Publishing an iOS app on Apple App Store is surely an inevitable task for app developers. Developing an application requires the huge effort and for making it publicly available for the users, getting it listed on the App Store is a must.
How beneficial could be publishing an iOS app on Apple App Store, it can be understood by following fact which tells that recently Apple has set a record of $300 million in purchases on the very first day of the year 2018.
Publishing your mobile app requires a plenty of challenges which could be simply dealt with in a few steps discussed as follows:
1. Set up your iTunes Connect Account:
You need an active and paid account in iTunes Connect for publishing an app on the iOS store. The paid account requires around $99 per year for the subscription. This account has all the details required to manage the app on the App Store. Once your account is created, configure it and choose an iOS developer program in Apple Member Center. Also, Apple provides a detailed guide on how to connect with the App Store.
2. Gather all the information required for publishing app:
Once the account is created, now it’s time to prepare your app’s homepage on the App Store. It involves a simple process which could be more seamless if all the required things are already prepared. Here, is the list of requirements:
- Maximum two categories for your application. They help the users to find your app easily. Apple even has a detailed info on choosing effective categories for your application.
- An app icon in proper resolution ( Read tips to make perfect app icon)
- Name of your application (See an example)
- URL to Privacy Policy of your company
- URL to Support Page of company
- Pricing details (Free/Paid)
- Targeting countries
- App description (see an example)
- Keywords for the app which will make app search easier
- The name of your organization
- Company contact details
- App Screens
3. Upload the app:
You again need your iTunes Developer account for uploading an app. Once all of the necessary app details have been entered in the iTunes Connect, you can upload your app on Apple Member account and Apple development tools as Xcode or Application Loader. After you create an iTunes Connect record for your app, the upload is displayed in the Activity section.
To prepare the proper build for your app, you have to establish a few crucial things which will be available till your app remains in App Store:
a) In the Apple Member Center:
- Assign Access for developers to the Apple Member Center (see guide)
- Generate a Distribution Certificate (more info)
- Create Distribution Provisioning profiles (more info)
- Create an app ID with a unique bundle ID. (Once uploaded can’t be changed, read here)
These points listed above generates a proper build for your app and makes it ready for uploading. It is better to ask your developer for the complete job as it requires some technical knowledge.
b) In iTunes Connect:
- Upload a .ipa file to the existing app in iTunes Connect ()
Note: Your app won’t appear at once after being uploaded. Do not panic at that. Apple takes some time for processing the .ipa file on their servers.
4. App review and release
After successful submission of your application to Apple, you are given three choices regarding when you want to publish your application. These are :
- Automatic app release (App will be published as soon as it is accepted by Apple)
- Automatic app release, no earlier than (App will be published on a selected day and time)
- Manual app release (You can choose the right moment)
Note: You can also check for app testing. Test Flight functionalities are a good alternative before making the app live.
Wrapping Up
I hope these points would be helpful in publishing iOS app on Apple App Store. Developing an iOS app requires technical knowledge, which can be a bit arduous. Similarly, publishing app can be exciting and nerve-wrecking for a newbie developer. For both experienced and inexperienced developers, sometimes it might be time-consuming also. But when you have millions of user in the target zone, the efforts are worth to make.
There are times when your app gets declined also by App Store. Here, are some easy measures to handle iOS app rejection.
Suggested Reading: How to Publish your Android App on Google Play Store?