Friday, 3 August 2012

How to put your app in Google Play

If you are creating an application that you want to distribute to the public the best way to do so is to upload your application to Google Play. Google has help specifically aimed at developers and if you have any questions not answered by this article it’s a great reference: Google Play for Developers Help. There is also a very useful document entitled: Publishing Checklist for Google Play that discusses what is required to publish to Google Play.

Note: Before publishing it is important to decided whether or not you want to charge money for your application. More information on this decision can be found in the You can't charge for previously published free apps knowledge base article.
Register for Google Play

The first step in publishing is to register for Google Play at the Google Play publisher site. The process is relatively straightforward and should only take you a few minutes. Note: There is a $25 USD charge to register.
Uploading your APK

Once you have registered, you can log in to your Google Play developer account and begin publishing your application via the "Upload Application" button. The first step in this process is to upload your application’s Android Package file (APK). This file is emailed to you whenever you successfully build your application, and can be downloaded at anytime from your projects section on Andromo.

Once you have uploaded your APK file, be sure to switch the APK files tab and activate the APK file that you have uploaded. This tells Google Play which APK file to use.
Required Assets

Along with your application’s APK file you will also need to upload some additional assets when publishing to Google Play. The Google Play help details required and optional assets in the uploading applications area.

There are two graphical assets that you are required to upload before you can publish:

    Two screenshots or your application at one of the following sizes: 320x480, 480x800, 480x854, or 1280x800
    A high-res 512x512 application icon.

Information on taking screenshots can be found in the How to take screenshots of your application knowledge base article.
Listing Details

The listing details are what your end users will see when they find your application in Google Play. The available listing details are described in detail in Google’s uploading applications help topic.
Editing your Listing

If you want to go back to edit your listing, or upload a new version of your application you can. When you make your changes simply save them and they should be live in the store in twenty minutes or so. Note: This can sometimes take quick a while so be patient.
Finishing Up

When you are done you can publish using the Publish button. Your application should appear in the store after a few minutes. After you have published your application into the store be sure to add your application to the Andromo showcase via the promote option. The promote option is available on your projects page or on the promote tab when editing your project.

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