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One Version of an App Can Be Upload to Apple Store

How to submit your app to the app store

How To Submit Your App To the App StoreUsing App Store Connect

by Chris Ching


After working on your app for days, weeks and months … it'due south finally time to set it free and publish it to the world.

App Store

You lot'll learn:

  • How to get access to App Store Connect
  • How to create your App Store list
  • How to create your screenshots
  • How to submit your app via Xcode

How to submit your app to the App Store

  1. Sign up for the Apple Programmer Program
  2. Prepare your app for submission
  3. Create your App Shop list via App Store Connect
  4. Make your App Store screenshots
  5. Upload your app to App Store connect using Xcode
  6. Submit your app for review

In social club to be able to submit apps to the App Store, you need to be enrolled in the Apple Developer Program.

Apple Developer Program
Apple Developer Program

It costs $99/year merely information technology will give you access to a agglomeration of different benefits including:

  • Admission to submit apps to the App Stores on all Apple platforms
  • Ability to create Safari extensions and listing them in the extensions gallery
  • Admission to Beta versions of Apple software
  • Testing tools like TestFlight
  • App analytics and advanced app capabilities

If you're planning to build apps for the App Shop, then it's worthwhile to sign up!

Proceed in mind that your apps will exist removed from the App Shop if yous don't renew your membership adjacent year.

App Shop Connect

App Store Connect is one of the websites that y'all'll become access to afterwards you sign upwards. It'due south your portal to manage all things to do with the App Store.

Here's what the App Shop Connect dashboard looks like:

App Store Connect
App Shop Connect dashboard

Before y'all're gear up to submit your app, let'due south double check a few things…

Make sure your app follows the App Shop guidelines

Before your app is live in the Apple tree App Shop, it needs to go through an app certification process. It sounds scary but it's essentially just a person who tests out your app and makes sure that it conforms to App Store guidelines before approve it for publish into the app store.

App Store Guidelines
App Shop Guidelines

So earlier you lot submit your app, I would recommend that y'all go through this document because the reviewer will be using information technology to guess your app.

Test your app and fix whatsoever bugs

Bated from following the guidelines, you should make sure that y'all app is bug gratuitous and crash free. If the reviewer manages to crash your app reliably, s/he is not going to give you lot a laissez passer.

When you're testing, don't simply test it under normal conditions. Try depression network connectivity conditions, low storage atmospheric condition, test information technology on older devices etc.

Your mindset should exist like a hacker. Actively try to break it!

Y'all can test the app yourself or y'all can enlist the help of your friends and family. If you're going to employ your friends and family as your beta testers, so brand use of TestFlight which you'll get access to as a member of the Apple tree Developer Program.

TestFlight tutorial from Brian Advent

Alright! Now you're ready to create your App Store listing.

First, login to App Store Connect:

App Store Connect

To publish an app, go to theMy Apps menu and select the "+" selection to create a new app. If y'all are looking to submit an update to an existing app, the steps are similar but instead of adding a new app, you lot'll be selecting an existing app instead.

New App Store list

App Name and Category

Fill in the data about your app and utilise the "?" push button if yous are non sure what Apple wants. The website is pretty directly forward also.

At this bespeak, y'all have to fill in all the informations most your app. The name, description, the category (to exist placed in the App Store), the minimum age of the audience and a privacy policy and support URL.

If you app is based on social media and demands a log in, you accept to provide a test account and password for the Apple reviewer.

Fill in app store listing information
The main page for the app description

App Privacy Policy

You'll also have to provide a URL to a privacy policy. If you're not sure of how to write one, simple google for "App Privacy Policy" and you'll see a lot of samples and privacy policy generators that you tin can use.

App privacy policy
Don't forget to fill in the URL for privacy policy

You're also going to have to put information technology on a public URL. If yous take your ain website, put it on at that place. If you're not sure how to put information technology on a URL, you tin use a Facebook page or a website builder.

App Pricing

Make up one's mind on the pricing of your app on this screen:

App pricing options
Set upwards the pricing and also if you demand to publish your app worldwide (or not)

App Release Options

You tin can decide how your app should be released after it passes the certification procedure.

App Release Options
Determine if your app should be available later on the review process or prepare up a launch date.
  • Manually: you'll have to become in to App Store Connect and release it
  • Immediately: information technology'll be released as soon every bit it passes certification
  • On a date: it'll be published on a specific date (if it has passed certification)

App Shop Screenshots

Use this link to go read more nigh the screenshots needed by the App Shop, especially if you have multiples sizes to encompass like iPad, Apple Watch, etc.

App Store screenshot specifications
App Store screenshot specifications

Making App Store screenshots

Y'all have a few different ways yous could create your screenshots.

Technique i: Raw Screenshots

Using the iOS simulator for screenshots
Using the iOS simulator for screenshots

The fastest and easiest way is but to launch your app in the iOS simulator (for the screen size that y'all demand), navigate to the screen you desire to take a screenshot of then hit CMD+Due south on your keyboard.

