As Apple's official app store, the App Store's strict review cycle has been a headache for users. Many apps have "dead" in the review process. Are we going to give up iOS users? of course not! In this issue, we start from the iOS app listing process, and learn more about the things about the iOS app listing.
The overall process of launching an iOS app:
1 Log in to the Apple Developer Center and register a developer account.
If you are applying for registration for the first time and use your Apple ID to log in to the Apple Developer website, you need to agree to the "Apple Developer Agreement" and submit the request. At this time, your Apple ID has become a A developer ID too. As shown in Figure 1-1:
Apple Developer Center URL: https://developer.apple.com/
Figure 1-1 Agree to the Apple Developer Agreement and submit the application
2Apply
for a paid developer and join the Apple Development Program
Figure 2-1 Join the Apple Developer Program
Figure 2-2 Start registration
Figure 2-3 Registration instructions
Supplementary Note 2-1:
Two-factor verification related to
Apple's new regulations Apple ID needs to enable two-factor verification to register a developer account, so before joining the developer, you need to follow the prompts to turn on the device for two-factor verification; the verification method is to log in to iCloud on the computer and verify according to the prompts (or other devices, For example, log in to the mobile phone for double verification), the following are some related pictures
Figure 2-4 Double verification related
Figure 2-5 Double verification related
Figure 2-6 Select developer type
Supplementary Note 2-2:
Apple Developer Account
Personal Account: An account used by individuals to apply for developing Apple Apps. It is limited to personal use and can be used to publish applications in the App Store. It is relatively easy to apply, ￥688.00/year ($99.00/year).
Company account: The developer account applied in the name of the company is used for sharing by developers within the company, and can publish applications in the App Store. The application process is relatively troublesome, ￥688.00/year ($99.00/year).
Enterprise account: generally an enterprise with more than 500 employees. It is used for internal testing and distribution of applications. It cannot publish applications in the App Store. The application process is relatively cumbersome, ￥1988/($299.00/year).
Different developer account steps and required information
Fill in the detailed registration information, unify the relevant agreements, and click to continue to enter the payment page after passing the verification review. For specific steps, refer to Figure 2-7:
Figure 2-7 Fill in the registration information
Figure 2-8 Agree to the agreement and continue
Figure 2-9 Registration waiting for verification to pass
Figure 2-10 Payment
Figure 2-11 Login again
Figure 2-12 The page for filling in payment information
After the payment is successful, Apple will process the order within 48 hours, and then you may receive an email requesting to upload a photo of your ID card on the specified page.
If you encounter any problems, you can call Apple's after-sales service number 4006701855.
Supplementary Notes 2-3:
Application for DUNS DUNS
DUNS code is equivalent to the company registering its own ID card in an authoritative organization recognized by Apple; you can click on the relevant link to verify first, and you can apply directly if you don't. For specific application steps, please refer to Baidu experience: https://jingyan.baidu.com/article/27fa7326bd29df46f9271f10.html
3Creating certificates
Several certificates are required to develop iOS applications using the APICloud platform. The following figure shows where each certificate is used. Next is the creation tutorial for each certificate.
4 Create an App ID
First open the Apple development website and enter the development account through Account, as shown in the figure:
After successful login, select Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles (if there is no such item, please refer to the instructions at the beginning of the tutorial), as shown in the figure:
As shown in the figure, select Identifiers on the left menu, and then click the Add button
Select App IDs and click the Continue button in the upper right corner
Select Explicit in the Bundle ID, and fill in the ID of your own project. The ID filled in here is the App IDs that need to be filled in the console upload certificate page
If the application needs to use the push function, check the Push Notifications item in the Capabilities list below, and click Continue
After confirming that the information is correct, click Register to complete the creation.
5 Cloud Compile p12 certificate creation
If a certificate already exists under the development account, you can skip the step of creating it. One certificate under one account is enough, and multiple applications can share it.
Generate certSigningRequest file
As shown in the figure, open Application -> Utilities -> Keychain Access
As shown in the figure, select Request a certificate from a certificate authority
Next, fill in the email address, choose to save to disk, and click Continue
As shown in the figure, save the file to the desktop.
Make a p12 certificate
as shown in the picture, click Certificates on the left, and then click the Add button
As shown in the figure, if it is a personal or company account, select iOS Distribution (App Store and Ad Hoc), if it is an enterprise account, select In-House and Ad Hoc, and click Continue
As shown in the figure, select Choose File to select the certSigningRequest file generated before, and click Continue to complete the creation
As shown in the figure, the cer certificate is successfully created, click Download to download the certificate to the local
Double-click to open the certificate and install it to the keychain. If the installation prompt pops up, select to install to "Login", and find the installed certificate in the keychain. If it prompts that the certificate is signed by an unknown authority, please download Apple Worldwide Developer Relations Certification Authority certificate to install, address http://developer.apple.com/certificationauthority/AppleWWDRCA.cer, select "Login" and "My Certificate" on the left, find the certificate, right click on the certificate, and then select in the menu Export the certificate, as shown in the figure:
Specify the certificate name on the pop-up page, click Save, then enter the certificate password (this password is entered on the console upload certificate page), and click OK to generate a p12 format certificate.
