Mobile App Publisher Learn How To Publish A Mobile App Tutorial

Mobile App Dashboard with publisher button

The mobile app publisher tutorial is best used with your app already opened. Open your app here. Are you ready to publish a mobile app? Mobile App Publisher tutorial teaches you how to submit your mobile app to the App Stores using Miappmaker publishing tools.

We will use the Apple App Store or iTunes for this tutorial because it is the most complex. Google Play is very similar but has fewer steps.

You have come to this stage because your app is built. By 'built' we mean you have done all the page creation, styling, coding and testing. Your app is ready to publish. Even if you are just getting started this tutorial describes the process of publishing in the App Stores.

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You have created all the necessary graphics and done all the text work like writing app store descriptions, titles and made a list of keywords. Okay maybe you have not done all this yet. No problem we go over those elements in the app store properties.

Get Ready For The Mobile App Publisher

It's decision time. You have several options on how to publish your app. When you click the "Ready To Publish" button in Miappmaker you are directed to the next page which asks you to select your method of publishing.

App Stor Options

Miappmaker gives you several options to cover every mobile app publisher scenario. There are many steps to accomplish but first you must decide which one is right for you. The options are:

Build & Review in under 2 business days you will receive a link to a build of your app or review notes in case your additional input is required.
Build & Publish under your own account in under 2 business days your app will be published under your developer account or you will receive review notes in case additional input is required. (Requires your own developer account)
Instant Ad Hoc in under 1 hour 24/7 you will receive an email with a link to a build of your app or to test. Ideal for testing in your mobile app previewer.

Publish under you own account. You will need a developers account with Apple. (MAM helps you through this process)
Publish under Miappmaker's publishing account is no longer available due to Apple's single publisher account policy.
Publisher under someone else's account for a large monthly fee. Also no longer available. Since Apple's enforcement of guideline 4.2.6 app owner and developer must be the same person. You can no longer have your app published by a professional developer (like MAM). Note this is just for Apple iOS apps.

Mobile App Publisher Requirements

Before you can publish your app must meet all of these requiremen. We ask you to do this so your app will pass the review process. Unlike a website which can be built as an ongoing project a mobile app need to be complete when you publish it. Apps can be added to or updated after publishing but must meet these requirements initially.

is rich in content, informative and instructive.
contains offline multimedia content such as audio or video. (optional)
contains interactive native pages. E.g. phone, share, text pages, etc.
has a professional look and feel and an original design. (not copied)
is not designed to promote a brand name you do not own.
contains no copyrighted material without the express permission of the copyright holder. (If so, credit must be given to the copyright owner in the app.)
can not be classified as posing a potential copyright issue.
is distributed for free distribution. Meaning you can't charge a fee to have your app distributed. This is different than a paid app where you charge to download it.
does not include any hate messages, pornograhpy or slander. Apps can be religious or politcal just not abusive or objectionable.

App Store Properties

The next step in the process is to fill in all the app store properties required. Here is a short synopsis of what you willl need to supply.

App Store Properties You Will Need

App Store App Name - maximum is 30 characters. Your name needs to be consise and description, (example: MiAppMaker11 Utility App).
App Store Subtitle - maximum is 30 charaters. This is a good place to describe what your app actually does, (example: Tools For Everyday Life).
Primary Language selectthe language your app is written in. i.e English-US. There are about 30 supported languages. Select your language from a drop down menu. This helps the App Stores supply apps specifically to people in those regions.
Category there are 25 categories to choose from books to weather. You can also select a second category. The app stores categorize your app to display it on the app stores with other similarly categorized apps.
App Store Promotional Text max characters is 170. This is a short descriptor of your app. Try to describe in detail what your app does in about 2 to 4 sentences. This is a good place to market your app and make a call to action statement. Example: "Get App Name Today!"
App Store Description max charaters is 4000. You get a lot of space here to thoroughly decribe what your app does. You can enter a lot of information here. BUT!! wait. Most people will make decision after only about 100 word and stop reading. You want to fully decribe your app in about 4 to 6 paragraphs. After that most people will get bored and probably think your app is too complicated or too big for their device.
Other Inputs include; Keywords, Support URL, Marketing URL, Privacy Policy, Copyright, What's New In This Version, Contact Info, Username and Password (for review team), and Review Notes. When you submit you can send the review team any message you want.

