The essential app publishing guide for your android or iOS app backend services pdf

The Essential App Publishing Guide For Your Android and iOS App Backend Services Copyright © 2018 All rights reserved In no way is it legal to reproduce, transmit or duplicate any part of this document in either electronic means or printed format Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited, and any storage of this document is not allowed unless with written permission from the publisher This book is not a substitute for the financial or legal advice of accountants or legal professionals Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at the time of publishing, the author does not assume and hereby disclaims any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause Table of Contents Preface Overview Chapter 1: Business Chapter 2: D-U-N-S Number Chapter 3: Google Developer Account Chapter 4: Apple Developer Account Chapter 5: Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions Chapter 6: AWS Account for Server Hosting Chapter 7: Website Chapter 8: SSL Certificates Chapter 9: App Email Account Chapter 10: Email Services CHECKLIST About the Author Preface: What brought us both here If you’re reading this, then it’s likely because you’re planning on creating an App or you have already created one In either case, well done for taking action! This guide isn’t going to tell you what kind of an App to make, or even how to program one (there are lots of other guides for that) This guide is going to list out all of the steps that you’ll need to to be able to post your App on either Google Play or the Apple store Like most things in this world, there are lots of hoops to jump through, and this guide is to ensure you’ve got all of your administrative setups sorted so that when you’re ready to launch your App, you’re not held up waiting for the necessary accounts to be set up Overview There are some things you’ll need to set up to publish an App on both Google Play and iTunes The full list is: Business / Company D-U-N-S Number Google Developer Account Apple Developer Account Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions AWS Account for Server Hosting Website SSL Certificates App Email Account 10 Email Service Now, not all of these items are strictly necessary depending on what sort of app you’re building (you could get away without having items – 10), but generally speaking, that’s a pretty basic list Some items only take a few minutes, but others can take weeks of processing time, particularly getting the D-U-N-S number Chapter 1: The Business (if your App generates income) Cost/Time: Depends on your location, but in Australia, it’s about AUD$500 to set up with an annual fee of $254 after and takes about a week for the paperwork to come through Applications that generate no income don’t need to read this section, but I imagine that most people reading this book are likely publishing Apps that will make money in one of the many different ways available Like so many ventures, publishing any Apps on any platform is ultimately a business As such, Developer platforms like Apple and Google usually require a Developer to have a company name and number (like an ABN in Australia) It doesn’t take long to set up, however in places like Australia, any App sold in Australia attracts a GST (Goods and Services Tax) of 10% once you earn more than a certain amount of money Also, there’s the paperwork that comes with that Establishing a company too early will only add to your paperwork and setup costs, so perhaps don’t register the company until a few months before you’re ready to launch As a mixed blessing, companies that register in Australia are issued a D-U-NS number (see Chapter 1) However, the D-U-N-S number issued by ASIC (Australia Securities and Investment Commission) isn’t active for the usual waiting period I found that out the hard way when thinking I had successfully obtained a DU-N-S number in a single day; I found myself on the receiving end of a “number not valid” message when trying to sign up to the Apple Developer account I’m not going to go into too much detail here, because what type of company you create, what country you’re reading this in and even if you want to find a way around all of this, will be an enormous book all of its own While the rest of the chapters of this book will contain links for where to go next, those links are available to the global nature of the setup As such, I won’t post any links in this section because you could be reading this book from anywhere in the world ACTION ITEM 1:DECIDE IF YOU NEED TO REGISTER A COMPANY Chapter 2: The D-U-N-S Number Cost: Free if you can wait up to two months, $229 if you need it within a week The D-U-N-S number (Data Universal Numbering System) is a unique ninedigit identification number that identifies a business entity on a locationspecific basis The numbers, assigned by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), are used around the world as a standard business identifier You can apply for one here: http://www.dnb.com/get-a-duns-number.html Now, be forewarned, that getting a D-U-N-S number is free, but only if you can afford to wait for the processing time I’m guessing that they’re banking on the average number applicant to wait until the last minute to apply, then decide they’d rather pay the money to get the number sooner If there’s only one thing you take away from this book, it’s this: given the processing time involved, I’d highly recommend you apply for one ASAP, even if you’re months away from launching you’re App The lost opportunity cost of delaying the release of your App could cost you thousands of dollars or, worse still, someone with a similar idea might beat you to the market first You might be able to skip this step