Dev Diary — I wouldn’t have become a developer if not for the Microsoft Store
It’s not perfect. We all know it has problems, but the store lowers the barrier to publishing apps for new and indie developers, making it easier for everyone to build and create on Windows.
When I first started developing apps in 2016, I built a countdown interval timer and published it to the store on a whim. I joked with my family saying I’ll charge $1 knowing nobody will buy the app. Today, the app earned more than $100. For a first-time developer that never built apps before, this was incredible. The feeling of publishing an app with one click and getting customers within a couple days… it was addictive.
Here are the facts. As a new dev, this was the cost for publishing my app:
- $20 fee for a lifetime dev account registration
- $0 for code signing your apps
- $0 for hosting your app’s packages in online storage
- $0 for webpage, with proper SSL cert, and with a URL I can share
- $0 for updating the app automatically
- $0 for a payment system that allows sales, micro transactions, and subscriptions
How much would each of these cost if I were to set it up on Windows without the store? Well, code signing alone can cost $70+ per year. Think about that cost savings for a new developer.
For folks who have been developing for 5+ years on Windows, you’d probably scoff at me. You’d probably point out how little money I earned. You’d probably talk about your problems with the store. Those are all valid, and let’s hope those problems are fixed. But that’s not my focus today. I was a new developer. All I wanted was a way to deliver apps to people. The store took care of so many things for me. The store empowered me, and that’s something to celebrate. Because thanks to the store, I eventually built Nightingale, a modern, resource-friendly REST client. And I also eventually became a software engineer at Microsoft, all because of a small timer app I published to the store.
