For most Shopify store owners, the idea of publishing their store on mobile app stores triggers immediate anxiety. You've built your Shopify store without writing a single line of code. Adding products, setting up payments, configuring shipping, Shopify made all of that manageable. But the moment someone mentions submitting an app to Apple or Google, it feels like stepping into completely different territory. Between Apple's notoriously strict review guidelines, Google Play's technical requirements, and the sheer volume of assets and metadata both platforms demand, it's the kind of process that feels designed for developers. Not merchants running an ecommerce business.
The reality is that getting your app onto mobile app stores does involve a significant checklist. But with the right setup, the heavy lifting is handled for you. Here's exactly what the process involves, what you need to provide, and how Moby5 takes the complexity off your plate.
Why Getting Your App onto Mobile App Stores Feels Complicated
Shopify made it easy to launch an online store without technical expertise. App store submission, by contrast, was never designed with that same simplicity in mind, and submitting to both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store compounds the challenge. Submitting an app to the Apple App Store and Google Play Store isn't a single action. It's a multi-stage process that includes building and packaging the app, meeting platform-specific technical requirements, preparing a full set of store listing assets, passing review, and managing releases over time.
Traditionally, this requires a developer to build and sign the app, an Apple Developer account ($99/year), a Google Play Developer account ($25 one-time), and someone with experience navigating both platforms' submission portals. For a Shopify store owner whose expertise is merchandising, marketing, and customer experience, not managing app infrastructure this is a genuine barrier.
Moby5 is built specifically to remove that barrier. Because it connects directly to your Shopify store, the platform handles the technical side of submission entirely. What you interact with is a straightforward Deployment Configuration form inside the Moby5 middleware. No developer portal, no Xcode, no Android Studio.
What You Actually Need to Provide
While Moby5 handles the technical submission, there are store listing details that only you can provide. Your brand identity, your app's description, and the visual assets that represent your Shopify store in the App Store and Google Play. These are collected across a guided multi-step configuration flow inside the Moby5 middleware.
The very first step, Setup Configuration is where you enter your App Name (up to 30 characters), along with your company name, contact email, and phone number. The app name is what customers see in search results and on their home screen, so it's worth getting right from the start. Think of it as the mobile equivalent of your Shopify store name. It's your first impression in the app stores. One important note: the app name only takes effect after deployment and won't appear in preview mode.
Further along the flow, the Deployment Configuration step collects the rest of your store listing assets:
App Identity
- App Icon - A 1024x1024 pixel image (max 4MB). This is the icon customers see on their home screen and in search results. It should reflect your Shopify store's existing branding, your logo or a clean variation of it.
- Subtitle - Up to 30 characters. A short tagline that appears under your app name in search results on the mobile app stores. Use this to communicate your store's value proposition immediately.
- Category & Secondary Category - Select the primary and secondary categories your app falls under (e.g. Business). This affects discoverability in both stores.
- Age Restriction - Set the appropriate age rating for your store's content.
App Description & Messaging
- App Description - Up to 400 words describing your app. This is what potential customers read before deciding to download. A good starting point is your Shopify store's existing about page or brand messaging. Moby5 also includes a "Fill with AI" option that can generate a draft, which you can edit to match your voice.
- Promotional Text / Short Description - Up to 80 characters. This shorter blurb appears prominently in Google Play and can be updated without submitting a full app update.
- Keywords - Add relevant search terms to improve your app's discoverability. Think about the terms your Shopify customers already use to find your store.
- Release Notes - Up to 499 characters summarizing what's new in each version. Required with every update submission.
Visual Assets This is where most Shopify merchants spend the most time. Both platforms require screenshots that show your app in use across different devices:
- iOS iPhone Screenshots - 1 to 10 screenshots required.
- iOS iPad Screenshots - 1 to 10 screenshots required.
- Android Phone Screenshots - 1 to 8 screenshots required.
- Android Tablet Screenshots - Optional, up to 8 screenshots.
- Feature Graphics (Android) - A 1024x500 pixel banner image displayed at the top of your Google Play listing (max 4MB).
- Promo Video (Android) - Optional. Enter a YouTube URL to add a preview video to your Google Play listing.
Since Moby5 mirrors your Shopify store inside the app, your screenshots will reflect your actual product pages, collections, and checkout flow, which makes them straightforward to capture once your app is configured.
URLs
- Marketing Website URL - Your Shopify store URL or brand website.
- Support URL - Where customers can get help (your existing Shopify contact page works here).
- Privacy Policy URL - Required by both Apple and Google. Many Shopify stores already have a privacy policy page generated through Shopify. If yours does, that URL is all you need.
Technical
- Bundle ID - This is automatically set from your Firebase Android app configuration, so you don't. need to manually manage it.
- Primary Language - Defaults to English (US).
- Countries - Choose specific markets or select Worldwide to make your app available globally.
What Moby5 Handles For You
Once you've filled in the Deployment Configuration, Moby5 takes over everything that would otherwise require a developer:
- Building and packaging the app for both iOS and Android.
- Signing the app with the correct certificates.
- Packaging all assets and metadata to meet Apple and Google's technical specifications.
- Submitting to both stores for review.
- Managing updates and re-submissions.
This means you never need to touch App Store Connect or the Google Play Console directly. And because Moby5 syncs in real time with your Shopify store, any updates you make to your products, collections, or content on Shopify are automatically reflected in your app, without requiring a new submission each time.
How Long Does It Take?
The merchant's side filling in the Deployment Configuration can be completed in a few hours once you have your assets ready. For most Shopify store owners, the brand assets already exist: your logo, your store description, your privacy policy. The main task is preparing your screenshots and writing your app store listing copy.
The app store review process itself is outside anyone's control, but Apple typically reviews apps within 1–3 days, and Google Play within a few hours to 2 days for standard submissions.
The most common reason for delays is incomplete or non-compliant assets, particularly screenshots that don't meet size requirements or a missing privacy policy URL. Getting these right the first time is what keeps your submission moving.
The Bottom Line
Mobile app store submission isn't magic. It's a checklist. What makes it feel overwhelming is the combination of technical requirements, platform-specific rules, and the sheer number of assets involved. Moby5 handles the technical layer entirely, reducing your role to filling in your brand details, writing your store listing, and preparing your screenshots.
For a Shopify merchant, that's not a development project. Most of what you need already exists in your store. Your branding, your product descriptions, your privacy policy. Moby5 brings it all together, handles the submission, and puts your Shopify store live on the App Store and Google Play.
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