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Comment by bwang29 | Hacker News Reader

Discloser, developer of Polarr for Chrome here https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/polarr-photo-edito...

To us as developers, the biggest advantage of Chrome Store is discoverability, reviews, and store front organizations. As a fairly new developer, we also have a web app, but it is late in the game and there is no way to out-SEO the existing players through Google Search. Chrome Web Store was the place where we felt a fair game where we can compete on product quality and getting better reviews and out-rank the same competitors who also have chrome apps.

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Don't you really only have that discoverability there because almost nobody is actually in the Chrome Web Store? For the most popular browser on the planet, Chrome's store is incredibly sparse.

I was always surprised Google didn't fold it into the Play Store as a separate category, now that it serves movies, books, etc. that aren't Android-specific. And the Play Store is a far more mature product than the Chrome Web Store.

In terms of "Apps" that is comparable to a quality web app, I think Chrome Store is pretty dense. If you look at the photo apps here: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/collection/pictu...

It is pretty much a replica of the top search results of "online photo editor" or "web photo editor". It is as competitive as web but I think the layout/review/star information in the store is still more useful than looking at a linear table returned by search.

It seems like Play Store is going to replace the Chrome Web Store. Speaking as app developer, the only advantage for searching for apps on Chrome Store is that most apps are optimized for a laptop/chrome book with a mouse and keyboard, and the apps work better for desktops.

I was thinking the same thing -- the Chrome Store has been a huge boon for my product (https://write.as). But a lot of people are on Chrome OS, and since they're keeping apps there at least, I don't think this is a terrible thing. And it makes sense from a product perspective: the store stays focused on the platform it was originally built for, and doesn't try to extend its reach to a storefront for the entire web.

If I were in your shoes I'd look at going hybrid Android since recent chrome devices are getting Android apps.

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