Setup your App on Google Play Store

Now that you have your app's build file and play store account, it's time to upload it to the Google Play Store so you can release it to the world!

Before You Begin

• Ensure you are logged into the Google account associated with your Google Developer Account

• Ensure building your app was successful and that you have downloaded the generated file

• You will need a paid Twinr plan to implement this guide

• .AAB files offer several benefits over .APK files - namely, they are more secure, much smaller in size, and give you more control over the future of your app releases

Walkthrough

1.) Open the Google Play Console in a new browser tab

2.) Click All Apps in the top left corner, then click Create App in the top right corner. If you are updating an existing Play Store app, skip to step 6 of this guide.

Google Play Console with the All apps view open; the Create app button sits in the top right corner of the app list.

3.) Enter an App Name, select the Default Language for the app, the type of app (App or Game), and if it’s a Free or Paid app.

Create app form in Google Play Console, filling in App name, Default language, whether it is an App or Game, and whether it is Free or Paid.

4.) Accept all Declarations, and click Create App in the lower right corner which will redirect you to the App Dashboard. If this is a new app, you will also see a third box to accept Google app signing - please check it as well.

Declarations section of the Create app form, checking the Developer Program Policies and US export laws boxes plus the Google Play app signing box shown for new apps, then clicking Create app.

5.) Before we create a version of your app, we need to fill in some details about your app's content. This is required for all release tracks (we'll look at release tracks in a moment). For now, scroll to the bottom of the left-hand menu and click on App Content. You will need to complete each section by clicking Start, then filling in the necessary information and clicking Save in the lower right. Once you've completed all sections, return to the Dashboard.

App content page reached from the bottom of the Play Console left-hand menu, showing the list of required declarations; each is completed by clicking Start, filling in the form and clicking Save.

6.) From your app's Dashboard, Click on the Store Presence dropdown in the left-hand menu, then click Main Store Listing

Play Console left-hand menu with the Store presence section expanded and Main store listing selected.

7.) Most fields on this page are required (denoted by * ) so it's best to take notes on what you need first, prepare your screenshots, icons, and descriptions, then return to this screen to update it all at once. In the first section, you can edit the App Name, Short Description, and Long Description users will see in the Play Store.

App details section of the Main store listing. App name, Short description and Full description are all required, with character counters showing limits of 50, 80 and 4,000 characters.

8.) The next section asks you for an App Icon, a Feature Graphic, and an optional, publicly available, promotional Video link. It's important to abide by the file requirements listed below these fields - your files will not upload if they do not meet the requirements. Two great tools for easily making these files are Canva and Adobe Spark - both of which offer free plans and make it easy to create Store-compliant files.

Graphics section of the Main store listing. App icon requires a transparent PNG or JPEG at 512 by 512 px up to 1 MB; Feature graphic requires a PNG or JPEG at 1,024 by 500 px up to 1 MB; an optional Video field takes a YouTube URL.

9.) The next section asks you for phone screenshots of the app in use (not the login or welcome screen of your app). You'll want to upload at least 3 of these. As with the other files, make sure to pay attention to the requirements under this field - your images will not upload if they are not compliant. There are numerous tools for generating professional screenshots such as Mockuphone, CleanMock, AppScreens, and AppLaunchpad.

Phone screenshots upload field, marked required. Play Console asks for 2 to 8 phone screenshots as PNG or JPEG in 16:9 or 9:16 aspect ratio, each side between 320 px and 3,840 px, up to 8 MB each.

10.) The last section asks you for tablet screenshots of the app in use (again, not the login or welcome screens of your app). You'll want to add at least 1 of these for each size tablet (2 in total). As with the other files, make sure to pay attention to the requirements under this field - your images will not upload if they are not compliant. You can use most of the same tools for these screenshots such as Mockuphone, CleanMock, AppScreens, and AppLaunchpad. Many makers use the device previewer in Twinr to capture screenshots using a screen capture tool such as Screen Capture on Mac or the Snipping Tool on Windows

Tablet screenshots section with separate required fields for 7-inch and 10-inch tablets, each accepting up to 8 PNG or JPEG images in 16:9 or 9:16 aspect ratio, each side between 320 px and 3,840 px, up to 8 MB each.

11.) Once you have all the files and required fields put in, click Save in the bottom right corner.