In a previous post, we created a simple app for practicing times tables. Then we added Google AdMob to it to display a basic ad banner at the bottom of the app. Today, we’re going to get the app published and available on the Google Play Store.

Create a developer account

Becoming an official developer with Google costs a one-time $25. It all starts here:

https://play.google.com/console

If you already have a google account, just follow the prompts to make your account a developer account.

Once your account is a developer account, you’ll need to upload a document that proves your identity.

Verification usually takes a day or two to complete.

Create an app

Now we’re ready to create our first app on the store.

The app creation process takes some time, and if you’re really serious about it, some planning. I won’t show all the screenshots, that would get a little long. The times tables app is very simple so we can move through it pretty quick.

Step 1 – basic details

We’ll need to give it a name, default language, whether it’s a game, and whether it’s paid or free. Be careful on that last one, once it’s set you can’t change it later.

Step 3 – App setup

Google wants to know a fair amount about the app before it’s published. Some of it is for their own internal policies or data collection, others are to comply with various laws in the countries the app can be available in.

• App access – whether your whole app is available immediately or if there is a paywall.
• Ads – whether your app contains ads or not.
• Content rating – a questionnaire about the content of your app.
• Target audience – the age your app might be targeted to.
• News apps – whether or not your app contains news.
• COVID-19 – whether or not your app is for tracing COVID-19.
• Data safety – you must disclose what kind of data your app collects. You also need to provide a link to a privacy policy for your app, so you’ll need to create both the policy and the page if you haven’t already.
• Select an app category and provide contact details – a few questions about what categories your app falls under.
• Set up your store listing – see below

Step 4 – Set up store listing

The store listing setup area will collect a bunch of information that is used to build your app’s Play Store page.

We need to upload the app icon, along with a feature graphic. A feature graphic is important if the app ever becomes popular and Google wants to feature it on the app store:

Then it’s time for screenshots:

Once we have all that stuff input and uploaded, we should be good on the store listing section. We should now be able to complete the final section to release the app on the Play Store.

Release the app on the Play Store

Now that we’ve done all the work to get the app ready, the “Publish your app on Google Play” section at the very bottom on the app’s main dashboard should be available. You’ll need to skip all the sections about testing and pre-releasing. It looks like this:

First check all countries in “Select countries and regions”, unless you have a reason not to select them all. Then click on the “Create a new release” button. On this page we’re actually going to upload a copy of the app code.

In Android Studio, you can create a bundle from Build –> Generate Signed Bundle:

If this is your first time creating a signed bundle, you’ll need to create a key store. Just fill in the information, it’s part of the X.509 certificate standard so it asks you for a bunch of identifying information:

Make a note of the build file destination, and create the bundle. Then upload the “.aab” file in on this page. After entering some quick details on the release at the bottom, we’re good to go.

We are now finally ready to roll it out to the world! On the Review Release page, we can click “Start rollout to Production”, which means we have completed all preparation steps!

Clicking the rollout button will send the app to Google, where it will be reviewed by human beings to ensure the app is safe/secure/compliant and otherwise OK to release to the world. If all goes well, the app should be available on the store within 3 days, sometimes taking up to 7, according to Google.

Congratulations!