Ship
Open the store accounts, write the store page, test with real people, then ship the real build.
This is where the app leaves your own phone, in four phases: accounts, store page, testing, shipping. Apple and Google take days to approve things, so start the accounts today.
You need one account per store before anyone can install your app. Apple costs $99 a year, Google $25 once, and both check who you are, which can take days. A new personal Google account must also run a closed test with 12 testers for 14 days before the app can go public.
In app.json, set ios.bundleIdentifier and android.package to com.[myname].[myapp], and version to 1.0.0. Make sure eas.json has a production profile.✓ Example: com.lifter.app. It can never change once the app is in a store.
Done when Both accounts are approved, and app.json has your real app ids.
ASO, App Store Optimization, is making your store page easy to find and easy to say yes to. Most downloads come from store search, so use the words people type, not the words you'd use. Most people decide from the first three screenshots, so each one shows a real screen and what the user gets.
| Field | Limit | Searched |
|---|---|---|
| App Store title | 30 | Yes |
| App Store subtitle | 30 | Yes |
| App Store keywords | 100 | Yes, hidden |
| App Store description | 4,000 | No |
| Play title | 30 | Yes |
| Play short description | 80 | Yes |
| Play full description | 4,000 | Yes |
Read docs/PRD.md and docs/research.md. Here are the searches and rival words I found: [paste]. Create docs/STORE.md with: 3 options for an App Store title and subtitle (30 characters each), one keyword field (100 characters, single words, commas, no spaces, nothing already in the title), a Play short description (80) and full description, and an App Store description. Count the characters.✓ Example: Lifter: Lift Tracker / Rank every lift you log.
✓ Example: "See how your lifts rank", not "Advanced lift tracking".
Add expo-store-review. Ask for a rating right after [my moment], only after the user has opened the app on at least 3 different days, and at most once per version.Done when docs/STORE.md has every text within its limit, and 5 screenshots read at thumbnail size.
Stuck? Watch someone do this stepGoogle Play ASO 2026: new ranking rules you can't ignoreASO PRO by ASOMobileBefore the public sees it, 5 to 10 people who have the problem use a real build. Hand one of them the phone, say nothing, and note where they pause. Then ask what they expected to happen, never whether they like it. People are polite about apps and honest with their thumbs.
eas build makes the app for the stores, eas submit sends it there.eas build --profile production --platform all --auto-submit✓ About 30 minutes. It shows up under TestFlight in App Store Connect. Android, the first time: upload the .aab from the EAS build page under Internal testing by hand.
✓ Example: "We made a small app that ranks your lifts against people your size. It's an early beta, would you try it this week?"
Here are my notes from watching testers: [paste]. Create docs/FEEDBACK.md: group them into bugs, confusing screens and wishes, count how many testers hit each, and put the one that stops people before the first win at the top.Done when 5 testers have the app, you watched one use it, and docs/FEEDBACK.md says what to fix first.
Stuck? Watch someone do this stepSetting up a closed test on Google Play ConsoleTechWorld PlazaThe real build goes to review, and you press release on a morning you pick. Approval and launch day are two different things. Then tell the people who already care, and post in 2 or 3 places from the launch list below. Launch sites bring visits, your niche brings users.
✓ Example: "Ranks each lift against lifters of the same bodyweight and age. The trackers we compared only log weights."
eas build --profile production --platform all --auto-submit✓ Rejected? Fix only the reason given in the Build loop, then reply in App Store Connect. Most are fixed in a day. Rejected under 4.3? Show the reviewer, with screenshots, what only your app does.
Read docs/PRD.md and docs/STORE.md. Write one launch post for each of [places]: the problem in the user's own words, what we built in one line, one honest rough edge, one question, and the link once. Match each place's tone, no hype words. Save them in docs/LAUNCH.md.✓ Example: "The Reddit post brought most of the first 60 downloads. Product Hunt brought builders, not lifters."
Done when The app is live, every post is up, and docs/LAUNCH.md has one line on what brought the first downloads.
Stuck? Watch someone do this stepHow to get your first 100 usersPodiumVCPick 2 or 3 by who your users are, not by how big the place is.
| Place | Who you reach |
|---|---|
| Your niche's subreddit | People with the problem |
| TikTok | Your users, strangers included |
| Your users | |
| Facebook groups | Your users, in their own corner |
| Discord | Tight communities in your niche |
| Newsletters | Readers who trust the writer |
| Podcasts | Listeners who trust the host |
| YouTube | People searching for a fix |
| Product Hunt | Founders and early adopters |
| Hacker News (Show HN) | Developers |
| GitHub | Developers, if your app is open source |
| r/SideProject | Builders |
| r/iOSapps | iPhone app hunters |
| X | Other builders |
| Threads | Other builders |
| Indie Hackers | Founders |
| BetaList | Early adopters |
| Uneed | Makers |
| Microlaunch | Makers |