App Store - a place where you can publish and browse various mobile applications

Releasing Mobile Applications on the App Store

The Practical Guide

To publish your mobile application on the App Store, the first step is to create an account on the App Store and join the Apple Developer program, which costs $99 annually.

Creating an account on the App Store

It's worth remembering that mobile applications will only be visible in the store when your subscription is active. After the subscription expires, the applications won't be accessible to users, although the application itself will not be deleted. Upon renewing the subscription, the application will become visible again.

After registering and paying for the account, the next step is to create the application in the store. We enter the necessary data such as name, identifier, platform, category, etc. Then, we submit the finished application build.

Creating a New App in the store

Preparations Before Review:

1. Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy: Links to them are sufficient, but the actual texts must be available elsewhere, for example, on your website.
2. Set of Screenshots: You can add up to 10 images that must reflect the actual appearance of the mobile application. The first three will be visible in search results in the store, so they are crucial. If you have a video presenting the application, you can also add it.
3. Texts: These include the description of the mobile application, keywords, and promotional text (optional).
4. Icon: A separate icon is not required in the App Store; it will be downloaded from the icon of your application.
5. Test Account: In the case of applications with login/registration, prepare a test account with full access to the mobile application for the review process.
6. In-App Purchases: In the case of in-app purchases (one-time or subscriptions), it's necessary to configure them in the App Store, including name, price, short description, availability by country, promotions, etc.
   
   

GDPR Compliance:

Make sure to clearly specify what data you collect from the user and for what purpose, such as geolocation, age, gender, etc.

Review Process:

After preparing all the elements, we submit the application for review. The waiting time for a review is usually 1 to 2 days, although it can sometimes be shorter. In the shortest case, I received approval in just 10 minutes. (screenshot attached)

Review process

After the Review:

The application may be accepted into the store or rejected with a list of requirements. Those can pertain to both the application itself (bugs, non-compliance with requirements) and the presentation in the App Store (lack of certain information, spelling errors, etc.).

After making corrections, we resubmit the application for review. This process can be repeated until the application is accepted.

Release Options:

• Automatically after review.
• Manually, at any time.
• Automatically after review, but not before (specify date).

Releasing the App

We can also release the application gradually to users - for example, 1% on the first day, 2% on the second day, etc. However, this only works for people who have automatic app updates enabled; at any time, a user can go to the store and update regardless of our phased release. However, thanks to this mechanism, we can gradually observe the use of our new version and quickly fix anything if needed, without everyone seeing our failure.

Releasing steps

Summary:

From the moment of creating an account and submitting the application for approval in the store, it can take from one day to several weeks. The first publication of the application usually takes the longest, while subsequent versions are usually reviewed more quickly, although there is always a risk that other requirements will be missed. Therefore, it's always important to plan an appropriate amount of time for the entire process.