Working on a new text feature: customizable backgrounds behind text blocks. Think highlighter effects, pill-shaped labels, or subtle emphasis behind your headline copy. Shoutout to u/ThePattio who posted a DIY version of this in the sub today.

Current controls (per text block)

• Background color
• Horizontal padding
• Vertical padding
• Corner radius

Testing now and planning to rollout soon but wanted to get your feedback first: Any additional controls needed? Gradient fills? Opacity control? Drop shadows? Something else entirely?

Video above shows it in action.

More free badges and award icons are coming soon to help with:

• Social proof like awards / press
• App Store ratings
• Number of users

View ButterKit templates

App Store Design Cheatsheet (2026)

After 20 years in the design field (thousands of App Store screenshots and marketing materials!) I consolidated the layout principles, color theory, and simple tweaks behind high-performing screenshots into a single cheatsheet and checklist (it's free). It covers the stuff many of us have to learn the hard way: visual hierarchy, storytelling structure, social proof placement (and how important it is), and why your first screenshot matters more than the other 9 combined.

I've personally implemented these principles to improve App Store conversion rates, some weeks hitting above 10% (more details in the article).

Some interesting "fun facts":

1. People form visual opinions in as little as 50 milliseconds, and these snap judgments don't change with longer viewing time (your app's first impression really matters)
2. Most App Store visitors are very decisive: 60% never scroll past the first screenshot before deciding to install or leave
3. Less than 2% of users tap "Read more" on the App Store description (this surprised me)

Check out the full cheatsheet (it's free): 2026 App Store Screenshots Design Cheatsheet

Happy to answer any questions about App Store screenshot design, A/B testing etc in the comments.

Floating callouts are coming soon! They make it very easy to draw attention to specific features or UI in your screenshots. In final testing right now, planning to roll out shortly. Thanks to all who have requested this feature recently ( u/lemon8or88, u/habitoti u/byaruhaf and others)

This took some time to build and polish, it was important to me to build this right in 3D so it looks nice even when devices are rotated. I'm excited to hear what you think, I'll post some examples below and in the ButterKit docs.

- Zach

Hey all it has been about 6 months since I last posted here! Since then ButterKit (native macOS app for App Store developers) has grown to thousands of users (!!), and been featured in iOS Dev Weekly, Swiftjective-C -- with many features and templates added thanks to this subreddit and r/ButterKit

Reviews and ratings

⭐️ 4.7 stars on the Mac App Store (global rating as of May 4, 2026). What users are saying:

• "The best software purchase I made this year." - u/byaruhaf
• "My conversion rates have improved substantially with ButterKit." - @ enclavedev
• "ButterKit is, by far, the best app for this. It has sped up my workflow 100x." - u/paulboyce

More reviews: https://butterkit.app/reviews

Problem

Designing and localizing for the App Store is challenging and time-consuming. ButterKit was built from scratch to make it a smoother process 🧈 It helps you reach more users faster.

How ButterKit does it:

• Polished App Store screenshots and metadata, localized to all 50 App Store languages in minutes
• Use free on-device translation for 18+ languages, or frontier AI models for all 50 (bring your own API key)
• MCP support to automate with AI agents like Claude and Codex (docs)
• Growing template and add-on library (Templates & Add-Ons)
• Intuitive, fast UI with real 3D devices, flexible design tools, hotkeys, dark/light mode, undo support and all that good stuff

Comparison

I built ButterKit after trying every other tool I could find. Compared to other tools, ButterKit is unique:

• One-time purchase option, no accounts (frustratingly rare in this space, I imagine many web tools can't offer this due to ongoing server costs)
• Automation built-in: capture directly from Xcode Simulator (docs), use AI agents to capture and localize automatically in your build pipeline
• Publish all screenshots and metadata directly to App Store Connect in seconds
• Unlike AI-generated images, ButterKit files are editable layers you can tweak without burning tokens or subscriptions
• Real, editable 3D devices; not static layouts
• Compatible with version control (e.g. I have my ButterKit file in my project's Git repo)
• Native macOS app built with Metal and SwiftUI for buttery-smooth performance (120fps ProMotion support) and cost-savings (no accounts/servers/databases -> lower business costs -> lower price)