6Create a mobileprovision release certificate for cloud compilation
Here, the App Store type release certificate for personal and company accounts is used as an example, and the In House type release certificate for enterprise accounts is similar.
App Store Type Certificate
App Store certificates can only be used to publish applications to the AppStore, and cannot be installed on non-jailbroken devices. As shown in the figure, click Profiles on the left menu, and then click the Add button
Select App Store and click Continue
As shown in the figure, select the App ID created above and click Continue
As shown in the figure, select certificates and click Continue
Enter the certificate name and click Generate to complete the creation
7 Cloud compilation mobileprovision test certificate production
The App Store type mobileprovision certificate generated by a personal or company account, the application can only be installed on the jailbroken device before it is released to the App Store, if it is to be installed on a non-jailbroken mobile phone, you need to add the device udid to the test device list Devices, And generate Ad Hoc type mobileprovision certificate.
Obtaining the device udid
Obtaining the device udid can be obtained through the old version of iTunes (the latest version cannot be obtained), macOS Catalina and newer systems can be obtained directly through the "Finder", and can also be obtained through other mobile assistants.
1. In macOS Catalina and updated systems, it can be obtained through the "Finder". Open the "Finder" and connect the device, as shown in the figure, after clicking the area above the line, the serial number and udid information will be displayed, and then click the right mouse button to copy (the copied content includes the serial number, udid, etc., you need to manually filter the udid) .
2. Get it through the old version of iTunes. Open iTunes, connect the device, as shown in the picture, find the serial number, then click the serial number, the column will change to UDID, click the right mouse button, and copy the UDID.
Add test equipment
Select Devices on the left menu as shown in the figure, and click the Add button
Enter Name and obtained UDID, click Continue
Click Register, and finally click Done to complete adding devices.
Ad Hoc certificates
For personal and company accounts, Ad Hoc certificates can be installed on designated test equipment for debugging. As shown in the figure, click Profiles on the left menu, and then click the Add button
As shown in the figure, select Ad Hoc, click Continue to enter the next step
As shown in the figure, select the App ID and click Continue to enter the next step
As shown in the figure, select certificates, click Continue to enter the next step
Select the device and click Continue
Enter the certificate name and click Generate to complete the creation
For more details, see: https://docs.apicloud.com/Dev-Guide/iOS-License-Application-Guidance#1
8 Create an App
Figure 6-1 Enter iTunes Connect
Figure 6-2 Create a new App
Supplementary Note 6-1 "Name" is the name displayed in the App Store for the newly created app; "SKU" can be filled with the date of the day plus a number, which is an identifier you specify for your app.
Figure 6-3 Click "1.0 Ready to Submit" to fill in App-related information
Then add preview images and screenshots, write application descriptions and keywords, set application icons and edit application ratings, application icons must provide 1024x1024 pictures and pictures cannot be set with alpha channel (transparency); application ratings are to determine the age group of the application user group .
Supplementary Note 6-2 Apple's official specification requirements for app screenshots and previews:
Note: If your app has features that require login, you must provide a demo account for reviewing the app.
Figure 6-4 Provide contact information and demo account
Figure 6-5 Select the publishing method and save the application information
Note: Choose according to your own situation, whether to release the version manually.
9Package the IPA
APICloud platform directly cloud compiles and generates the ipa package, downloads it and uploads it to AppStoreConnect with the Transporter tool.
App review related
Apple's three review mechanisms
Foreign media CNBC shared some details about app review in a report on how Apple's App Store reviews apps.
According to the report, there are currently more than 300 reviewers in the App Review headquarters. Each reviewer at Apple needs to review 50-100 applications every day. Watchtower will track the review status of each App in order to reply to the developer or modify it through the developer. After resubmitting for review, it will be compared, and at the same time, it will also collect data related to App quality for Apple.
For reviewers, Apple has formulated an SLA assessment system (service level agreement), requiring reviewers to complete the review of 50% of the applications within 24 hours and 90% of the applications within 48 hours. According to Apple, 40% of apps will be rejected or updates will be rejected, relevant problems will be checked out, and feedback will be given to developers. When evaluating data in multiple dimensions at the same time, the SLA will reach the normal standard, and when it is lower than the normal value, the reviewer will receive an email notification to warn. News report address: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/21/how-apples-app-review-process-for-the-app-store-works.html
Apple's review standards are divided into five categories: security, performance, business, design, and law. We must strictly follow the review standards to develop and submit our APP. Of course, there are still some preparations that need to be completed before the arraignment:
Make sure the app is free of obvious crashes and errors.
To ensure the usability and integrity of the APP, it cannot be a demonstration APP or demo.
All preview images, introductions, keywords, etc. of the APP must be related to the product business.
Update your contact information so the App Review department can get in touch with you if needed
Provide a valid demo account and login information, and the resources needed for the review.
APP enables background services to ensure that it is active and available during the review period. Relevant
permissions should explain their purpose. If it is a shell or obfuscated code, you need to pay more attention to the
official review guide: https://developer.apple.com/app -store/review/guidelines/
The following is the statistics of rejected terms in the past 30 days according to Qimai data, for reference only.