The Process of Packaging and Publishing an iOS App
Published: 2023-08-02 11:26:12


1. Creating an Account There are several types of Apple developer accounts:
* Individual Developer Account:Cost: $99 per year (¥688.00)Collaboration: Only the developer themselvesNo need to provide the company's D-U-N-S NumberSupports app submission to the App Store under the accountRequires creating an Apple ID
* Company Developer Account:Cost: $99 per year (¥688.00)Collaboration: Multiple developers can collaborateRequires providing the company's D-U-N-S NumberSupports app submission to the App Store under the accountRequires creating an Apple ID
* Enterprise Developer Account:Cost: $299 per year (¥1988.00)Collaboration: Multiple developers can collaborateRequires providing the company's D-U-N-S NumberApps under this account cannot be published to the App StoreRequires creating an Apple ID Note: Applying for an enterprise account can be particularly difficult.
To apply for an Apple ID, you need to fill in the following information in English: Last Name, First Name, Country, Date of Birth, Email, Password, Security Questions, Image Captcha, and Email Verification Code. Chinese characters are not allowed.
After completing the registration, remember to log in to your Apple device and enable two-factor authentication.
Applying for a D-U-N-S Number (Not required for individual developer accounts):
1. Open the "Find D-U-N-S Number" webpage.
2. Fill out the required information for applying for a D-U-N-S Number.
Information required for applying for a D-U-N-S Number from Huaxia:
* Company English Name
* Street
* City
* Province
* Postal Code
* Contact Phone Number
* Contact Person Information: Name, Phone Number (may require phone confirmation), Email (used for communication with Huaxia regarding the D-U-N-S Number application, timely fill in the company information upon receiving the confirmation email, as there is a time limit)
* Business License
* Official Seal
* Wait for the D-U-N-S Number application to be successful.
After the D-U-N-S Code application is approved, the DUNS code will be sent to your work email by Huaxia. Wait for 7-14 days before using it as Apple and Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) are not synchronized systems and require time to sync the data.
After the successful application of the D-U-N-S code, wait for 7 business days (note that it's not a week) before continuing to apply for a company developer account.
Applying for a Developer Account:
* Search for the "Developer" app on the App Store and log in with the Apple ID you applied for (supports WeChat Pay and Alipay).
* Alternatively, you can apply through the Apple ID official website.
* Follow the prompts to provide personal information and complete identity verification.
* For company accounts, you will need to provide additional basic company information and the D-U-N-S code.
Once you have completed the above steps, the application process is mostly done. As of September 2021, the application process for basic information usually takes only one day.
1. Applying for a Signing Certificate (Keychain Access) The signing certificate is used for signing the app, ensuring its security through Apple's unique signing mechanism.
To apply for a signing certificate in Keychain Access:
* Open Keychain Access on your Mac.
* Issue the certificate.
* You can fill in any random information for the following two fields (they are mainly for identification purposes).
* Save the certificate to your disk as a file named "CertificateSigningRequest.certSigningRequest."
1. Applying for a Certificate in Apple Developer
* Log in to your developer account.
* Go to the account page.
* Create an identifier (ID).
* If you primarily publish apps on the App Store, select the first option.
Creating a certificate:
* For iOS apps, you only need two types of certificates. Other types are for Mac app or general use.
* Next, upload the file obtained from the Keychain Access application when creating the certificate.
* Once uploaded, you can see the .cer certificate.
* Usually, you would convert it to .p12 using Keychain Assistant on an Apple Mac computer, but you can also use Appuploader for Windows, Linux, or macOS to simplify the process.
1. Creating an App in App Store Connect
* If you need to apply for in-app purchases, you will need to provide banking information in the agreements and banking section.
* Create an app for submission on App Store Connect.
* Provide basic information such as title, subtitle, category, rating, etc.
* Set the price and sales territories.
* In the "Prepare for Submission" section, provide the necessary information for App Store display, including preview images, logo, description, and other review details.
* If you need to apply for in-app purchases, click on "Add In-App Purchases" and provide the required information.
* If you need to test in-app purchases, register a sandbox test account by filling in the required information and completing the verification process.
1. