Getting your app onto the App Store and Google Play

To publish an app on the App Store and Google Play you need four things: an Apple developer account, a Google Play developer account, a store listing with screenshots and a privacy policy, and an app that passes each store’s review. The app can be published under your company’s developer accounts or under mine. Either way, I do the builds, the submissions and the review.

The two developer accounts

Apple. The Apple Developer Program has a yearly fee. A company signs up as an organization, and Apple checks the company is real first. Your company’s name is then shown as the seller on the App Store. The checks can take days, so start early.

Google. A Google Play Console account publishes the Android app. If you sign up as an individual, Google asks new personal accounts to run a closed test first: at least 12 testers, for 14 days in a row, before the app can go public. Plan for those two weeks, or sign up as a company.

Whose name the app is under

If I host and run the app for you, it can be published under my accounts, which keeps the cost down. Or it can be published under your company’s accounts, which costs significantly more but leaves you fully independent.

The store listing

Each store asks for:

• The app’s name, a short description and an icon.
• Screenshots of the app on phones.
• A link to a privacy policy page.
• Answers about what data the app collects and why.
• A support contact.

Testing before launch

Both stores have test releases: TestFlight on iPhone, and testing tracks on Google Play. You and your team use the real app before the public sees it.

Store review

Each store reviews the app before it goes live, and reviews later releases too. A first review can come back with questions or a rejection to fix. Apple’s guidelines also ask that an app go beyond a repackaged website.

Updates after launch

Most fixes reach people’s phones straight away, without a new store review. Bigger changes need a new store release and another review.

What you do, and what I do

• You: if the app is published under your company, create the two developer accounts in its name and add me to them.
• Me: the builds, the store listings, the test releases, the submissions, and answering each store’s review.

FAQ

How long does store review take? It varies. Plan for days, not hours, for a first release.

Do I need a Mac? No. The apps are built in the cloud.

What if the app is rejected? The review says why. The app is fixed and sent again.

Can I publish my Lovable or Replit app as it is? It’s usually a web app, so it needs to become a real phone app first. See turning your Lovable, Replit or Bolt app into an iPhone and Android app.