How to Upload an App to the Google Play Store in 2024?

As of February 2023, an average of 2,796 apps are added to the Google Play Store per day. Mobile applications have become a vital part of our daily lives for food delivery, taxi booking, ticket booking, shopping, and much more. Every business has started to develop mobile applications for its online customers. 

Are you wondering about how these people submit their mobile applications in the Google Play Store for users to install and use? Planning to launch your business mobile app in the Google Play Store? Then this article will provide detailed insights on submitting an app to the Play Store with a step-by-step guide. 

Things to Have Ready Before Submitting the App to the Google Play Store

Before getting started with the submission process, make sure you have checked off the things that are listed below.

(i) Have a Gmail ID, high-quality mobile app screenshots, a description, and developer information.

(ii) A unique App Bundle ID, and a compressed APK file that should be less than 100MB.

(iii) If your app size is too big, then with the help of an APK expansion tool, break the app into smaller bundles for uploading.

How to Upload an App on the Google Play Store?

Here is a step-by-step process to upload your mobile app to the Google Play Store.

Step 1: Create a Google Play Console Developer Account

Creating a developer account on Google Play Console is mandatory for app submission to the Play Store. Google Play Console is a software that is responsible for the backend functionalities of your app submission. You can sign up using your Gmail account and you need to pay a one-time registration fee of $25. You can either use your credit card, debit card, or other payment modes that are offered. The registration usually takes up to 48 hours to fully process. 

Next, you must add details personal details and organization details like organization name, type, address, contact number, and website. Then you can proceed with the registration fee payment process.

Step 2: Setup Google Merchant Account

A Google Merchant Account is necessary when your app involves in-app purchases or if you have a plan to sell paid apps. You can create a Google Merchant Account by going to Download Reports >> Financial >> Set up a Merchant Account in the Google Play Console. You can also link an existing Merchant Account through this page. Now you can able to access the app sales report.

Step 3: Create an App

In the Google Play Console, you can click All Apps from the left menu and you can click on the Create App button. To begin the app submission, you must provide the app details that are listed below.

App Name: Your app will go by this name in the Google Play Store. You must set your app name below 30 characters.

Default Language: On the drop-down menu, you can select the default language for your app.

App or Game: You can select either App or Game as a basic category. You can change the option later.

Free or Paid: You must mention whether your app is free or paid for the users to install it. You can change this later, but once your app is live you cannot change this option from free to paid.

You can then accept the affirmations from the Google Play Console. You can proceed with the Create App button after checking off Developer Program Policies and US export laws.

Step 4: App Store Lisitng

After clicking the Create App button, you will be redirected to the Set Up Your App page. In the menu, you can select Set up your store listing. With the prerequisites in hand, you can fill in the details listed below.

Short Description: Give a catchy phrase that attracts users to install your app in the short description. This will be displayed on the Google Play Store listing. 

Full Description: You can give a detailed description of your app with a maximum of 4000 characters. This content will be shown when the user clicks on your app in the listing.

Screenshots: You can add high-quality screenshots of your mobile app. Most experts will recommend adding 7 to 8 screenshots for best results. You can also add 7-inch and 10-inch tablet device screenshots to get featured in the "Designed for tablets" list. 

Icon: You can add a high-resolution icon with a maximum file size of 1024KB and 512 X 512 size. PNG format works great for app icons.

Feature Graph: This is an optional field, but we recommend you add an image for promotional purposes. 

Video Link: You can add a YouTube video link for your app. Adding a video for your app is highly advisable. This will be shown when the user clicks your app from the Google Play Store listing.

Double-check all the information you provided and add any missing details for your app then you can select Save Draft. 

Step 5: Upload The APK Files

From the Main dashboard menu, navigate to App Release. You can opt out of the type of release version of your app. You can select Beta or Alpha releases if you want to release the test version of your app. You can make improvements through the reviews and feedback of your app. You can select Production for your final app release.