turn a caption on. After you upload, each screenshot has a Caption switch. It's off by default. Off means your screenshot appears in the device frame with no headline.

  2. Use the suggestion, or write your own. When you turn a caption on, HelloPack looks at that screen and suggests one, for example "Track your reading progress" for BookWorm's home screen. Edit it or replace it. We translate exactly the text in the box.

  3. Let us polish it. When your set is made, we fix spelling, grammar and capitalisation in your caption, and nothing else. In our example "Keep you're reading streak alive" became "Keep your reading streak alive". If a fix would change your words or meaning, we keep your exact text.

    Captions after polishing and translation, in German

  4. Check the translations in your zip. The free preview zip has a Text folder. Open all-languages.md to see your original caption next to every translation.

How long should a caption be?

  • 2 to 6 words, 40 characters at most. That's the rule we use for suggested captions, and it works for yours too.
  • Leave room for other languages. Translations are often longer than English. "Track every book and audiobook" (30 characters) became "Behalte alle Bücher & Hörbücher im Blick" (40) in German.
  • Long text gets smaller, not cut off. If a caption doesn't fit, we shrink the font until it does. Short captions stay big and easy to read.

What makes a caption convert

  • Lead with the benefit, not the feature. "See how much you really read" beats "Statistics screen".
  • Match the screen. The caption should describe what that screenshot shows.
  • Say something different on each screenshot. Suggestions avoid repeating your other captions.
  • Use sentence case and no full stop. "Hit your monthly reading goal", not "HIT YOUR MONTHLY READING GOAL."
  • Skip "best", "#1", "free" and prices. We leave them out of suggestions; leave them out of yours too.
  • Don't copy text from inside the app. A greeting like "Good evening, Alex" isn't a caption; write what the screen does for the user.

Tip: If your captions mention your app's name, open App name on the languages step and type it there. It's kept exactly as written in every language.

Next: Choose languages.