How to publish an app on the App Store
Ten steps from no developer account to a live listing, in the order you actually do them — with the things that trip up a first submission called out where they bite. Tick them off as you go.
Publishing on the App Store is mostly paperwork you can do in an afternoon, plus two things that take longer than people expect: verifying your developer account, and getting through review. Do the account work first and the rest is a checklist.
The App Store publishing checklist
Sign up at developer.apple.com and pay the Apple Developer Program membership, which is 99 US dollars per membership year. Enrol as an individual if you are publishing under your own name, or as an organization if you want the company name on the listing.
Organization enrolment needs a D-U-N-S number for your legal entity, and Apple verifies it. Request the D-U-N-S first — it is free but it is not instant, and it is the most common reason a first submission slips by a week.
In App Store Connect, open Business and accept the Paid Applications agreement, then add your bank and tax details. You need this even if your app is free but sells anything through in-app purchase.
A pending agreement silently blocks your app from going on sale. Clear it early rather than discovering it on launch day.
Create an App ID in the developer portal using reverse-DNS form, such as com.yourcompany.yourapp, then create the matching app in App Store Connect with its name, primary language, bundle ID and SKU.
The bundle ID is permanent. You cannot change it later, and you cannot reuse it for a different app, so pick it deliberately.
The App Store gives you two category slots. The primary category decides where you appear when people browse or filter, and whether you sit on the Apps tab or the Games tab; the secondary is an additional classification. If your app is a game you can also choose up to two Games subcategories. You set both in App Store Connect under App Information, General Information, Category.
Choose a category that genuinely describes your app. Deliberately miscategorising is against the App Review Guidelines, and it puts you in front of an audience that did not want you.
The App Store indexes three text fields for search: the title at 30 bytes, the subtitle at 30 bytes, and a hidden keyword field at 100 bytes. Front-load the words you most want to rank for. The long description is not indexed for search on iOS, so write it for conversion instead.
Apple budgets these fields in UTF-8 BYTES, not characters. An accented letter costs two and an em dash costs three, so a title that looks 29 characters long can still be rejected. In the keyword field use commas with no spaces, singular forms, and never repeat a word already in your title or subtitle — Apple indexes each word once, so a repeat is a wasted byte.
Count bytes against the real limits →Generate name and subtitle ideas →
Upload your 1024 by 1024 icon and screenshots for the required device sizes. You can add up to 10 screenshots per device and up to three app previews of 15 to 30 seconds each. Previews autoplay muted in search results, so the first seconds have to show the actual product.
Only the first two or three screenshots are visible before a viewer has to scroll, and most never do. Put your strongest message in those, with readable captions rather than bare UI dumps.
Check every required size →Resize one screenshot to all of them →
Complete the App Privacy questionnaire describing exactly what data your app and every third-party SDK collects, answer the age-rating questionnaire, and add your support URL and privacy policy URL.
From September 2026 Apple also requires you to declare whether your app includes social media capabilities before you can submit new versions or updates. Answer the privacy questions against what your SDKs actually do, not what you intended — mismatches are a common rejection.
Archive your app in Xcode and upload the build to App Store Connect, then install it through TestFlight and run through the app end to end on a real device. Internal testers are available immediately; external testers go through a lightweight Beta App Review.
Test the exact build you are about to submit, on a real device, from a clean install. Reviewers do, and a crash on first launch is the single fastest way to be rejected.
Attach the build to your version, add notes for the reviewer including a demo account if any part of the app is behind a login, then submit. Choose manual release if you want to control the exact moment, or phased release to roll the update out gradually to existing users.
If a reviewer cannot get past your login, you will be rejected for it. Give working credentials and, if you need one, a note explaining any hardware or region requirement.
Once the app is live, open the real store listing and read it as a stranger would. Then measure it: scan the listing, see which words you are actually indexed for, and fix the weakest field first.
Your listing is not finished at launch. Title, subtitle, keywords and screenshots are the things you iterate on for as long as the app exists.
What is different about the App Store
If you have published on Google Play before, four things will surprise you. The App Store gives you two categories rather than one. It has a hidden keyword field that Google has no equivalent for. Its text fields are budgeted in bytes, not characters. And your long description is not indexed for search at all — on iOS it is purely a conversion asset, where on Play it is a ranking signal.
Publishing on both? The Google Play guide covers the other side, including the testing requirement that catches every new personal account.
FAQ
Publishing on the App Store: FAQ
How much does it cost to publish an app on the App Store?
The Apple Developer Program costs 99 US dollars per membership year, and it renews annually. There is no separate per-app fee. If you sell anything, Apple takes a commission on those sales, and prices are shown in local currency during enrolment.
How long does App Store review take?
Apple does not publish a guaranteed turnaround, and it varies by app and time of year. Plan for it to take days rather than hours, and expect at least one round of feedback on a first submission. The things that reliably slow a first review down are an incomplete App Privacy questionnaire, a login the reviewer cannot get past, and crashes on launch.
Do I need a company to publish on the App Store?
No. You can enrol in the Apple Developer Program as an individual, and your own name appears as the seller. Enrol as an organization if you want a company name on the listing — that route additionally requires a D-U-N-S number for the legal entity, which Apple verifies.
How many categories can I choose on the App Store?
Two: a primary and a secondary category. The primary is the one that matters most for discovery — it decides where your app appears when people browse or filter the store and whether it sits on the Apps tab or the Games tab. Games can additionally select up to two Games subcategories.
What is the iOS keyword field and how do I use it?
It is a hidden 100-byte field in App Store Connect that Apple indexes for search but never shows to users. Separate terms with commas and no spaces, use singular forms, and do not repeat any word that already appears in your title or subtitle — Apple indexes each word once, so repeating one wastes part of your budget.
Can I change my app name or category after it is published?
Yes. Name, subtitle, keywords and categories are all editable in App Store Connect under App Information; metadata changes are reviewed with your next submission. The bundle ID is the one thing you cannot change after the app record exists.
SOURCES
- Apple — App Store categories and discoverability
- Apple — App Information reference (App Store Connect Help)
- Apple — Apple Developer Program membership
- Apple — App Review Guidelines
Verified against Apple's official documentation on 17 August 2026.
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