Publish Android Application Example
After the implementation of an Android application, the last step is to publish your app in order
to be available to the users. You can sell your app or release it for free via an Android
application market place (like Google Play ), via your website or even by distribute it directly to
the users.
In this example we will show how to prepare the delivery of your application and finally publish
it to the Google Play market store, the digital distribution platform for Android apps operated
by Google.
1. Prepare your application for release
Before releasing your app to the market, you should perform some basic tasks in order to check
it.
You need to remove the Logs and any debugging attributes of your implementation.
You should test you application to different devices (phones and tablets) in order to ensure the
desirable result. It is important to make sure that your app runs properly in the targeted
Android versions.
Be sure that the resources you are using (multimedia and graphics) are updated and are
included to your app. It is recommended to use high-quality graphic assets, as well as the
application icon be compatible with the icon guidelines .
You should ensure the security of the external servers or services, if any is used.
There are many other tasks as parts of preparation process show us.
The launch of an application on Google Play requires more preparation. Except for
understanding the polices and agreement part, there are some other tasks:
Google Play requires using promotional materials, such as screenshots, videos, localized
descriptions etc, in order to further your application.
Also you have to declare the content rating for your app to show the maturity level. The
available current ratings are Everyone, Low maturity, Medium maturity, High maturity
It is important to decide if you want to sell or distribute for free your application. For paid
apps you have to decide the currencies and the price you want to sell it in different countries.
If you want to deliver it for free, remember that this app will always remain free.
Google Play gives you the opportunity to release your application worldwide or in targeted
groups. So you have to control the setting of time-zone, localization, the listing languages you
want to use etc.
Although the current maximum size of the APK is set to 50MB, you can use APK
Expansion Files .
Also there is a Launch CheckList that provide us advice for successful product launch
on Google Play .
2. Export Android Application
To release your application and to deliver it to users, you should make a signed .apk file. So,
you have to go to Eclipse and export the application as an APK (Android Package) file before
distribute it to the market.
After you insert the application in the Package Explorer of Eclipse, go to the central menu and
click on File → Export.
In the popup window, select “Export Android Application” from Android folder. Then press
Next button.
Click “Browse…” button and choose the project you want to export. If it has no errors, click
Next. Otherwise you can’t continue and you have to fix the errors. You can go to the next picture
directly, if you right click on the current project → Android Tools → Export Signed Application
Package.
In the next window, choose “Create new keystore”. Then, click “Browse…” to put it in a
location locally to your pc and write down a password. After the password confirmation, press
again Next button.
Now you have to create the key, so you should complete some of the fields, like shown in the
image below. It is necessary to fill in some of these fields, but not all of them. Then click Next.
Specify the destination of the .apk file that you want to export and give it an appropriate name,
like in the next picture. Finally press Finish.
You can ensure the certification of your APK file from Eclipse Console, as you can see in the
image below.
3. Register in Google Play
The first step is to register in Google Play Developer Console , in order to have a publisher
account. If you already have a Google account you can use it, otherwise you have to create a new
one.
After you read and accept the Developer Distribution Agreement , you have to click “Continue
to payment” button, in order to proceed. That step requires a payment of $25 as a registration fee,
using Google Wallet . If you don’t have a Google Wallet account, you can easily set up one
during the procedure. The next picture shows the main part of Google Play registration page.
Finally, you can enter basic information about your developer identity and your account details.
After the success of your registration you can sign in to Developer Console of Google Play ,
where you can find all the tools and operations for publishing process.
Now, you can upload your release-ready APK in order to publish it. The application remains
at Drafts and you can publish it any time you are ready. It is important to mention that you can
unpublish it wherever you want.