Launch plan · Mobile apps
Where to launch a mobile app
A mobile launch is gated by the stores. Registration, identity checks, testing rules and review all take time, so the store work starts weeks before any public announcement.
What to have ready
- An Apple Developer Program membership ($99 a year) and a Google Play account ($25 once), opened weeks ahead. Apple asks organisations for a D-U-N-S number.
- At least 12 testers for Google Play's 14-day closed test, if your Play account is a new personal one.
- An icon, screenshots and a short video, made once and reused for both stores and every launch board.
- A privacy policy, plus the privacy details both stores ask for before review.
- A page on your own site that links to both store listings, for launch traffic to land on.
01
Six weeks out: store accounts and testers
Open the developer accounts early and recruit testers, because the stores set their own timelines.
Google Play
New personal accounts must run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days before production access.
Account registration fee, $25 one timeStep-by-step guide
Apple App Store
Enrol in the Apple Developer Program ($99 a year) and allow time for app review.
Account registration fee, $99 a yearStep-by-step guide
TestFlight
Invite up to 10,000 external testers with a public link; external builds go through Beta App Review first.
Account registration fee, $99 a year
BetaFamily
Its free Starter plan covers one app, drawing on your own testers and its community.
Free + paid options, paid from $49 a month
r/SideProject
A place to ask for early feedback and recruit a few of those testers.
Fee not confirmedStep-by-step guide
02
Launch week: one board and one community
Once the app is live in the stores, give one launch board a planned day and answer every comment.
Product Hunt
Launching is free, and each launch day starts at 12:01 AM Pacific.
Free submissionStep-by-step guide
03
First month: lasting discovery
Add listings that keep working after the launch spike.
AlternativeTo
People search it for replacements to apps they already use. Standard review can take months, or $5 for priority.
Free + paid options, paid from $5 priority reviewStep-by-step guide
itch.io
For games and experimental apps; uploading is free and you choose the revenue share.
Commission on sales, Open revenue share, set by you
Indie App Santa
Paid features for iOS and Android apps, and it prefers a deal for its readers, ideally a free lifetime unlock.
Paid submission, from $75
Mistakes to avoid
- Announcing a date before both stores have approved the app. For some accounts Google Play review can take up to seven days, or longer in exceptional cases.
- Starting the Play closed test late, which moves the whole launch back by at least 14 days.
- Submitting with crashes, placeholder content or screenshots that do not match the app. Apple says over 40% of unresolved review issues are about app completeness like this.
How to tell if it worked
- Installs per channel. Store dashboards show totals; referrals to your own store-links page show which launch sent them.
- Ratings and reviews in the first weeks, which every later visitor sees first.
- Whether people from each channel kept the app after the first day, not just installed it.
The launch tracker keeps each channel's cost and results in your browser, and launch receipts shows what other founders got from the same channels.
More tips
- Link to the store pages from your own site, so launch traffic lands somewhere you control.
- Collect screenshots and a short video once; the stores and launch boards all ask for them.
- For Android, consider Samsung Galaxy Store and, for open source apps, F-Droid once the Play listing is live.
Fees, queues and rules change. Every channel page shows when it was last checked and links to the site's own pages.
See every channel for mobile appsQuestions about launching mobile apps
How long before launch should I set up the app stores?
- Several weeks. A new personal Google Play account must run a closed test with at least 12 testers for 14 days in a row before it can apply for production, and for some accounts review can take up to seven days. Apple reviews most submissions in under 24 hours, but an organisation needs a D-U-N-S number before it can enrol.
Is Product Hunt worth it for a mobile app?
- It can be, if your first users are the kind of people who browse new products. Launching is free and each day starts at 12:01 AM Pacific. Launch once the app is live in both stores, so visitors can install it straight away.