During the mobile app publisher process you will need to acquire a "Content Rating" and other certificates. This certificate declares your app is rated for certain age groups or not. For instance the earliest age is 4 years old. But if your app is a game with violent content it will need to be rated at least 13 years old and up. With an Mobile App Plan we do this for you.

If any of these requirements are not met your app may be rejected by the App Stores. Note: you will be required to enroll in Apple's iOS Developer program. This is standard practice. MAM guides you through this process. An Apple Developer account costs about $100/year. Be prepared to pay for this fee.

IMPORTANT: If your application promotes a brand name or a registered trademark other than your own your app may be rejected by The App Stores.

When satisfied with all your information click the "Next" button. The next step in the mobile app publisher is where you enable push notifications

Enable Push Notifications

Push Notifications enable this if you wish to send notifications to your app users. PNs add a lot of data to your app and thus increase the bandwidth required. PNs are an excellent way to keep in touch with your clientele. Send notifications about upcoming events, special offers or todays menu or entice users to visit your establishment. Say whatever you want to. PNs can be delivered to your users devices if they have notifications turned on.

When satisfied with all your information click the "Next" button. The next step in the mobile app publisher is where you upload all your app multimedia. You will need to have a dozen icons and at least 3 and up to 9 splash screens and your main App Store icon.

App Store Multimedia Icons And Splash Pages

App Multimedia upload page

App Multimedia upload page is where you upload all your icons and splash pages. The icons are used to launch the app or show in the store listing. The splash screens are used as a placeholder while the app loads into a mobile device.

When satisfied with all your information click the "Next" button. The next step in the mobile app publisher is where you select your main app settings

Main app settings page

Main App Settings these are global sttings that apply to the whole app. This is where you set the app's version level and Application Name. The version level must be incremented every time you submit the app. The "App Name" is the one that appears in the App Stores. This MUST be unigue for each app.

Enable Info Button enables more information to be added to the store listing. It is a good idea to select this option because people lie to know who made the app.

Enable App Autorotation It is a good idea to select this option because some users will want to rotate the app. Only in some cases would you leave this option unselected. If unselected your app will not change orientation when a user rotates their device.

Submit button is the final step in the mobile app publisher. When satisfied with all your information click the "Submit" button. This sends the app to us for review and compiling. When finished you will either recieve notes from us to fix the app or it will be submitted to the App Store for publishing. Or if you want the files sent to you you will recieve those within a day or two. Please allow extra time for weekends and holidays.

Okay! that seems like a lot of info to absorb. You will need to familiarize yourself with all this knowledge if you want to be your own mobile app publisher. If you are just going to publish 1, 2 or 3 apps, Best Website Tools is your solution. It makes sense to use a company that does this all the time. It might not make sense to learn everything now and delay your publishing while you learn the ropes. Best Webstie Tools makes it easy to publish to your developer account. We do the mobile app publisher tasks for you.

Become A Mobile App Publisher The Easy Way

Have BWT do it for you. As part of your mobile app plan we do all the setup work for you. Miappmaker will publish your app for you. We review your app and get all the certificates and submit under your developer account.

See Also:
Mobile App Features - tutorial teaches you about different functionality you can include in a mobile app.
Mobile App Editor - tutorial teaches you how to use the editor to configure your mobile app.
Mobile App Plans - tutorial teaches you how to select a plan for your mobile app(s).
Mobile App Tutorial - a beginners guide to creating mobile apps.