Google’s Chrome Web Store Adds Section For Offline Apps And More In-Depth Stats For Developers

Google just announced that it is adding a few interesting new features to its Chrome Web Store, its store for free and paid web-based apps and browser extensions for its popular Chrome browser. Most interestingly, Google is now adding a section with apps that work offline to its store. Among the apps currently highlighted in this section are some of Google’s own apps (Scratchpad, Docs, Offline Gmail etc.), as well as apps from prominent third-party developers like Angry Birds’ Rovio and the NYTimes. Google also announced that it is bringing the Chrome Web Store to six additional countries: Turkey, Ukraine, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates.

Developers can get their apps featuring in this section by adding the offline_enabled flag to their app’s manifest file (Google notes, though, that developers should definitely ensure that their apps really work offline to avoid negative feedback). Even though Internet access

Another new feature for developers is the ability to see more in-depth stats about how their apps are doing in the store. Specifically, Google is now giving developers data about how often their apps and extensions are being viewed in the store vs. how often they are being downloaded. This should help developers fine tune their marketing messages and screenshots in the store.

In addition, Google is adding a new graph view so developers can quickly see how their apps are doing. This data is also available for download and goes back 90 days.