That'southward going to put a PNG image file on your desktop. You can merely upload that to App Shop connect!

Technique 2: Use a mock up template

Using device mockups in your screenshots
Using device mockups in your screenshots

If you go this road, you'll need a couple of tools.

First you'll need some sort of graphics design software such every bit:

  • Figma
  • Sketch
  • Adobe Photoshop

I recommend Figma considering information technology's free. That's what you lot run across me using in the screenshot higher up.

Adjacent, you'll need the device mockups. Hither are some places you can get device mockups:

Mockuphone

Mockuphone
Mockuphone

Free to use! Just select your device, upload your screenshot and download the mock upwards in portrait and landscape orientations. So you can import that into your graphics plan and add whatever text you want.

Rotato

Rotato
Rotato

A paid tool that lets you command the camera on a 3D device mockup so that you can go the perfect angle. And then export the image and import it into your graphics program.

Angle

Angle
Angle

A paid collection of mockups in various angles and device frames. Import into your favorite graphics program to use! (Note: Even though this collection is made up of Sketch and AdobeXD files, I've been able to import the Sketch files into Figma)

Technique 3: Use a app store screenshot generator

If you don't want to carp with graphics software and mock ups, there are tools out there to make information technology a very polish and easy procedure.

Here's one that I would recommend: DaVinci Apps

Davinci Apps
Davinci Apps – App Store screenshot generator
Davinci Apps - selecting a template
Davinci Apps – selecting a template

All you need to practice is to select a template, upload your screenshots (that you took with the iOS simulator) and add together your custom text. Then y'all tin export all your screenshots in one go.

Shotbot is another tool that you can check out.

Upload your App Store screenshots

Simply go dorsum to your app store listing and upload the screenshots that you lot've created.

Upload your App Store screenshots
Upload your App Store screenshots

First, your app needs to run properly and be make clean of errors (the carmine warnings).

2nd, you should have your Signing and Team information fix up in Xcode.

Don't forget yous should accept your app version fix to 1.0.0 if you are publishing a new app (or remember to increment the build version if y'all are publishing an update).

At this indicate if you are still having bug regarding your Apple ID or the certificates, I would recommend to check this article. Equally a small-scale refresher, get to Xcode >> Preferences >> Accounts.

Publishing:

Publishing an app with Xcode xi is really elementary. Where it used to have multiple steps, certificates, profiles, etc. at present Xcode is smart enough to enable or create all of those by itself.

To create the total app annal, you commencement need to select the Generic iOS Device from the list of simulators.

Now go to Production >> Archive and let information technology bundle your app. This can exist a pretty lengthy process depending on the size of your app.

Once this is done, the Archive window volition open and this is where you can manage all the archives generated by Xcode.

Every time you select Archive in the menu, Xcode will bundle a new annal for App Store Connect.

If yous accept duplicates or older ones, just delete them from this list.

Now select the annal and choose Distribute App. You'll be prompted to select the method of distribution:

In one case you lot have selected iOS App Shop, it will go over a couple of checks and validations to make sure you are not uploading a broken app.

If something happens, there is a great chance Xcode will stop you here and you'll take to get back to coding or calculation missing assets like icons.

If Xcode doesn't find anything wrong with the archive, the upload process will follow. Once again the upload time volition vary depending on the archive size and your net connection.

One time completed, you will meet a terminal window similar this. Congratulations! Your app is halfway there to the iOS App Shop.

Now it is fourth dimension to add the build you exported from Xcode. The annal was sent via Xcode but App Store Connect needs some fourth dimension to process information technology.

If you've already taken care of the app title, description, pricing and screenshots, there's a great chance that the build is ready to exist selected.

In my instance, since I was publishing an app update, I was faster and had to wait virtually x minutes. (Tip: you also get an electronic mail when your archive has been processed and is set up to apply.)

You tin can see my version 1.0.iv is not available yet for me to select.

THIS IS IT!

Select the salve button on the elevation right of your screen and the "Submit for Review" button should plough blue.

Y'all'll take a couple of questions to answer about your app:

Afterward that, your app will be on the waiting list for the Apple's certification and review team.

Your app should at present take a yellow tag:

Yous merely have to wait now.

In the past, the review process took between 1 to 2 weeks and then a couple of years ago Tim Cook said they would be working on improving the speed.

So the review process was close to 3 or 4 days but I'm happy to say that my app update has been reviewed and accepted 13hrs later! (app updates unremarkably take a shorter time to review than a make new app.)

After your app is canonical, yous'll get an electronic mail about information technology.

Your app is at present on the App Store! Hello World!

If y'all published an app, please share information technology with united states below!

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and please share information technology with your friends and peer using the social buttons below!

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Source: https://codewithchris.com/submit-your-app-to-the-app-store/