How is an app published to the App Store and Google Play?

Publishing an app means three steps: opening developer accounts with Apple and Google in your company's name, preparing what the stores ask for — icon, description, screenshots and a link to a privacy policy — and submitting the app for review, which both platforms do by hand. With me that step is included in the price of the app, which starts at 2500 KM.

That is the short answer. The longer answer is what actually drags in practice — and where a week usually gets lost for no reason at all.

Two accounts, both in your name

An app cannot be published without them. Apple has the Developer Program with an annual membership fee, Google has Play Console with a one-off registration fee. I am not putting the amounts here because they change — I list them exactly in the quote, with a link to the source.

More important than the price is whose name sits on the account. To the stores, the account holder is the app's owner. If the app is published through your contractor's account, you cannot move it without their cooperation. Same rule as for a domain and hosting: everything in your name, from day one.

One thing surprises everyone: for companies, Apple also asks for a D-U-N-S number, a free business identifier. It does not arrive the same day. That is why I ask for it at the start of a project, not once the app is finished.

What the stores ask you for

This is the list nobody mentions in the first meeting:

• An icon in the required sizes.
• Screenshots for several screen formats, phone and tablet.
• A name, a short and a long description, a category and keywords.
• A contact email and company address, publicly visible.
• A privacy policy at a public link.
• A data declaration covering what the app collects — Apple and Google each ask separately, on their own form.
• A test account for the reviewer, if the app requires a login.

I prepare everything technical. Two things have to come from you: correct contact details and the privacy policy. That second document is a legal text and I do not write it — someone responsible for it inside your company has to sign off on it. I publish it and link it where the stores ask.

Review: what happens after I submit

A person reviews the app. Google is usually faster, Apple more thorough. Neither platform guarantees a turnaround, and that is the only reason I never tie a launch date to a campaign that already has a fixed slot.

In practice: an app that is technically finished on Monday is not necessarily in the store on Wednesday. If you are aiming at an opening, a trade fair or a season, we count backwards from that date and submit early.

Why a first version sometimes gets rejected

Rejection is a normal part of the process, not a sign something has failed. The usual reasons:

• The reviewer cannot log in because there is no test account.
• The store description promises a feature the app does not have.
• The app asks for a permission — location, camera, notifications — without explaining why.
• The privacy policy does not cover what the app actually collects.
• The app is essentially a website in a frame, with nothing a phone adds on top.

The answer always comes with an explanation. You fix it, submit again, done. It costs time, not money — fixing it is part of the work you already paid for.

What next

If you have an app idea and want to know what publishing means in your case, see how I build mobile apps or write to me. A message saying what the app should do and who it is for is enough. I reply the same day.

Frequently asked

Can I publish as an individual, without a company? You can, both stores allow it. But your personal name shows publicly as the publisher, and moving the account to a company later is not simple. If the company already exists, open the account in its name straight away.

What if I want to change something after launch? Every change goes through a new review, on both iOS and Android. That is why I collect small fixes into one version instead of shipping five updates in a week. Urgent things, of course, go out immediately.