if you were issued a D-U-N-S number when you registered your company name However, you’ll want to make sure it’s active with plenty of time to spare if you find that, like me, the number wasn’t active ACTION ITEM 2:GET A D-U-N-S NUMBER! Chapter 3: Google Developer Account Cost: $25 one time, Time: about a day You’ll be required to set up a Google Play Developer Account to submit Android Apps to the Google Play Store There is a one-time registration fee of $25 to set up a Google Play Developer Console account The link to developer site is here: https://developer.android.com/distribute/console/ During the registration process, you’ll need to set up Google Wallet, which is a free digital wallet that securely stores debit cards, credit cards, offers and more Setting this up allows you to pay your registration fee and, more importantly, receive payments for any income your App earns If you need help with account setup instructions, the Google Play Developer Account has a very good Help section which is linked here: https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/113468? hl=en I had no issues at all with setting this up as the process was pretty simple and there were no overly complicated steps ACTION ITEM 3:SET UP A GOOGLE DEVELOPER ACCOUNT Chapter 4: Apple Developer Account Cost: $99 annual, Time: varies The Apple Developer account was, for me, the one I had the most issues, so I’d suggest you get it set up at least a month before you’re ready to launch so that you’re not waiting for technical support because your registration doesn’t work as it should The link to the Developer site is here: https://developer.apple.com/programs/ios/ You’ll need to confirm that you’ve completed the iOS development program that comes with a yearly fee of AUD 149, so if money is tight, then you might want to leave this until you’re closer to being ready Note: only obtaining a Developer ID is not sufficient After you’ve created a Developer account, you’ll be able to check out the Developer Console at the following link: https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa If you’re App will be making money, be sure when you log in to fill out all the necessary information for your App including the Contracts, Tax and Banking section This is needed so you can receive payment for your app There are some options for which iOS Developer Program you can join and the answer is ultimately up to you You can join as an individual if you are a sole proprietor or even if you’re going to develop under your name Join as a company if you’re developing as a company, non-profit organisation, joint venture, partnership or government organisation The difference will be apparent where individuals will be listed by the person’s name and companies will be listed by their full company name, e.g “The Company Pty Ltd” Two-factor verification The first hurdle I had was with two-factor verification, which is one step higher than two-step verification and requires a budding Apple Developer to use an Apple device to verify the account Supposedly once you’ve done this, you don’t need to use that specific device again, but the issue for me is that I didn’t own any Apple devices The way around this was to contact the Help Desk and they put in a bypass for it, but it was a few days turnaround to get that bypass put in Unrecognized D-U-N-S number I’ve mentioned before that I was issued a D-U-N-S number when I registered a company in Australia, however it wasn’t apparent to me that the number wasn’t active until I sought to register with Apple as a developer Google Developer either didn’t check if my D-U-N-S number was correct or didn’t care at that point, but Apple wouldn’t even let me set up a basic account until I had a fully activated D-U-N-S number This only adds weight to my original suggestion that prospective App developers register for a D-U-N-S number as soon as possible to avoid delays like this ACTION ITEM 4:SET UP AN APPLE DEVELOPER ACCOUNT Chapter 5: Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions, or End User License Agreement (EULA) Put simply, every App that collects any User information needs a Privacy Policy to let Users know what information you’re collecting and why and every App needs a Terms and Conditions, or End User License Agreement (EULA) You can this yourself by copying and pasting other PPs and T&Cs, but know that it takes a fair bit of time to make sure you’ve covered all of your bases If you copy an App that doesn’t everything yours does, then it’ll need a different PP and T&C than yours will I used Termsfeed.com to generate the bulk of the two documents for me: https://termsfeed.com/ After paying for the Privacy Policy (AUD 53.90) and the Terms & Conditions (AUD 94.24), read through the information for me to ensure that any specifics not covered in the standard generated document were covered in mine At this point, it’s recommended you get legal advice on your completed documents to ensure that you’re protected on all angles You may have to shop around a bit to get the best price, but I won’t link to any specific law firm or lawyer because it would be so variable from country to country Note: even free Apps that don’t collect any User data will need to have an EULA or T&C because, while it may be free and no user information is stored, there may be a possible liability if App is deemed to have caused phones to malfunction ACTION ITEM 5:GENERATE A PRIVACY POLICY & END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT Chapter6: AWS Account for Server Hosting Depending on the type of App you’re going to publish, you’re going to likely need server hosting If your App is a simple utility or game that requires no user information or login, like a simple game played only on the phone, then it probably won’t need