Up until now, the official Windows Store for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 was accessible only from the Store app in present in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Unlike Windows Phone Store and other mobile operating system app stores, Windows Store was not available to browse from previous versions of Windows and other operating systems.
The good news is that Microsoft is now allowing users to browse the official Windows Store from web browsers, meaning that users who are running Windows 7 or previous versions of Windows users can also browse the Windows Store.
Interestingly, there is no official URL to start browsing the web version of the Store(check the end of this article to get the search URL). That is, as of now, you can only search the Store for your favorite apps. You need to enter a search keyboard in the Search box and press enter key to see the availability.
In simple words, unlike other app stores, as of now, web version of Windows Store doesn’t show popular free apps, new apps, top paid, or best rated apps on the home page.
For instance, you can type Network Speed Test in the search box and then press enter key to check availability of the Network Speed Test app for Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Clicking on the app name will open up the permanent URL of the app, which provides app screenshots, ratings, overview, supported processors and languages.
And if you’re viewing an app’s page on Windows 8 or Windows 8.1, you’ll see View in Windows Store option in the left-pane. This option will not appear when you’re browsing from other version of Windows.
If you want to list all apps in the Store, type “.” (Without quotes) in the search box and press Search button to list all available apps.
All-in-all, this web version of Windows Store will definitely help all computer users to check the availability of their favorite apps in Windows Store. You might also like to know how to prevent users from installing apps from Windows Store.
Thanks McAkin.
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