How to Submit Your App to the App Store

How to Submit Your App to the App Store
Create Your Apple ID
The first thing you need to do when submitting your app to the App Store is to create your Apple ID. This Apple ID will be used to access all the services provided by Apple.

Enroll in the Apple Developer Program
The next step to submit your app to the App Store is to enroll in the Apple Developer Program. You can log in to the Apple Developer Program using your Apple ID.

Membership in the App Developer Program will provide the following benefits:

Tools and resources for app development and distribution
Access to beta software
Full suite of services with advanced features
App testing tools
Expert technical support
App analytics tools and advanced features
Sign in to App Store Connect
App Store Connect is a website where you can manage all the operations you want to perform with your app in the App Store. Sign in to App Store Connect using your Apple ID.

Make Your App Ready for Submission
Before submitting your app to the App Store, you need to go through the app certification process. This process involves having your app reviewed by professionals based on the App Store Review Guidelines. Read this document carefully and make sure your app complies with the guidelines, as the reviewers will judge your app based on these policies.

In addition to the app store guidelines, make sure your app doesn't have any bugs. If the reviewer finds any errors in your app, he/she will reject it from entering the App Store. Therefore, testing is very necessary. Don't just test your app casually. Perform tests under abnormal conditions, such as low network, low storage space, older devices, etc. Test your app with the help of friends and family. TestFlight can help you invite testers and provide feedback before releasing your app to the App Store. It allows you to invite up to 10,000 testers using their email IDs.

Create App Store Listing Using App Store Connect
Follow these steps to create an App Store listing:

Step 1: Sign in to App Store Connect.

Step 2: From the App Store Connect Dashboard, select My Apps.

Step 3: Now, click on the "+" sign at the top left corner and select "New App".

Step 4: Choose the platforms on which your app is available. Fill in all the additional information about your app such as name, language, bundle ID, SKU, and user access permissions. If you are unsure about any field, you can use the "?" symbol to learn more. Click Create when done.

Step 5: Select App Information from the left panel. Add localized and general information for your app, including subtitles and categories.

Define content rights for your app.

Define age rating for your app.

Step 6: Now, select Pricing and Availability from the left panel. Define the pricing and other required details for your app.

Step 7: Next is App Privacy. Enter the privacy policy URL. Use an online privacy policy generator to help you with this.

Note: The guide continues with more steps not included here.

Step 8: Next, select "1.0 Prepare for Submission" from the left sidebar. Scroll down and choose how you want to release your app after it goes through the certification process:

Manual – Go to App Store Connect to release the app.
Automatic – Automatically release the app.
Specific Date – Schedule a specific release date for the app.
Version Release

Upload App Store Screenshots and Previews
You need to visually connect with users using images and videos. For this purpose, the App Store allows you to add previews and screenshots.

Previews are short videos from your app. Check the App Preview Specifications for more information.

Screenshots are images that illustrate the features of your app. Check the Screenshot Specifications for more information.

Make sure to follow the specifications provided by the App Store to minimize the chances of your app being rejected.

The App Store allows you to add previews and screenshots for 4 different screen sizes. You can add up to 3 app previews and 10 screenshots per display.

App Screenshots

It asks us to provide app screenshots for various resolutions of iOS devices. If we don't have access to all these devices for taking screenshots, we can use the screenshot generation feature provided by AppUploader: https://www.applicationloader.net/

After completing the screenshots, scroll down, and you will be prompted to upload a build version:

Upload Build Version

However, we noticed that the official upload tool provided can only be installed on a Mac computer. Here, we will not use the recommended tool and instead continue using the AppUploader mentioned in the previous step to upload the IPA.

Switch to the AppUploader interface for uploading the IPA to the App Store. Click on "Upload new file" to bring up the following interface. Enter your Apple Developer account username and the dedicated upload password to upload the IPA file as shown in the image below:
Upload IPA

Note that the dedicated upload password here is not your developer login password but a specific password. The tutorial for setting up this dedicated password can be found in the upload popup interface provided by the appuploder; follow its instructions to set the dedicated password.