iOS: How to submit apps to the App Store

The process of submitting a new application is relatively long, but it is very quick if it is just an update. If your application needs to be localized, there will be a lot of involvement, because some basic information needs to be localized. However, the process is worth it, after all, more users will bring you more downloads and profits.

When you have overcome many difficulties and finally developed your own App, the next step is to submit the app to the App Store. What should you do now? Is my app really ready for submission? I’m sure these questions will come to your mind. Based on this tutorial, I will tell you a complete submission process.

introduce

We all know that Apple's review process is like a "black box" operation, but this does not prevent you from making some advance preparations for this review process. Apple's App Store Review Guidelines already tell you what is allowed and what is not allowed. When you first submit your app to Apple, it is an exciting yet nerve-wracking process. Even the most experienced developers will be caught off guard, after all, this is not like writing code every day.

premise

The prerequisite for submitting an application to the App Store is that you have become a member of the Apple iOS Developer Program and have paid Apple a fee of US$99 per year. You can sign up to become a member of Apple's iOS Developer Program through this link. Click the Enroll Now button.

Figure 1. Register as an iOS developer

1. Is your application ready?

Step 1. Test

Writing the last line of code or executing the last function does not mean that your app is finished. Have you tested your app on multiple devices? Does your application have memory leaks? Is your app always crashing? In recent years, the iOS device market has grown rapidly, and you must ensure that your application has been tested on as many devices as possible. Common questions include whether you have passed the test on screens ranging from the 4-inch iPhone 5 to the 7.9-inch iPad Mini.

The iOS simulator is very useful, but it runs on a Mac, which has much more memory and processing power than the phone in your pocket, not to mention the performance difference between an iPhone 3GS and an iPhone 5. As an iOS developer, you cannot risk using an outdated iOS device for a long time to create and maintain the App. Even if the App can run well on the old iOS device, it does not mean that it can run smoothly on the new device.

Apple's review is closed, but it can reduce the bad review results for users caused by imperfect performance. If your app frequently crashes, or becomes slow and sluggish shortly after launch, you have a lot of work to do before submitting it to the App Store. Even if Apple reviewers cannot find problems with the app, users will. If the user experience is poor, users will give you bad reviews or low scores, further affecting the sales and downloads of your app.

Step 2. Rules and Guidelines

As I said before, Apple provides a lot of documentation for developers. Developers should pay special attention to the iOS Human-Computer Interaction Guidelines and the App Store Review Guidelines. However, many developers do not have the energy or find it difficult to calm down and study these documents carefully. In this case, your app will be repeatedly rejected due to the requirements listed in these documents.

Taking a step back, even if you haven’t studied the iOS Human-Computer Interaction Guidelines and the App Store Review Guidelines, developers should still know the rules that are often mentioned. Below I have listed some things that your app should and should not do.

Your application:

Can't crash

Private APIs cannot be used.

Can’t replicate the functionality of native apps.

IAP (In-App Payment) financial transactions should be used

Cannot access the camera or microphone without the user's knowledge

Copyrighted images should be used

These are just a small part of the document contents mentioned above. The contents of iOS Human-Computer Interaction Guidelines and App Store Review Guidelines are mostly very trivial. But there are some small things that you may violate inadvertently. For example, before Apple enabled its own maps, the MapKit framework used Google Maps, and users were well aware that the Google logo would be placed in the lower left corner of each map. If your app’s user interface covered the Google logo, Apple would reject your app. Although this is very trivial, it is also where many developers often "make mistakes".

2. Advance preparation

Before you start submitting your app to the App Store, you need to have an App ID, a valid distribution certificate, and a valid Provisioning profile. Let’s take a look at their respective functions.

Step 1: App ID

App ID is a unique identifier for different applications. Every app needs an App ID or app identifier. There are currently two types of App IDs: one is the explicit App ID, and the other is the wildcard App ID. An App ID that uses a wildcard can be used to build and install multiple apps. Although the wildcard App ID is very convenient, a precise App ID is also required, especially when your app uses iCloud or uses other iOS features such as Game Center, Push Notifications, or IAP.

If you are not sure what App ID is right for your project, I recommend reading Apple's documentation on this topic: Technical Note QA1713.

Step 2: Distribution Certificate

iOS applications all have a security certificate to verify the developer's identity and signature. In order to submit your app to the App Store, you need to create an iOS provisioning profile. First you need to create a distribution certificate, the process is similar to creating a development certificate. If you have tested your app on a physical device, then you are already familiar with creating a development certificate.

If you are not familiar with this, I recommend reading Apple's detailed instructions on signing certificates and provisioning profiles.

Step 3: Provisioning Profile

Once you have created an App ID and distribution certificate, you can create an iOS provisioning profile to facilitate selling your app on the App Store. However, you cannot use the same provisioning profile as for ad hoc distribution. You need to create a separate provisioning profile for App Store distribution. If you use a wildcard App ID, then multiple apps can use the same provisioning profile.

Step 4: Build Settings

Now that you have configured your App ID, distribution certificate, and provisioning profile, it’s time to configure the target’s build settings in Xcode. Select a target in the targets list in the Xcode Project Navigator, open the Build Settings tab at the top, and update Code Signing to match the distribution provisioning profile you created earlier. Recently added provisioning profiles may not always be immediately visible in the Code Signing build settings. Restarting Xcode may resolve this issue.

Figure 2: Configure Target's Build Settings

Step 5: Deployment Target

It is very necessary to talk about the deployment target. Each target in Xcode has a deployment target, which can indicate the minimum version that the app can run. However, once the app is live in the App Store, you need to consider the consequences of modifying the deployment target. If you increase the deployment target when you update your app, but users who have already purchased your app have not encountered the new deployment target, then your app will not be able to run on their mobile devices. This is a problem if a user downloads an updated app through iTunes (not the device), then installs it on their device instead of the previous version, only to find that the new version doesn't work on their device.

