I built MacroScout, a calorie tracker for iPhone and Android. I expected the code to be the hard part of shipping it. It wasn't. The hard part was the App Store: learning its rules and getting my app to line up with them.
Building is a problem you can work through on your own. App Store rules are different, because they're someone else's standard. You have to read them, work out how they apply to your app, and change things to fit.
The facts themselves are simple enough:
- The Apple Developer Program costs $99 a year.
- Google Play charges a one-time US$25 registration fee.
- Apple says it typically reviews 90% of submissions in less than 48 hours.
- New personal Google Play accounts must run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days.
Those are easy to look up. Lining your actual app up with the rules is what takes the time.
What I changed for next time
I saved all the App Store rules I had to follow into one place, so the next app starts from that list and not from zero.
If I could give one tip to anyone shipping a first app, it'd be this: keep your own rules list from day one, and check it while you build, not just before you submit.
I turned what I learned into a step-by-step guide covering both stores: how to publish an app on the App Store and Google Play.
What tripped you up on your first submission?
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