More comparisons are available here

Pricing

It's free to try. A one time purchase option is very important to me (I'm old school) and I plan to always offer it:

Lifetime Pro: $49 for limited time (usually $69)

Annual Pro: $20

Weekly Pro: $5

Download for free: https://butterkit.app/

Also available on the Mac App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/butterkit/id6751829199?mt=12

About

My name is Zach, I'm a dad, hiker, and design engineer in California. I built ButterKit as a tool for my own iOS apps in early 2025. Today, building ButterKit is my full-time job and it's used by thousands of developers worldwide. I share everything I learn along the way on r/ButterKit and our Discord. If you try it, let me know how it's working for you!

Currently editing the free Sahara template for ButterKit and hoping for some design / ASO feedback from fellow iOS devs. What do you want to see more of, less of for your iOS apps? What tools are you currently using in your screenshot workflow?

ButterKit Ascent template remains free and was updated to make it even better:

• Now App Store ready for iPhone, iPad and Android (Mac coming soon)
• 3D editable devices: iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad Pro 12.9", Pixel 10 Pro
• Improved text alignment and 3D device positioning
• Improved panoramic background is easy to edit

It's free. Check it out here:

butterkit.app/templates

• Templates for iPhone, iPad, and Android
• 3D editable iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad 12.9" and Pixel 10 Pro included
• Artboards sized to exact App Store Connect and Google Play dimensions
• Headlines auto-fit so nothing clips when you translate
• Seamless panoramic dot grid background spans across all artboards
• Ready to localize to all 50 App Store Connect languages

Free Downloads

Minimalist Light and Dark templates are free, grab them and see for yourself:

Template: https://butterkit.app/templates/

New batch of free templates rolling out. Next up: Minimalist Light and Dark. Crisp and simple, clay 3D device frames, and a panoramic dot grid background that spans across all artboards for a polished look.

What's Inside

• Templates for iPhone, iPad, and Android (Mac App Store version rolling out shortly)
• 3D editable iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPad 12.9" and Pixel 10 Pro included
• Artboards sized to exact App Store Connect and Google Play dimensions
• Headlines auto-fit so nothing clips when you translate
• Seamless panoramic dot grid background spans across all artboards
• Ready to localize to all 50 App Store Connect languages

Free Downloads

Minimalist Light and Dark templates are free, grab them and see for yourself:

Template: https://butterkit.app/templates/

Starting a new project in ButterKit is smoother with the new Template Picker in v.1.8.23

• New template picker at project creation. Browse, preview, and favorite templates so your best starting points are always one click away. You can also add your own custom templates: turn any project into a reusable starting point.

• Includes improved template designs

This update came from a few conversations in the Discord: you can now add translation instructions in Project Settings so cloud AI models know your tone, what not to translate, capitalization rules, etc in your App Store screenshots and metadata. Also shipped some UX fixes. Rolling out now for the website version and submitting for App Store review shortly.

• Give your cloud AI translations context. New in Project Settings: describe your tone, set capitalization rules, specify words to never translate, and more. Your translations in your brand voice. It's all saved in your .butterkit file for you. Applies to text blocks and metadata for App Store Connect.
• Improves folder linking logic: now works with more folder name patterns and shows a summary after linking so you know exactly what matched.
• "Copy to..." functionality now groups destinations by artboard preset, so you're not hunting through a flat list.
• Increases background image resolution limit for larger ultrawide panoramic backgrounds.

Read the full release notes

Read documentation

Download latest version of ButterKit

New batch of templates rolling out this week. First up: Sahara. Warm desert tones, clay 3D device frames, and a panoramic background that spans across all artboards for a polished look.

What's Inside

• Template for iPhone, iPad, and Android (Mac App Store version rolling out shortly)
• 3D editable devices
• Artboards sized to exact App Store Connect and Google Play dimensions
• Headlines auto-fit so nothing clips when you translate
• Seamless panoramic background spans across all artboards
• Ready to localize to all 50 App Store Connect languages

Free Downloads

Sahara is free, grab it and see for yourself:

Template: https://butterkit.app/templates/sahara/