I have two methods for this.

(1) When you decide to increase the deployment target of an existing app, indicate this in the release notes of the new version. If you inform the user in advance, then at least you have done your best to prevent the problem from happening.

(2) For a new app, I often set the deployment target to the most recently released system version. Because after the release of a new iOS version, the penetration rate grows at an incredible rate. Many people believe that raising the deployment target will result in losing most of the market. This is not accurate. For example, one month after the release of iOS 6, more than 60% of devices had been updated. But for Android, it’s a different story. Android users are not as keen on updating the operating system version as iOS users.

3. Assets

Step 1: Icons

Icon is an integral part of the App, and you need to make sure that the icon size is correct.

iTunes Artwork: 1024px x 1024px (required)

iPad/iPad Mini: 72px x 72px and 114px x 114px (required)

iPhone/iPod Touch: 57px x 57px and 114px x 114px (required)

Search Icon: 29px x 29px and 58px x 58px (optional)

Settings Application: 50px x 50px and 100px x 100px (optional)

Step 2: Screenshot

The role of screenshots is self-evident. You can upload 5 screenshots for each app. Although you need to upload at least one, it is unlikely that anyone would upload only one image. Additionally, you'll need to prepare separate screenshots for iPhone/iPod Touch and iPad/iPad Mini. This is also a lot of work, but it can show another side of the application. Status Magic, a $6.99 Mac app from Shiny Development, can save you a lot of time. Status Magic can help you put the status bar in the correct position on the screenshot.

Screenshots and icons are the first impression that an app gives to users, and are directly related to whether users will buy it. However, the screenshots you upload don’t have to be actual screenshots. See Where’s My Water? screenshots can be more attractive and convincing by using this strategy.

Step 3: Metadata

Before submitting your app, you need to manage the app’s metadata, including 1. app name, 2. version number, 3. main category, 4. concise description, 5. keywords, 6. supporting URLs. If you need to update your application, you also need to provide the newly added version content.

If your app requires registration, you also have to provide Apple with a test account or demo account so that reviewers can quickly access the app without having to register an account.

4. Submission Preparation

After Xcode 4, the process of developers submitting applications has become much simpler, and they can submit applications directly using Xcode. First, create an app in iTunes Connect. Visit iTunes Connect, log in with your iOS developer account, click "Manage Your Apps" on the right, click "Add New App" in the upper left corner, select "iOS App", and then complete the form.

Figure 3. Navigating the iTunes Connect page

Step 1: Complete basic information

The name of the app that appears in the App Store must be unique. This name can be different from the name below the home screen icon, but it is recommended to use the same name.

SKU Number is a special string used to identify the app. I often use the app's bundle identifier. At the bottom is the app's Bundle ID. You can select a wildcard App ID or an exact App ID from the drop-down menu.

Figure 4. Specify the name, SKU Number, and Bundle ID

The next page will continue to reveal the secrets of uploading to the App Store

Step 2: Price and availability

Next, determine the price and availability of your app. Apple has already determined the price gradient, so you don’t need to choose the price of the app in each country separately. You only need to specify which country’s app store to sell it in. The information filled out during this process can be modified after the app appears in the App Store, which means you can change the price without having to submit or update it.

Figure 5. Specifying price and validity

Step 3: Metadata

We’ve already talked about metadata, but not yet about app ratings. Apple will give apps a certain rating based on their content and functionality. For example, many apps are rated 4+, and 500px is rated 17+. In addition to telling users the content and functions of the app, it can also reassure parents of their children.

If your app's rating does not match the content, Apple will also reject your app.

Figure 6. Entering app metadata and ratings

Step 4: Prepare to upload binary file

After submitting your app’s metadata, you’ll see some summary information about your app. You should take a look at the app’s version before submitting. Click the "View Details" button, then click "Ready to Upload Binary" in the upper right corner. You will then be asked one or more questions about your app, and once you are done you will be prompted to prepare to upload the binary. The app status changes to “Waiting for Upload”.

Figure 7. App overview

5. Upload binary files

In order to upload a program, you need to create an archive for the program. You can only create one archive on one real device. If you select iOS Simulator in the active scheme, the Archive option in Xcode’s Product menu is grayed out. Connect an iOS device to your Mac, select the device in the active scheme, and then select Archive from the Product menu in Xcode.

Figure 8. Archiving an application using Xcode

If everything goes well, you will now get an archive, and Xcode's Organizer will automatically open and display the archive you just generated. Select the archive in the list and click the "Distribute" button on the right. On the screen that appears, select "Submit to the iOS App Store". Then enter your iOS developer account for authentication. Then select Application and Code Signing Identity.

The application binary is uploaded to Apple's servers - during this process, your program also needs to be verified. If errors are encountered during the validation process, the application submission process will fail. The validation process is very useful, and if there are some errors in the program, Apple's App Store review team will tell you the specific reasons.

Figure 9. Archiving an application using Xcode

Figure 10. Submitting the app to the iOS App Store

Figure 11. Type iOS developer

Figure 12. Select Application and Code Signing Identity

Figure 13. If verification fails, an error message will appear.

6. Wait

After the upload is complete, the app status changes to "Waiting for Review".

Summarize

The process of submitting a new application is relatively long, but it is very quick if it is just an update. If your application needs to be localized, there will be a lot of involvement, because some basic information needs to be localized. However, the process is worth it, after all, more users will bring you more downloads and profits.