Step-by-step Guide To Upload An App On Google Play Store

10 min readOct 9, 2023

Now that you are done with your app development process you would want to know the right method to upload your app to the Play Store. Without doing that, it is just sitting in the library gathering dust. Do not worry because we have you covered with our step-by-step guide to upload an app on Google Play Store. But first, let’s go review some facts.

According to Statista, from December 2009 to June 2023, there have been 2.59 million apps available on the Play Store. This saw a colossal rise since July 2013 when data showed only a million uploads in the Play Store. This implies that the Play Store is the perfect place for you to upload your app, test the market, gain customer feedback, and execute. You can consequently learn from your mistakes and develop the app in a more streamlined way next time.

However, the uploading process can be a little cumbersome and tiring if you do not understand what steps to follow. We have offered the right steps to publish your app on the Google Play Store. These steps will make your seemingly tiresome task, much easier and more convenient

Steps Guiding The Process Of Publishing Apps To Google Play Store

Make sure to follow the steps provided below in a chronological way to avoid any errors or mistakes during the uploading process.

1. Create a Google Play Developer Account

Before building the house comes the foundation on which the house has to be built. Creating an account in Google Developer is the first step in creating that foundation. You need to do this before moving onwards to the next steps as without a Google Developer account you cannot upload apps to Google Play.

There are multiple ways in which you can choose to do this. Some of these options available are any current Google account, a new account, private or corporate account. Regardless of the account your app resides in, you can always transfer it to some other account.

While registering in Google Developer, you also need to sign the Google Play Developer distribution agreement, add some personal information, and pay a minor $25 one-time registration fee. If you missed adding some important information to your account, you can edit the details later on. Google approves your registration in no more than 2 days.

2. Register a Merchant Account

If your app supports features such as in-app purchases, your Google developer account needs to be linked with a Google Wallet Merchant account for them to function during user input. To create a Merchant account you need to click on your Google Play Console account -> Financial Reports -> Set up a Merchant Account Now and then fill out the essential information.

Your Merchant account will then be linked to your Google Play Console showing you the statistics on app sales so you can manage them better.

3. Read Google Play Store Policies And Guidelines

By now if you have already tested and examined your app’s performance and functionality in multiple Android devices, make sure the app’s features do not violate the Google Play Store’s policies and guidelines.

The policies of Google Play Store declare that its quality standards must be maintained by keeping the app up to date and running frequent maintenance checks.

Make sure to go through the policies and guidelines carefully so that your app maintains its covering design, content, functionality, monetization, promotion, privacy along legal requirements.

4. Create Application

Once you have set up your account and linked it with the necessary add-ons you are good to go with your app uploading process. The next step is to create an application and submit it to the Google Play Store.

The steps given below will show you how to create an application on the Play Store once you are logged into your account:

Click on the ‘All Applications’ Tab on the menu.
Click on the ‘Create Application’ option on the tab.
Pick the app’s default language from the drop-down menu.
Choose the title of your app which can be edited or changed later on.
Lastly, click on ‘Create’.

When your app gets published, the title of your app is shown on Google Play. If you would like to make any changes to the title of your app, it can be done later on. Once the app is built, head to the store entry page to enter any of the additional store listing details.

5. Store Listing

Now comes the part where you need to prepare your app’s store listing. The details offered in the store listing will be visible to your customers. As a result, contacting your branding team to complete this task is recommended to develop the right app profile.

You can save drafts of the store listing or even finish it the first time. Make sure to take into consideration app store optimization. This is synonymous with SEO except over here your app gets more and more visibility and recognition around the Play Store so that people can download it.

The following information is required to complete this step:

Make sure to pick the most accurate and most memorable tile for no more than 50 characters, a short description for no more than 80 characters, and a complete description for no more than 4,000 characters.
For additional information include images, icons, videos, and additional graphical components.
Make sure to add the different translations of your app for multilingual audiences.
Pick your app’s category and type from the drop-down menu.
Fill in your details such as contact number, email address, and website.
Ensure to associate a link to your app’s privacy policy to view how your app collects, shares, and uses data.

6. Upload Android Package Kit (APK)

Once you have laid enough groundwork for your app, it is time you start laying bricks and building the house by uploading your APK file. APK implies the type of file that Android uses to store information, distribute, and download different apps on multiple Android mobile devices.

You can upload the APK file by easily dragging and dropping it into the box or even searching your file from the computer.

Below is a systematic process of how this unfolds:

An option ‘Release Management’ is available on the left side of the menu.
After clicking on that, continue to click on ‘App releases’.
Choose the kind of release you want to do. It can be internal, closed, open, or even a production test.

The first three kinds of releases are best for instant app testing; however, the latter one helps if your app has already been tested and is ready for the audience to explore.

7. Content Rating Addition

There needs to be a suitable age rating on the app which is appropriate for your target audiences. Make sure that you assess your app taking that into account.

