Creating mobile apps is challenging, but creating a mobile app and getting it into the hands of users is even more difficult. There are a number of considerations that you need to take into account when thinking about how to publish an app.
App stores are the primary way for users to discover and download new apps. If you’re serious about making mobile apps as a career, it’s important that you know how to publish an app so that your creations can be seen by others. Here is what you need to know about publishing your app.
Before You Begin: App Store Requirements
Let’s go through the main things you’ll need to have in place before you publish your app.
Idea
First, you need to have an idea for an app. The app must solve a user need and be useful. It must also be unique in some way, as there are millions of apps available.
Development
You need to have the ability to create a functional prototype. This means you must know your chosen programming language and have the tools to create a prototype. It’s important that the prototype works so that you can test it and show it to potential investors.
Funding
You need money to publish your app. You need money to create a prototype, pay for developer hours, and pay for marketing.
App Store Approval
You also need to get your app approved and published on an app store. Getting your app approved can be a time-consuming and challenging process.
The App Store Submission Process
The first thing you need to do when publishing an app is to decide on its name, icon, and description. These three items are the most important aspects of your app. They’re what your potential users will see and use to decide if they want to download your app.
The next step is to build your app and create the necessary artwork for it. You can do this using an integrated development environment (IDE) like Xcode or Android Studio.
After you’ve built your app and created the necessary artwork, you can submit it to the app store. The submission process is challenging because you need to get every aspect of your app’s creation right. This includes your app name, icon, description, artwork, and price.
After you submit your app, there is no going back. The store owner will review your app and decide if it’s ready to be published. If it is, your app will go live and be available for download.
Step 1: Find Your Build Size and Operating System Version
The first step in the process of publishing an app is to find your app’s build size. Your app’s build size is the amount of memory your app will take up when it’s running on a device.
You’ll notice that when you create an app, there are two build size options:
64-Bit
This option creates a larger, more powerful app that uses more memory.
32-Bit
This option creates a smaller, less powerful app that uses less memory.
Your app’s build size is important because it’s one of the factors that determine if your app is right for an app store. If your app uses too much memory, the app store may reject your app since users won’t have devices that can run them.
Step 2: Pick Your Device Targets
Before you submit your app, you need to select the devices you want to support. The devices you select will affect the build size of your app. You need to select the minimum operating system versions your app will support.
Keep in mind that technology changes quickly and you want your app to work for a long time without major changes. You also want your app to work on a reasonably backdated operating system since your target audience may not have the most up-to-date phones or devices.
Step 3: Set Your App’s Language and Region
At this point in the process of publishing an app, you need to select the languages that your app will support. This is also where you select the region in which your app will be available. If you want to make money from your app, then you need to select the pricing and sales territories for it.
Step 4: Select Your Ad Hoc Testers, Rotational, and Beta Groups
This is one of the most overlooked aspects of the publishing process. If you want to get valuable feedback from your users and beta test your app, you need to create test groups. This is where you select the groups you want to beta test your app.
Step 5: Create Your App’s artwork
The artwork for your app is incredibly important. It’s the first thing your potential users will see when they go to download your app. If your app’s artwork doesn’t grab their attention, then they’re likely to move on to the next app in the search results.
The key to an amazing app artwork is simplicity. You want to create something that is attention-grabbing but also easy to understand at a glance. Apple has strict guidelines for what can and can’t be in your app artwork.
Step 6: Write Your App’s Metadata
The metadata is the information that will appear on your app’s details page in the App Store. This is your chance to make a great first impression on your potential users. There are a few things you want to make sure are included in your app’s metadata.
You should write a compelling app summary. Your app summary is the main thing that your users will read on your app’s details page. You only have a few sentences to grab their attention and make them want to install your app.
Step 7: Build and Export Your APK
After you have written all of the above, you need to build your app and create the APK.
For Android apps, this means first creating an APK with your code and resources and then uploading it to the Play Store.
For iOS, you need to create a distribution provisioning profile and an App Store distribution certificate.
Get Help Developing Your App
Publishing an app can be a challenging process that requires a lot of hard work and patience. If you want your app to appear online, you need to first get it approved. At KitelyTech, we work with companies to get their apps built and online as soon as possible. Call us at (800) 274-2908 to discuss how we can help you.
