So, you’ve got an app ready to publish? Great! There are a couple of things, however, that you should do before publishing your app on Google Play or Apple App Store. Here we present 7 great tips to help you understand the process of publishing your app and make the most of your app launch.
1. GET TO KNOW WHAT THE PUBLISHING PROCESS LOOKS LIKE
Take a moment to read and understand the publishing process guidelines. Google Play offers a great deal of publishing workflow documents that explain how the whole process works and what you can do to get your app ready for release.
Also Apple App Store offers similar guidelines that list all the steps developers must take to successfully publish an app.
2. DECIDE WHETHER YOUR APP WILL BE FREE OR PRICED
Before publishing your app, you need to decide whether it will be available for free or it will be priced. While all users are able to download free apps on Google Play Store, priced apps are available only to users located in countries that support paid downloads. To download a paid app, users should also have a registered payment form such as a credit card or Direct Carrier Billing.
Remember that once you publish your app as free, you won’t be able to change it to priced. If you publish an app as priced though, you can always make it free, but after that you can never turn back to the priced model again. On the other hand, you can always start selling in-app products and subscriptions.
3. GET A FIRM GRASP ON APP STORE POLICIES AND AGREEMENTS
Before you make a move and publish your app, make sure that you understand and follow the policies and agreements on app stores where you’re registering your app. Violating a policy might lead to suspension of your app or even termination of your developer account.
Have a look here to see Google Play developer content policy and distribution agreement.
Check out the third section in these terms and conditions crafted for Apple App Store.
4. CONFIRM YOUR APP’S SIZE AND COMPATIBILITY RANGES
The overall size of your app might affect its publication. The maximum size for both Google Play and App Store is 100 MB – that is if you want your app to be downloadable over the cell network, not WiFi.
Compatibility is another key issue. Before publishing you app, make sure that it runs properly on the platform versions that you want to target. Confirm the minimum version of Android or iOS with which your app is compatible.
You should also make sure that the app looks good when rendered on various screen sizes and different pixel densities you aim to support. Remember to provide scalable support for multiple screen sizes or declare the minimum screen-size supported by your app – don’t forget that it will restrict its availability.
5. DEFINE YOUR APP’S CONTENT RATING
Set a content rating for your app to define its maturity level. For example, on Google Play you can choose between Everyone, Low maturity, Medium maturity, and High maturity levels. The platform will then filter out your app if users choose a different setting.
6. TEST IT FOR QUALITY
Before you publishing your app, make sure that it meets basic quality expectations for apps listed on your chosen platform that are to be rendered on devices you’re targeting. Set up a test environment to check your app’s quality against a set of criteria that apply to all apps.
If you’re targeting tablet devices, your app should have impeccable graphic design to deliver a rich experience to users. To be on the safe side, optimize your app for such devices and screens.
The same goes for content – for example if you’d like your app to be part of Google Play for Education, you need to make sure that it’s suitable for a K-12 classroom and offers an educational value.
7. DECIDE WHERE YOUR APP WILL BE DISTRIBUTED
You can control the countries and territories where your app will be distributed.
For the widest reach, it’s natural that you don’t want to set any boundaries. But considering app requirements your business needs and launch dependencies – you might find out that excluding a country from your distribution is a smart move.
Remember to figure this part out early on because you’ll need heaps of localized content to make it work on different markets.
Follow these 7 steps and you’ll be on your way to successfully publishing your app and scoring plenty of downloads from the day one.
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