A feature in the menu on the left side of the page called ‘Store Presence’ will take you to a space where you need to fill out the content rating questionnaire. Make sure to be transparent and fill out credible details otherwise, it will be a violation of Play Store’s policies leading to the suspension and removal of your app.

Rating your app is a vital part of the process since not doing so will lead to suspension and removal of your app from the Play Store.

8. Establish App Pricing and Availability

As we approach the final stages of building your house (uploading your app to the Google Play Store), you need to decide the price of your app along with the distribution model.

Due to Google Play’s monetization rules, a paid app can become free later on however, vice versa is not possible. As a result, it is important to identify your pricing model before it is released to the world on the Play Store.

The countries where your app will be released also need to be determined. You can either pick all the countries or select a limited number of countries where your app will be available for installation.

9. Configure, Test, and Publish your app

Providing the finishing touches to your house, you need to make sure that all the steps that you followed are in order and that there aren’t any mistakes or errors in the process. Before you click on ‘Confirm Rollout’, make sure you take into account the following things:

Double-check the price and availability, store listing, and content rating. If these boxes are green, you are good to go.
Proper functioning of all in-app purchases.
Examining purchase flows, restore, and subscription options.
Checking if the users receive the same content they were promised to before installation, once they make the purchase.
Make sure that your app aligns with legal policies such as privacy rules and data collection.
Ensuring that your app does not violate any intellectual property rights or include prohibited content.

Once you have checked all of the above, click on ‘Review’ to check if any minor warnings or issues have resurfaced or not. If not then you can click on ‘Confirm Rollout’. This will forward your app for review and 4 to 5 days later, your app will be available in all the targeted countries around the world on Google Play.

Post-App Submission

Building a house and forgetting to maintain it will not result in its longevity. In the case of your app, you need to focus on its post-development phase and maintenance once you have published it on the Play Store. Just like a product in real life, your app needs impactful online marketing which will encourage the customers to install your app on their mobile phones. Besides marketing, there also needs to be enough optimization as well to maintain the visibility of your app to Play Store users.

1. Develop your marketing strategy

To convince people to install your app on their mobile devices, there need to be effective marketing strategies underway which in return will increase leads, and visibility, and eventually drive sales. This can be done by following a few steps:

Analyze your strategy to pinpoint the pros and cons of it. Understand what strategies, campaigns, and channels do well for your business and the ones that can use some enhancement and refurbishment.
Organizing a Google business listing improves your online presence which in return helps other customers to find and connect with your business.
Tools like Google Analytics can help you determine your marketing performance which helps in understanding the target’s behavior.
Automated CRM integrations allow you to target the leads to optimize better conversion rates.
Under topicality, implement effective SEO strategies that incorporate content marketing which allows your app to rank number one on the search engine results page (SERP).
Run social media campaigns to convert potential leads with purchasing intent with content like visual text and engaging articles.
Design a social media calendar and interact with your target audience by providing them with insights into your business and hooky content like text, videos, images, etc.
Email marketing will help you in creating personalized email campaigns targeted to the right audience talking about your app’s features, discount offers, or other benefits.

Right from the start, you need to go in with the big guns to engage with your target audience and convince them with captivating content to install your app on their mobile devices. As a result, your marketing strategy must be as unique as it is effective since it will not only convert potential customers towards your app but also aid you in skyrocketing your business.

2. Maintenance and optimization of your app

Not making frequent checks and maintenance of your app will not convince anyone to install it. The signs of a decent app are more than just its features and benefits. There needs to be constant maintenance that keeps the app updated and functional for future and existing users. This is where maintenance and optimization come in. A few steps you can take to achieve this are:

Release consistent updates to repair bugs and other issues effectively.
Performance tracking can help in analyzing your app’s battery usage, processing speed, seamless functioning across devices, etc.
The addition of newer features, better benefits, and keeping up to date with the latest market trends will help in enhanced user engagement.
Always try to analyze user feedback to recognize what difference you can make to make the customer experience better than ever.
Safeguard your app from potential data leakage and information compromisation by implementing active security measures.

App maintenance will allow you to engage with more and better users on Google Play as the functionality and optimization are always kept top-notch.

Mobile App Development Best Practices for Play Store Success

When preparing to upload your mobile app to the Google Play Store, robust mobile app development practices are crucial. Prioritize user-centered design, optimal performance, data security, compatibility, adherence to Play Store guidelines, and comprehensive App Store Optimization (ASO) strategies. By incorporating these elements into your mobile app development process, you set the stage for a seamless and successful Play Store upload. This approach not only enhances the user experience but also increases the app’s visibility and rankings, ensuring it attracts users effectively.

Conclusion

Following the above steps will help you in not only launching your app on Google Play making it accessible to the world but also making it successful through effective marketing strategies and frequent maintenance and optimization.

Always remember, it is not just that releasing your app in the wild will help you in attracting a massive customer base but also the maintenance and optimization along with marketing that goes behind it will help in scaling it better. The latter is the first step to lead conversion convincing the people to install your app on their mobile devices.