Introducing the Adobe Express Add-On Marketplace | by Avanish Gandhi | Aug, 2024

How Adobe Express users can discover the best add-ons for their projects.

Each Adobe Express add-on gets its own listing on the Adobe Express add-on marketplace, a dedicated platform for developers to distribute and users to discover new add-ons. The in-app marketplace already features more than 100 add-ons, and today, we’re delighted to announce a range of new features that improve the add-on discoverability for users right inside Adobe Express.

For developers, whether you’re already experienced or just starting out, this provides a unique opportunity to create, share, or sell innovative tools that extend the functionality of Adobe Express, enhancing users’ workflows and digital design projects. For example, add-ons can connect users to their data, offer accessibility guidance, import content, inspect and modify the document, and more.

The Adobe Express add-on marketplace can be accessed directly from Adobe Express. Note the new navigation option (“Add-ons”) at the bottom of the left navigation panel.

With the release of the new add-on marketplace, we have introduced a number of improvements that make it easier for users to explore and search for add-ons.

Here are the key features:

• Navigation: Before the release of the marketplace, Adobe Express users could only find add-ons when they were working on their projects in-editor. Now they can easily find the add-ons marketplace by clicking on the new “add-ons” navigation element, which is visible across various sections in Adobe Express.
• Search: The Adobe Express search bar on the homepage enables users to search for add-ons from different sections in the app, which unlocks broader discovery and use of add-ons.
• Collections: We have introduced three new add-on collections, which enable Adobe Express users to explore add-ons based on popular search terms, specific use cases, and capabilities: AI-Powered, Social Media, and Design Elements.

Alongside the Featured collection, these use case-driven categories help users quickly find add-ons that are the most applicable based on their task or job role (for example, marketing or sales teams that need to create promotional content). More curated collections for the marketplace that help users find add-ons that improve their workflow are coming soon.

We continue to study what users are doing with Adobe Express and what they are looking for. Driven by these insights, we will improve the marketplace experience for both Adobe Express users and developers who build for the platform.

We analyzed the feedback we have received so far, and here are the key takeaways:

• Discoverability: Developers want assurance that their add-ons will be easily discoverable by Adobe Express users. Ensuring visibility and accessibility is crucial for a successful marketplace, and we’re actively collaborating with our developer community to help them optimize their add-on listings for higher discovery.
• Value: Adobe Express users need to be able to easily parse through the growing number of add-ons and see what stands out. They want to quickly understand why an add-on would help in their workflow, and that’s why it’s important to give users a chance to try out an add-on for free.
• Transparency: Adobe Express users seek clear information about payments and terms of use for the add-ons they acquire.
• Ease of use: Developers often struggle with the lack of a straightforward and accessible way to test and distribute their public or private add-ons, leading to inefficiencies and delays in the development process. We’ll be introducing a developer mode toggle to address this issue.

• Alleviating gaps: Developers want to know what users are asking for so they can build the most sought-after and useful tools that complement the Adobe Express experience. Read on for the main functionalities that users are currently looking for.

There’s a variety of ways we decide on which add-on to feature, including these top use cases requested by Adobe Express users:

• Storing content: Access content users have stored with their preferred storage provider, such as Google Drive, OneDrive, and Google Photos.
• Create images and assets: Adobe Express users are interested in a wide range of fun and easy ways to create rich content that truly makes their designs stand out. This includes styles of illustrations, photos, backgrounds, icons, and other flat-image assets.
• Importing and exporting: Adobe Express users create email communications, newsletters, or invites and want to add expressivity to their campaigns.
• Productivity boosts: Adobe Express users are looking for significant workflow efficiencies that save them time and money and help them deliver better end results.
• AI guidance: Since Adobe Express is used for marketing material and social media posts, users are eager to optimize their design to better reach and resonate with their audience, and AI-generated feedback can be really helpful here.

Try to be specific in describing what your add-on is best used for and start naming relevant use cases in its metadata. This will also make it easier for our team to determine whether your add-on should be part of these future collections.

Learn more about optimizing your add-on’s discoverability, from improving the listing metadata to localizing the UI copy. Refer to the add-on distribution guidelines to learn how to package and distribute your add-on on the add-ons marketplace or privately to your clients.