Publish an app on the App Store and Google Play

What do you need to publish an app on the App Store and Google Play?

Have this ready before you start. That way you won't have to stop halfway.

• A developer account with Apple and with Google, in your company's name.
• A D-U-N-S number if you publish with Apple as a company. It's a free business number Apple uses to check that your company really exists.
• A working build: the app as a file that's ready for the store, signed with your certificates.
• An app icon, screenshots in the right sizes and a short and long description.
• A privacy policy on your website, with a permanent link.
• A support page or contact address for users.
• A test account with login details, if your app has a login. The reviewers need to be able to get in.

Don't have a privacy policy yet? Read our article on a privacy policy for your website first. Both stores explicitly ask for one.

Apple and Google developer accounts: what do they cost?

Apple charges an annual fee for the Apple Developer Program. Google charges a one-off registration fee for a Play Console account. As a guide: Apple is around a hundred dollars a year, Google around twenty-five dollars one-off. This is an indication, so check the current price on Apple's and Google's websites.

Create the accounts in your own company's name, not your developer's. That way the app stays yours, even if you later continue with someone else. You can give your developer access to the account as a user. That's safer and saves hassle if you switch.

Allow for waiting time. With Apple, verifying a business account sometimes takes a few days to a few weeks. With Google you have to confirm your identity, and for new personal accounts Google sometimes first asks for a closed test with a group of testers. So start early, ideally during the build.

How to publish your app on the App Store, step by step

• Create a new app in App Store Connect with a name, language and bundle ID (your app's unique technical name).
• Upload the build from Xcode or your build tool.
• Test the app through TestFlight, Apple's test environment. Have colleagues or a few customers try it.
• Fill in the store page: name, subtitle, description, keywords, screenshots and category.
• Fill in the privacy details: which data your app collects and why.
• Give the reviewer an explanation and a test account.
• Submit for review and choose whether the app goes live straight away or on a set date.

Apple's review usually takes one to a few days. If your app is rejected, you get a message with the reason. You adjust the app or the explanation and submit again.

Publishing your app on Google Play

With Google you work in the Play Console. The steps are similar to Apple's, with a few parts of their own.

• Create the app in the Play Console and choose whether it's free or paid.
• Upload an app bundle: the file Google uses to build the right version for each device.
• Fill in the Data safety form. This is Google's version of Apple's privacy label.
• Complete the content rating questionnaire.
• Put the app in an internal or closed test first, then in production.
• Optionally roll out in stages: first to part of your users, then to everyone.

Google's review often takes a few hours to a few days. For a first release it can take longer.

Why apps get rejected, and how to prevent it

Most rejections have a few well-known causes. Check this list before you submit.

• The app does too little. Apple rejects apps that are just a website in a wrapper. An app needs to add something, such as login, notifications or features that run on the phone.
• The reviewer can't log in. Always include a working test account.
• A privacy policy is missing, or the privacy details don't match what the app actually does.
• Users can't delete their account. If someone can create an account in the app, they must also be able to have it deleted in the app.
• The app crashes or contains empty screens and placeholder text.
• You sell digital content without following the store's payment rules.

Not sure you really need a native app? Sometimes a web app is enough and you don't need the stores at all. Read native app or web app and our piece on a progressive web app.

After launch: updates and visibility in the app stores

Publishing your app is just the start. Apple and Google release new versions of iOS and Android every year and set requirements for the minimum version you build for. Fall behind and you can no longer submit updates, or your app disappears from search results on new devices. So plan regular updates.

If you want to be found in the store, app store optimisation helps: working on your name, subtitle, keywords and screenshots, just as you would for Google. A few tips:

• Put the main word people search for in your app name or subtitle.
• Use the first two screenshots to show what the app delivers, not the login screen.
• Ask happy users for a rating at a good moment, for example after a successful action.
• Respond to reviews, including the critical ones.

Help with publishing your app

At Violexa we build apps and also publish them on the App Store and Google Play. We set this up on your own developer accounts, so the app always stays yours. We handle the builds, the test versions, the store texts and the submission, and we sort out any rejections. Read more about how we work under websites and apps.

Just getting started and want to know first what an app costs and how the process works? Read having an app built. A custom app with us starts from €1,799 excl. VAT (€2,177 incl. VAT). Larger projects get a fixed price up front, in writing.

Want to know what your app needs to go live? Book a free quickscan. It's a 30-minute conversation, online or at your location. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication. You're not committed to anything.

Frequently asked questions