server hosting However, if your App is going to require any data stored offline (like user information, profiles, scores, etc), then it will likely require a server to host the backend portion It’s up to you to choose where you’d like to this, but one recommendation I can make is Amazon Web Services, which you can sign up for at the following link: https://console.aws.amazon.com/console/home The thing about what sort of plan you’ll need will depend on how many servers your App will need to use for data processing Things like large multiplayer games with big graphics need lots of servers, but simply programs that store only data don’t require much Amazon Web Services offer scalable solutions so that they’ll ramp up how many servers your app can use and will drop down when your app isn’t using much traffic, which is perfect for a start-up Once you’re app has been up for a while, you’ll get a better idea for how many servers you need and can then shop around for a possibly cheaper longterm solution, however you don’t want your app to freeze because too many people have logged on at the same time and you also don’t want massive charges if you exceed your server allocation, which is what makes scalable solutions so attractive ACTION ITEM 6:IF NEEDED, CREATE AN ACCOUNT FOR SERVER HOSTING Chapter 7: Website (if you need one) There are two elements to this point, which are: Do you need a website now? Will you want a website in the future? You may or may not plan on creating even a basic website for your app now, but you might want to in the future If you decide you aren’t going to need or bother with a website and simply launch an app, but later when the app takes off or you decide you want to branch out, you may find that someone else has bought the domain name associated with your app and they’ll be more than happy to sell it to you for a fee An easier and cheaper solution in the long term is to buy the domain name once you’ve decided upon the name of the app There are many different companies you can buy domain names from, but the one I recently ran is linked below: https://au.godaddy.com/ For Australians, buying the com.au extension costs a little bit more, but in order to secure the au, you’ll need to show you’re a registered business and will need the associated ABN If all you’re looking to is have some online content available to users, then you may not care if your website is “www.myappsite.com” or “www.myappsite.com.au”, and neither will your users Buying the domain name for a year only costs about AUD 12.45 for the com and AUD 14.95 for the com.au, so it’s not very much money to secure that option for the future I will say this: having bought websites before and opted out of the extra charge for privacy, I usually pay the extra money to include it Opting out of it will result in you getting phone calls from website development companies from all over the world offering their services to build your website for you If that’s what you want, then great, but these companies don’t communicate with each other at all, so even if you pay for their services, you’ll still get phone calls after you’ve paid someone to develop your site I’m not going to go into how to build a website or what to with it, because most sites that will sell you domain names usually come with built in builders, but for now you can sit back and focus on your app, knowing that if you have the option if you decide to also launch a website ACTION ITEM 7:BUY A DOMAIN NAME FOR YOUR APP Chapter 8: SSL Certificates (for website) If you end up launching a website with your app, one of the most recent things that has come up since October 2017 is the need for an SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate This is done to make your website more secure, particularly if you’re going to be using a CMS (Content Management System) and API (Application Programming Interface) to control things like app alerts You can some research to work out if your website will need an SSL and how it may interface directly with your app You can buy an SSL from many different sites, but here’s one I used: http://ww.ssls.com I was in early development of my app when I purchased the SSL, so I wasn’t quite sure which SSL was right for me, I so I opted for the Wildcard SSL (about AUD 108), but I have the flexibility to use it however I want Again, this all comes down to the following questions: Are you going to have a website now? Will your website interface with your app? You can purchase a domain name without needed to purchase an SSL, so if you’re not sure you want any website, then don’t rush out and get a SSL certificate until you know you’re going to have a website I rushed out and bought one as soon as possible, but the reality is that it only takes a few minutes to buy one, so you could even wait until you’re ready to launch your website before buying any SSLs ACTION ITEM 8:IF NEEDED, GET YOUR WEBSITE AN SSL CERTIFICATE Chapter 9: App Email Account (if you need one) If you’re planning on sending and receiving emails about your app from a dedicated email address because you don’t want to give out your personal email address, then you may want to consider setting up an Email account While you could opt to set one up in gmail as “myappsite@gmail.com”, wherever you registered your website will have an option to create email accounts as well, so your email address could be “admin@myappsite.com”, which looks much more professional The site I recommend using for email is GSuite and a link is located here: https://gsuite.google.com/ It’s pretty easy to setup and also interfaces with your website hosting site to verify the website belongs to you They also provide a dedicated app you can access all of your information Alternatively, you could pay for an email service through