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A whole new kind of app

Meet Windows Store Apps

Get started

Develop

Download the tools

It’s easier than you think to create a Windows Store app. Follow this guide to get the tools you need, create your own apps, and publish them on the Windows Store..

Try it out

You don’t need to learn a new language to start building a Windows Store app—you can create a Windows Store app with what you already know!

Plan and design

By taking advantage of user experience guidelines and design patterns, you can design an app that’s attractive and easy to use.

Develop

When you create a Windows Store app, you have access to easy-to-use APIs that simplify layout and presentation, and let you search and share with other apps, create live tiles that update in the background, use devices like cameras and geographic location sensors.

Sell your app

Windows 8 offers the single largest potential market for your apps. Windows 8 and the Windows Store attract millions of customers around the world to ﬁnd, try, and buy your apps.

Essential downloads

Get Visual Studio Express 2012

Microsoft Visual Studio Express 2012 for Windows 8 is your tool to build, test, and deploy Windows Store apps. It includes the Windows 8 SDK, Blend for Visual Studio, and project templates. (You must first install Windows 8.)

Download and install Visual Studio Express 2012
(392 MB, English)

Get the samples

Sometimes, the best way to learn is to look at an example, so we’ve created hundreds of Windows Store app samples for you to learn from. You can also download all the official samples at one time by getting the Windows 8 app samples pack.

Download the Windows 8 app samples pack
(193.3 MB, English)

Choose a language, build your first app

JavaScript and HTML tutorial

Take advantage of your web skills and build a Windows Store app using HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript.

C#/VB and XAML
tutorial

Use your .NET, WPF, or Silverlight skills to build a Windows Store app using XAML with C# or VB.

C++ and XAML
tutorial

Take advantage of your expertise and use C++ with XAML to build Windows Store apps.

C++ and DirectX
tutorial

Know DirectX? You can develop a Windows Store app that takes full advantage of graphics hardware.

Sign up for a developer account

Before you can publish your app to the Windows Store, you need a developer account. The Windows Store offers two types of developer accounts: individual accounts, and company accounts. Developer accounts are offered in many countries and regions.

Open a developer account