App Store Screenshot Templates: How to Pick and Customize One
What a good App Store screenshot template includes, which style fits your app, and how to customize it to your brand and export every iPhone and iPad size.
ScreenShipper team · · 7 min read
TL;DR: An App Store screenshot template is a ready-made layout (background, headline area, device or frameless screen, spacing) built at store sizes. Pick one that keeps headlines readable at thumbnail size, suits your category, recolors to your brand, and exports the required 6.3-inch iPhone size (plus 13-inch iPad if you ship on iPad) as flat images without transparency.
What a Good App Store Screenshot Template Includes
Most templates look great in their own preview. The difference shows up when you drop in your real screens, translate the headline into German and need every size by Friday. Check for these parts before you commit:
| Element | What to look for | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Headline area | Large type, room for two lines, a slot for a highlighted word | Captions are read at thumbnail size in search results |
| Screen placement | Your screenshot at its native aspect ratio, never stretched | Distorted UI looks broken and misrepresents the app |
| Device or frameless option | Current device models, or a clean rounded-corner screen | An outdated phone makes the app feel old |
| Brand color control | One accent color that flows through backgrounds and highlights | Keeps the set consistent with your icon |
| Safe margins | Text kept clear of edges and corners | Avoids cramped, cropped-looking captions |
| Size coverage | iPhone 6.3-inch at minimum, iPad 13-inch if needed, Google Play sizes | One design instead of a file per device |
| Clean export | JPEG or PNG without an alpha channel | Images with transparency are a common cause of upload problems |
A template is a starting structure, not a finished design. Treat its sample copy and screens as hints about hierarchy: where the eye lands first, how big the headline is relative to the UI, and how much empty space each screen keeps.
Template Styles and Which Apps They Suit
Style matters less than clarity, but some looks fit some categories better. Use this table as a starting point, then see how apps in your category handle it in the inspiration gallery.
| Style | Looks like | Good fit | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light or minimal | White or pale background, dark type, lots of space | Productivity, finance, health | Blending into the white App Store page |
| Dark | Near-black background, bright accent color | Pro tools, photo and video, apps with dark UI | Low contrast on small text |
| Vibrant | Saturated brand color, bold type | Social, lifestyle, consumer apps | Backgrounds that fight the UI for attention |
| Editorial | Large serif or display type, magazine feel | Reading, news, journaling, food | Long headlines wrapping into three lines |
| Panoramic | One background running across several screenshots | Apps with a story to tell across the set | Elements cut awkwardly at screenshot edges |
| 3D or tilted device | Angled phones, depth, shadows | Hero screens and launches | Tilted UI that is hard to read |
| Review or social proof | Star rows, laurels, quote cards | Apps with real ratings or press | Claims that are not true or current |
| Game | Landscape or full-bleed art, characters | Games | Hiding real gameplay behind key art |
If you are unsure, start with a calm light or dark template and let your UI and headline do the work. You can try a bolder variant later and test it against the original.
How to Customize a Template to Your Brand
- Set your brand color first. Take the main color from your app icon or primary button. A good template recolors backgrounds, highlights and shapes from that one value.
- Drop in real, clean screenshots. Capture them on a simulator or device with a tidy status bar and realistic sample data. The full capture workflow is in how to make App Store screenshots.
- Rewrite every headline. Replace the placeholder text with one benefit per screen, three to six words, verb first where it fits. The caption guide has dozens of examples.
- Highlight one word per headline. Color or weight on the key word ("Track every habit") helps scanning without adding more text.
- Reorder for the story. Put your strongest benefit first. Apple notes that the first one to three images can appear in search results when no app preview is available.
- Change the font only if you need to. It must stay readable at small sizes. See fonts for App Store screenshots for safe choices.
- Check every size and language. Look for clipped headlines and crowded tablet layouts before you export.
Sizes Your Template Has to Cover
A template that exists at only one size is a trap: you end up rebuilding it for every device. For the App Store, Apple currently requires the 6.3-inch iPhone size (1206 × 2622 or 1179 × 2556) for every iPhone app, and the 13-inch iPad size if your app runs on iPad. The 6.9-inch iPhone size is optional, and smaller iPhone sizes are scaled from what you provide. Each device size takes 1 to 10 screenshots per localization.
Google Play is more flexible on dimensions but has its own rules, including no alpha channel and a long side no more than twice the short side. Instead of memorizing pixel counts, keep the App Store screenshot sizes guide and the Google Play size guide open while you export.
Tip: Design at the largest size you plan to ship and let your tool derive the smaller ones. Scaling down keeps text crisp; scaling up does not.
Free Template Options Compared
You can get a template without hiring a designer in several ways. Each one trades setup time for flexibility.
| Option | Cost | Sizes and languages | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Figma community files | Usually free | One frame per size and language, managed by hand | Teams already designing in Figma |
| Apple Design Resources | Free | Device bezels and UI kits, not finished screenshot layouts | Building your own template from scratch |
| General design tools such as Canva | Free tier, paid extras | Custom dimensions per design | A one-off set in one language |
| Dedicated screenshot generator | Varies | Built around store sizes and localization | Shipping many sizes and languages quickly |
Figma gives you full control, but every size and language becomes a frame you maintain; the Figma screenshot guide covers that setup. A dedicated generator is faster when you localize or update often. In ScreenShipper you can browse the template gallery and design without an account; full-resolution, watermark-free export is part of Pro.
Template Mistakes That Make Screenshots Look Generic
- Keeping the sample headline pattern on every screen. Five screens that all start with "Easy" read like a template, because they are.
- Using a device that doesn't match your screen. An iPhone frame around an iPad layout, or a screen squeezed into a different aspect ratio, is obvious.
- Too much decoration. Sparkles, arrows and badges should point at something. If they don't, remove them.
- Ignoring your icon. If the screenshots use a palette unrelated to your icon, your search result looks like two different brands.
- Mocked-up UI. Apple's Guideline 2.3.3 says screenshots should show the app in use. A template should frame real screens, not invented ones.
- Never updating. Apple asks that metadata, including screenshots, stays up to date with new versions of your app.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are App Store screenshot templates free?
Many are. Figma community files and Apple's design resources are free, and ScreenShipper lets you design with all of its templates without an account. Full-resolution, store-ready export in ScreenShipper requires Pro.
Can I use the same template for the App Store and Google Play?
Yes, as long as it exports both stores' sizes and you match the device to the platform. Apple's guidelines say not to show other mobile platforms in your App Store metadata, so keep Android devices out of your iOS set and iPhones out of your Play set.
How many screenshots should a template set have?
Apple accepts 1 to 10 per device size and Google Play needs at least 2 to publish. A set of five to eight is a practical target: enough to cover your main benefits without padding.
Should every screenshot in a set use the same template?
Use one template family for the whole set so colors, type and spacing match. Varying the layout inside that family, such as a panorama, a zoomed callout or a review card, keeps the set from feeling repetitive.
Sources
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