My App Publishing Journey: Insights and Success
Hey there, fellow app enthusiasts! I'm here to share my voyage into the world of app publishing, and trust me, it's been quite the ride. With about 10 years of industry experience under my belt, I embarked on this exciting journey with a positive and light-hearted spirit. You all know I'm more of a cloud and infrastructure engineer than a mobile engineer, so this is bound to be an interesting story. Let's dive into my adventure!
The Apple Developer License Cost
So, let's talk dollars and cents first. The Apple Developer license sets you back $99 a year. 💰 For someone with a bit of industry experience, it's an investment in opportunities that's totally worth it. The Google Play license is a one time payment of $25 in comparison, which isn't bad at all.
Expo and EAS
To keep things streamlined, I chose the Expo framework combined with EAS (Expo Application Services) to develop my apps. This combo worked out well for me because I didn't dive too deep into native features. 🌐 It was also a choice made largely due to my familiarity with web frameworks.
Screenshots: A Tale of Simulators and Emulators
Capturing screenshots across a multitude of simulators and emulators, well, let's just say it's a task. 📸 At one point, I had a wild setup with 4 different iOS simulators and 2 Android emulators running simultaneously just to get all the screenshots I needed. It was like a virtual circus, but hey, the show must go on!
Privacy Policies
Privacy policies are a must on both the Apple App Store and Google Play. Crafting them was a task, but I want to give a shoutout to freeprivacypolicy.com. They made the process much smoother and less intimidating.
Support Site: Built on GitLab Pages
Apple requires you to provide a support site on the App Store. The good news is that setting up a static website is a breeze with GitLab Pages. It's made this aspect of the process surprisingly painless.
App Review Process
One interesting observation was the difference in the review process between the App Store and Google Play. Google Play typically gave my apps the green light in about a day or two 🏁. On the other hand, the App Store took its time, usually between 3 to 5 days. With the App Store, I did however have to re-submit my app once before it was finally posted, but the process was still quite painless.
Download Numbers: iOS vs. Android
Here's the exciting part: my apps have been downloaded approximately 100 times on iOS! 📱 In contrast, Android has seen just 2 downloads (and I'm pretty sure both were just my test runs). Huge thanks to my supportive wife, who went the extra mile to promote my apps on her Facebook page.
To wrap it up, my journey to publishing apps on the App Store has been an adventure filled with learning experiences and moments of triumph. If you're an industry veteran looking to venture into app development, take the plunge! It's a journey well worth embarking on.
iOS App Links:
Android App Links:
Remember, experience in the industry doesn't mean you can't embrace new adventures. Stay positive, keep learning, and enjoy the journey! 🚀