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How to submit an iPhone App to the App Store

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You have now completed your first iOS application with Appy Pie, and you are ready to submit your iPhone app to Apple’s App Store. But the question that looms large is how to submit your iPhone app to the Apple App Store. Where to begin and how to go about getting your app live on Apple App Store.

The first time you submit a mobile application to the App Store is exciting and nerve-racking at the same time. Even for experienced iOS developers, submitting a mobile application to the App Store is often a stressful undertaking because it is something that most developers don’t do on a daily basis.

First things first! Before you go and start the process of submitting an iOS application to the App Store, you need to create an Apple Developer account.

How to create an Apple Developer account?

The process to create an Apple Developer account may be unfamiliar to a first-time app publisher. Don’t worry, we have a detailed Step-by-Step guide to register for Apple Developer account right here.

Step 1: Create your own unique Apple ID

1. Go to the Apple Developer Portal
2. Click on the “Accounts” tab



3. Next, click on the “Create Apple ID” button



4. At this point, you need to enter all the required information before clicking on “Create Apple ID”
5. You would then receive an email with a verification link. Click on the link to verify your email address.

Step 2: Register your developer account with Apple

1. Go to the Apple Developer Portal
2. Enter your App Developer account credentials including your Apple ID and password, then Sign In



3. Study the Apple Developer Agreement, review it, check the box against the confirmation and then click on the “Submit” button



4. On the next screen, click on “Join the Apple Developer Program”



5. Next, click on the “Enroll” button



6. Now click on the “Start your Enrolment” button



7. On the next page, you need to select the “Entity Type” like individual, company/organization, government etc., then click on the “Continue” button.



8. Enter your contact information in detail on the next screen



9. Next, look into the Apple Developer Program License Agreement, check the box to confirm your agreement and then click on the “Continue” button



10. Click on the “Purchase” button to complete your purchase which includes an annual fee of $99
11. Next, enter all your payment information and click on the “Continue” button to make the payment

How to publish an iPhone app to Apple App Store?

Once you have enrolled for Apple Developer Program, it is time to publish your iPhone app to the Apple App Store.

Step 1: Download your .CSR file

1. Go through the following Steps to download .CSR file

My Apps >> Go Live >> iphone_Publish >>Publish Yourself>>Next>> Download .CSR file

2. Download Certificate Signing Request (.CSR)

To download your .ipa file, you need to follow the Steps listed below.

Step 2: Create a Distribution Certificate

1. Go to Apple Developer platform
2. Click on the “Account” tab



3. Sign in to your Apple Developer account by entering your credentials or create an account by clicking on the “Create yours now” link



4. On the dashboard, you can click on the “Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles” option



5. Click on the “+” icon next to “Certificates”



6. On the “Create a New Certificate” screen under the “Software” section, select the option “iOS Distribution (App Store and Ad Hoc)



7. Now click on “Continue”



8. Upload the .CSR certificate by clicking on “Choose File”



9. Click on the “Continue” button to finish creating Distribution Certificate



10. Click on the “Download” button

Step 3: Create a Bundle ID

1. Go to the “Identifiers” tab



2. Click on the “+” icon right next to “Identifiers” on the screen



3. On the “Register a New Identifier” screen, choose the “App IDs” option and click on the “Continue” button



4. Fill in the details like Description and Bundle ID.



5. Now, click on the “Continue” button



6. Click on the “Register” button

Step 4: Insert APNs certificate

1. In the identifiers section, choose the App ID that you plan to submit



2. Next, click on the “Configure” button right next to “Push Notifications”



3. The next Step is to create Development and Production SSL Certificate. On the pop up, click on the “Create Certificate” button



4. Now, click on the “Choose File” link to upload .CSR file



5. After the file is uploaded, click on the “Continue” button



6. Next, click on the “Download” button

Step 5: Create your distribution provisioning profile

1. Go to the “Profiles” tab



2. Next, click on “All Types” for a dropdown menu to appear



3. From the dropdown menu, click on “Distribution”



4. Now, click on the “+” icon right next to “Profiles”



5. In the new menu, under the “Distribution” section, select “App Store” option



6. Now, click on the “Continue” button



7. Now click on the little down arrow next to “App ID” for a dropdown menu



8. From the dropdown, select the App ID for the app that you want to publish on the app store



9. Once you have selected the correct app, click on the “Continue” button



10. Next, you need to select the certificate



11. Next, click on the “Continue” button



12. Here, you need to enter the provisioning Profile Name in the appropriate field



13. Now, click on the “Generate” button



14. Click on the “Download” button to Generate the Provisioning Profile

Step 6: Entering your app on iTunes Connect

1. Go to iTunes Connect



2. Click on the “My Apps” icon



3. Click on the “+” sign for a dropdown and click on the “New App” button



4. Choose between iOS and tvOS depending on where you want your app to be used and fill in all the other important details like the name of your app, the primary language you would be creating your app content in, the Bundle ID from your certificates, and SKU. Once you are done with this, you can click on the “Create” button



5. On the “App Information” tab, choose the correct category for your app



6. Under the “Pricing and Availability” tab, choose the appropriate pricing tier



7. Upload the app screenshots now



8. In the “1.0 Prepare for Submission Now” section fill in the relevant details



9. Now, add further details like app icons, app version, rating, copyright, and more!



10. Next, add all your contact information

Step 7: Upload your app from Transporter app

1. On your Mac, open the Transporter app, if you have one. If, however, you do not have one, you can download it from Build, under the Prepare for Submission section and click on the link “See supported versions”



2. Next, click on the “Upload tools” link



3. Click on the section marked “Upload your app binary files with the Transporter app”



4. Next, click on the link “download the Transporter app”



5. The next Step would be to click on the “View in Mac App Store”



6. Now click on the download icon to get the Transporter app



7. Now, click on the “Open” button



8. Click on the “+” icon



9. Choose the app that you would like to submit, and then click “Open”



10. On the next screen, click on the “Next” button



11. At this point, you would have to wait for the application loader to load your file. After your file is successfully uploaded, there will be a green check to signify that your mobile app has been submitted to Apple App Store.

Please Note that in case you receive an error message of any kind, only then should you click on “Send” and re-add your application


12. Now that you have successfully added your mobile app to the Apple App Store, you can click on the “Done” button

Step 8: Submitting your app for review

1. Login to your iTunes Connect account
2. Click on the “My Apps” icon before clicking on the app you want to submit for review



3. Go to the tab marked “1.0 Prepare for Submission Now” and click on the “+” right next to “Build”

Please note that it may take anywhere between 30 minutes to 1 hour for the app to reflect in the Build section


4. Once the build appears, choose the most recent one, and then click on the “Done” button



5. Now, click on the “Save” button.



6. After it is saved, you can click on “Submit for Review”



7. If your app will display ads, then choose Yes, for all other options, please select No

This brings us to the end of the process of submitting an app. If you did everything right, the status of your application will change to “Waiting for Review”. From that moment on, it may take 2-4 days for Apple to review your app. However, the time does fluctuate, and it may happen sooner or later than you expect.

Are you planning to create an iOS app? What are the challenges you faced while submitting your app on Apple App Store? Let us know in the comments section and we would love to help you out!