Introduction

In this reading, you will go through the necessary steps to upload your application to the iOS App Store.

Before diving deeper into this reading, you need to make sure that your application builds and runs successfully and that you tested your application for any possible bugs that could hurt your potential users while using the application.

Testing your app

To refresh your memory on all the details about app testing, sharing your application with as many testers as possible, and other prerequisites for this step, go to previous videos in this lesson:

• App Store submission process

• Preparing your app for submission

• Building and testing your app

App Store Connect

Once all the prerequisite steps are done and successfully performed, you will be able to continue with the process of submitting your application to the App Store. As already mentioned, to submit your application you will need to log in to App Store Connect with a valid Apple Developer account. This login page can be found here .

Once you are logged in, under the My Apps icon you will be able to start with a new app submission.

When listing a brand-new application in the App Store, you will need to choose a name for your application and a category where it will belong. Currently, the App Store is home to more than two million applications with hundreds of categories, so choose the category carefully.

Also, it is very important to input a valid Bundle ID and choose a main language for your application. App Privacy Policy is another key piece of information you will have to submit and for that, you will need to have a linkable source where you host the privacy policy.

Pricing

If you are going to charge users to use your application, this is when you set the actual price of the application. The price can be in US Dollars, British Pounds, Euros, or other currencies that are supported by Apple.

Another interesting feature inside App Store Connect is that you can mark your application to be available for pre-order. By doing this, customers can pay for your application before it is actually released and submitted to the App Store, and the download of the application will be automatically started once your application is submitted to the App Store.

Create an archive from XCode

The next step in the submission process is to create an archive from your XCode project to be able to have a Build version of your application.

This version of your application will be submitted for review to have a final version of your application uploaded to the App Store.

Archiving your application is a required process that ensures you have a valid Build for your application submission.

Starting the archive

To create an archive from your application you need to open XCode and under the simulator devices and you need to choose generic iOS Device . Choosing this option will enable you to create an archive because the archiving option will not be visible. After the archiving option is enabled, you will be able to continue with the process.

Initiating the archive

By going to Product > Archive the archiving process will be initiated. The time can be different due to multiple factors such as application complexity and size, and the power of the Mac device you are using.

Distributing the archive

After the archiving process is successfully completed, you will be able to choose to Distribute your application to the App Store . These words are highlighted since there are multiple options for how and where you would like to distribute your application.

Uploading the archive

The uploading process of your build version will start and the time it will take will be heavily dependent on the speed of your internet connection. After the distribution process is done, it will take some time for the App Store Connect to synchronize but in 15-30 minutes you should be able to check for new build versions under the All Builds tab.

You will receive an email once your application is successfully archived and distributed to App Store Connect.

Submitting your application

Once you come to this step you are very close to having your application submitted to the App Store. You will need to choose the build version you want to submit, and press Submit for Review or just the Submit button.

Note: This will depend on the version of the App Store Connect website and it can change in the future but one of the two versions should be available.

Once you submit your application for review, Apple staff will review your application and check for any potential issues. If any problems are found, they will report back to you so the issues can be fixed and improved.

Conclusion

And that concludes how to submit your application to the Apple App store. You have learned the necessary steps for preparing the application, filling out the correct settings in App Store Connect and submitting it for approval.