How to publish an app on the App Store: the complete guide

Finishing an app and seeing it on the App Store are two different moments, and between them there is a process almost nobody knows until it is their turn. It is not hard, but it has rules, timelines and traps worth knowing in advance, not when the app is done and the launch already has a date.

This guide walks the whole path: what you need before you start, how the app gets uploaded, how to test it with real users before release, what Apple reviews and why it rejects apps, and what happens afterward. We have published our own apps and our clients' apps, and these are the steps that matter.

Before you start: the developer account

To publish on the App Store you need to enroll in the Apple Developer Program. It is an annual membership, currently 99 USD, and it is the first step because without it you cannot create the app listing or upload anything.

There are two kinds of account and the choice matters more than it seems:

• Individual. Quick to open. The app is published under the person's name, not the company's.
• Organization. The app appears under your company's name. It requires the company to exist legally and to have a D-U-N-S number, an identifier that is free to obtain but can take days or weeks.

If the app belongs to your company, open the organization account from the start. Switching from one type to the other later is a slow process. And one rule that saves trouble: the account belongs to the company, it is opened with a company email, and the company keeps the credentials. It should never end up under the name of the vendor who built the app.

What to prepare

Long before uploading the app, it pays to have the listing material ready. It is the most underestimated part and the one that delays the most launches.

If the app collects user data, you will also have to declare what it collects and why. That information shows on the listing as a privacy label and it has to be accurate.

Uploading the app: App Store Connect

App Store Connect is the dashboard where everything related to your app in the store lives: the listing, the builds, the testing, sales and reviews. That is where the app record is created, where the listing gets filled in, and where each build is uploaded.

The build is uploaded from Xcode, Apple's development tool, or from an automated pipeline. The technical detail that causes the most confusion is signing certificates and provisioning profiles, which are how Apple verifies the app comes from your account. Today Xcode manages them automatically in most cases; when something breaks there, it is almost always because several people with access to the account are signing from different machines.

Every build you upload becomes available in App Store Connect to test or to submit for review. You can upload several before releasing; only the one you choose gets submitted.

Testing with real users: TestFlight

TestFlight is Apple's tool for distributing the app to testers before release. It is free, it comes with the developer account, and it is the step most apps skip and least should.

It works on two levels. Internal testers are members of your team in App Store Connect and receive every build immediately. External testers are anyone with an email address or a public link, and the builds they receive go through a light review by Apple first.

What TestFlight gives you is what no simulator can: the app on the phone of someone who did not build it, with their network, their OS version and their habits. Two weeks of TestFlight with a small group usually surface the problems that would otherwise show up in public reviews. In 10 mistakes founders make launching their first app we cover what it costs to find them late.

TestFlight is the dress rehearsal. Launching without it is opening night without ever having run the whole play.

Apple's review

When you submit a build for review, a person at Apple installs it, uses it and checks it against the App Store Review Guidelines, a public document with the store's rules. Review usually takes a day or two, though it can be longer during busy periods or if the app is complex.

The most frequent rejection reasons are surprisingly avoidable:

• The app crashes or has obvious bugs. The reviewer actually uses it. If it closes on its own or a screen does not load, it gets rejected.
• Missing information to review it. Without a test account, or without explaining how to reach a certain feature, the reviewer cannot evaluate it.
• Charging for digital content outside Apple's system. If you sell something consumed inside the app, like subscriptions or features, it must go through in-app purchases. Physical goods and services can be charged outside.
• Incomplete sign-in options. If you offer login with a social network account, Apple requires you to also offer its own sign-in. And if the app lets users create an account, it must let them delete it from within the app.
• The listing does not match the app. Screenshots of features that do not exist, or descriptions that overpromise.
• Minimum functionality. An app that merely wraps a website without adding anything of its own is usually rejected.

A rejection is not the end of anything. Apple explains the reason, you fix it or respond, and you resubmit. Most apps rejected the first time get approved on the second attempt. What does pay off is reading the rules before building, not after, because some of them imply design changes that are expensive at the end.

After approval

Once approved, you decide when it goes live: immediately, on a date you pick, or manually whenever you want. It is common to get approved and wait a few days to coordinate the announcement.

From that moment, App Store Connect shows you downloads, sales and reviews. And every update follows the same path: upload the build, test on TestFlight if the change warrants it, submit for review, release. Updates are usually reviewed faster than the first version, but they go through the same filter.

Publishing is the start of a relationship with the store, not a one-time task. That is why it helps for the person or team who built the app to stay close after launch, when the first reviews and the first new versions of the operating system arrive.

How much time to allow

If you are working out dates, this is the realistic window from the moment the app is finished until it can be downloaded:

• Developer account: from a day to several weeks, depending on the account type and the D-U-N-S number.
• Preparing the listing: a few days, if the material is produced in parallel with development.
• TestFlight: one or two weeks of real testing, though it can be less.
• Apple's review: a day or two per submission, and plan for at least one rejection.

In total, two to four weeks if everything is prepared on time, and considerably more if the account is opened at the end. That window belongs in the plan from the start, as we explain in how long it takes to build an app. And if the app does not exist yet, the decision that comes first is what kind of app to build, which we cover in native iOS, web app or cross-platform.

Frequently asked questions

Can I publish the app under the account of the studio that built it?

You can, but you should not. The app would be listed under the studio's name and you would depend on them for any change. The account should belong to your company; the studio can have access as a collaborator.

How much does it cost to publish on the App Store?

The annual Apple Developer Program membership, currently 99 USD. On top of that, if you charge inside the app, Apple keeps a commission on those sales. Physical goods and services charged outside the app do not pay that commission.

What happens if Apple rejects my app?

They explain the reason in writing. You fix what was flagged or, if you believe the rejection is a mistake, you reply with your arguments. Then you resubmit. It is a normal process and most rejections get resolved on the next attempt.

Do I need a Mac to publish?

Building and uploading an iOS app requires Xcode, which only exists for Mac. If your studio builds the app, they handle it; you do not need one.

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At tēo studio we design, build and publish iOS apps, including our own, and we stay through the launch until the app is in the store under your company's name. If you have an app on the way or an idea you want to see on the App Store, tell us about it and we will tell you what it takes and how long it would be.