your website provider, but you may find yourself being charged more for the service and there’s a lot to be said for using purpose built providers ACTION ITEM 9:IF NEEDED, GET AN APP EMAIL ACCOUNT Chapter 10: Email Services (if needed) If you are planning on collecting Users’ email addresses to send email notifications for things like forgotten passwords or alerts, you may require There are two possible options I know of for this service: http://mailchimp.com/ I opted for MailChimp, mainly because it was the first one I looked at, but I haven’t had any issues with using them This particular option isn’t required if you’re not going to collect and manage email addresses, but if you do, they’ll make life a lot easier if you’re trying to manage email subscriptions of Users or just email lists in general You could probably start out not having one, and upgrade later, but I’ve often found it better to be aware of possible options before you find yourself drowning in a sea of paperwork trying to keep your records up to date ACTION ITEM 10: IF NEEDED, SIGN UP FOR EMAIL SERVICES CHECKLIST Your highest priorities are to work out the business structure based on the country you’re planning on launching the App and to get a D-U-N-S number because that could take longer than everything else in this book combined, but a complete checklist, including links for some, is: Set up a company (if applicable for your purposes) Get a D-U-N-S Number – Apply for one here Set up a Google Developer Account – Start here Set up an Apple Developer Account – Start here Write a Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions – Termsfeed.com link here If needed, set up AWS Account for Server Hosting – Amazon AWS Services If needed, get a Website – GoDaddy.com link here If needed, get an SSL certificate for the website – ssls.com link here If needed, Setup an App Email Account – Gsuit.com link here 10 Setup an Email Service – Mailchimp.com link here Please note that options five to ten aren’t single source (you can find alternatives) and I’ve only listed what I used to set up an app You are free to shop around Full disclosure: I have no affiliations with any of the above companies or websites and receive no payments or benefits for listing them here I have only linked to them to give readers a starting point One last point about costs: the overall cost in Australia to set up all of the above comes to about AUD 1,000, so you’ll need to factor that into your budgeting and planning If your App is free and you most of the work yourself (like preparing the Privacy Policy and T&Cs), you’ll be able to launch for about AUD 174, which is the signup cost for Apple and Google to be a registered developer Summary Hopefully this simple guide helps you prepare in advance what needs to be in place for your App and maybe even prompts you to think about future features your app or brand might need in the future I’ve made a few mistakes with getting all of these things set up but was fortunate enough for the delays not to cost me any valuable time, however I could certainly see how a number of these items could easily delay first-time developers and cause much unnecessary stress Otherwise, I wish you the best of luck with developing and launching your App and the best of luck for the future! About the Author I’ve been through the process of creating an app and found the whole process quite daunting and found the administrative setup alone was very timeconsuming I also found the seemingly never-ending list of additional costs for things annoying Just when you thought you’d paid for everything you needed to, now you need to pay for something you didn’t even know existed a month ago! To me, the overall process to get the developer accounts set up took almost a month because there were so many things I hadn’t thought of and didn’t have the time to sit down and read any big, expensive books to tell me all the things I needed to Fortunately, I started early, so that time took hasn’t held up my app launch, however, I could see how a first time app developer could find themselves being held out of the market for a few weeks while all of the paperwork was being processed I wanted to what I could to help them get to the market as quick as possible, because the sooner their app gets to the market, the sooner they can start building their brand, helping people or even just making money Review Most people don’t spend the time to review books we like, only reviewing books when we’re dissatisfied The reality is that the best way to get more products we like out there is to let people (and Amazon) know that you are happy with them A one sentence review is very valuable, not only to the author of the book but also to the wider community Most authors read their reviews, and so other authors looking for book ideas on topics they could expand I try to post a review for every book I read because I know how much effort goes into publishing a book, but also so that, if it’s a book I loved, then the author might be inspired to write more books like it If this book helped you, and I sincerely hope it has in at least one way, would you please leave an honest review on Amazon? Click here to leave a review: ... afford to wait for the processing time I’m guessing that they’re banking on the average number applicant to wait until the last minute to apply, then decide they’d rather pay the money to get the. .. the necessary information for your App including the Contracts, Tax and Banking section This is needed so you can receive payment for your app There are some options for which iOS Developer Program.. .The Essential App Publishing Guide For Your Android and iOS App Backend Services Copyright © 2018 All rights reserved In no way is it legal to reproduce, transmit or duplicate any