Windows 8.1 and the Windows Store are now ready: Here’s what developers need to know

With Thursday’s availability of Windows 8.1 and Visual Studio 2013, Microsoft also announced that the Windows Store is now open for developers submitting apps targeting Windows 8.1.

For those of you who started working on your app with preview versions of Windows 8.1, you’ll first need to update your preview environment to Thursday’s release versions and Visual Studio 2013. Packages built on prerelease versions won’t be accepted into the Store. For apps written in HTML/JavaScript, check out the recent blog post with more specifics to help you target the release build of Windows 8.1.

And if you already have an app in the Store for Windows 8 users, you’ll want to check out the info on retargeting your app. You can import your existing project into Visual Studio and make changes as needed to take advantage of the new features in Windows 8.1. Once you’ve finished building, it’s easy to add your Windows 8.1 packages to your current app so that customers who’ve upgraded to Windows 8.1 will see the latest version of your app. (Of course, you can also continue to update your Windows 8 apps as needed.)

For developers new to the platform, take a look around the Windows Dev Center for all the resources you need to get started. You can learn what Windows Store apps are all about and get up to speed on the basics of app development. You can even access content specifically written to help you ramp up quickly if you’re already familiar with building apps for iOS or for Android.

Microsoft started talking about many of the Windows 8.1 platform features in late June at the Build conference. For a summary of the new platform features and benefits that will help you build better apps and drive deeper engagement with your customers, head on over to Blogging Windows.

You might also be interested in:

Steve Clarke
Microsoft News Center Staff