Submitting Your iOS App to the Apple App Store

In this lesson, we’ll take you through how to submit iOS apps to the Apple App Store.

Remember: This should go without saying, but don’t submit any of the example projects included in this course. Feel free to use the code how you see fit, but make sure the apps you submit genuinely are your own to avoid legal complications and accusations of plagiarism or theft, if nothing else.

Before we can submit our app, we’ll need to ensure that we have completed the following steps:

• Registered as an Apple Developer.
• Registered with the iOS developer program.
• Ensured that the app complies with the Apple Store Review Guidelines. If it doesn’t, the chances of the app being rejected are pretty high.
• Have tested the app thoroughly and fixed any bugs or issues in the process.

Be aware that membership to the iOS Developer program incurs an annual fee of $100. If annual payments are not renewed, the apps will no longer be available on the Apple App Store (unlike Google Play which has a one-off registration fee for membership).

Assuming that the above conditions are met, we’ll proceed with the following steps:

• Create an app listing on the App Store.
• Submit an iOS app through Xcode.
• Use Apple’s TestFlight to test the submitted iOS app.
• Publish our app for App Store review.

Creating an app listing on the App Store

There are a few hurdles to clear when setting up your App Store listing, but they are, thankfully, relatively simple to work through.

The following screen captures and explanations will document this process visually and help guide you through each step.

In the web browser, navigate to the iTunes Connect portal and log into your developer account. Once logged in, select the “My Apps” link from the displayed navigation options on the iTunes Connect dashboard page: