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Causes of problems with publishing software in the App Store and ways to avoid them

26.08.2024

With enviable regularity, new applications appear in the official store of the apple brand, but few understand that there could be ten times more of them. Everyone needs to be prepared for a difficult selection: both those who register on the platform themselves and those who decide to buy an Apple Developer account. The company is interested in maintaining high competition between programmers to constantly improve the quality of published software, so the requirements for software are extremely high.

The developer himself may think that his product is ideal, but after testing he may be informed that he will not be placed in the store. We invite you, together with Nova.Shop specialists, to figure out why this happens, what points you need to pay the closest attention to, and also how to act in case of rejection.

The main thing that Apple Developer account owners should know about app verification

American gadgets are known, above all, for reliability and high-quality software, and the manufacturer makes every effort to maintain its reputation, which, among other things, results in a thorough check of any utilities offered. AppReview Team employees have been evaluating software for almost 15 years, and the process is done manually. There are a lot of applications from developers per day, so with the actual verification time being 1-2 minutes, the wait can stretch for 1-2 days or even a week.

Reviewers are not always objective, and this must be understood. By submitting an iOS development made using Swift for analysis, you can receive a reject with or without comments. The second option is worse, since it is not clear what caused the problems and how to fix them. You can study the rules in detail on the website developer.apple.com, but as practice shows, sometimes the issue is the individual perception of the reviewer’s compliance of your application with the company’s principles. In fact, even if you do everything exactly as written in the rules, you are not immune from refusal to publish. The only good thing is that the problem can arise for anyone – it doesn’t matter whether you decide to buy an Apple Developer account with a paid cost for registration or register yourself. It just happens, not only with beginners, but also with professionals. In most cases, it is useless to argue – it is better to redo it.

Those who find the requirements stringent should consider switching to Google Play. If we compare Apple vs Android market share, then the market for iPhones and iPads wins in terms of monetization prospects, which is more difficult for beginners, but Google is less picky, but earnings will be less, although it all depends on the quality and uniqueness of the software, and also from advertising settings.

What do AppReview Team employees focus on?

To minimize the likelihood of rejection, it is important to take into account the following nuances:

Some consumers of digital products are children, so the content should be appropriate for them;
the store is designed for a wide target audience – there is no point in figuring out how to pay Apple Developer and publish software that will only be used by your family or group of friends;
There must always be a respectful attitude towards the racial, religious, gender, cultural and other characteristics of different categories of people;
You should never provide false information about yourself or a company, as the deception will be discovered, applications will be deleted, and your profile will be canceled.

The most common causes of problems among those who use an Apple Developer account

A general understanding of the company’s approach to evaluating applications is, of course, good, but it is equally important to understand the real reasons for refusing publication. Among them:

links that don’t work;
the presence of replacement content where photographs or text blocks should be;
technical errors;
insufficiently high loading speed and overall operation of the utility;
lack of information about the use of users’ personal data – the issue of obtaining permission to access must be resolved first;
uninformative screenshots;
inconvenient interface and ill-conceived navigation;
similarity to other digital products;
not fully developed section of information about checking the utility.

A few points that Apple Developer certificate owners need to remember:

Avoid negative comments regarding apple brand products;
always accurately indicate the age category of the content;
be as tolerant as possible;
take into account legal regulations, in particular, you should not popularize the consumption of alcoholic beverages, smoking, etc.;
take care of little things like removing the words Demo and Beta from the title.

The cost of iOS development may increase due to the need for modifications, but in the long run it is still profitable to invest resources in programming, since after publication you will be able to receive a consistently high income. Newcomers are more likely to encounter complaints from reviewers, but gradually an understanding of what the company wants the applications to be is developed, and the problem disappears.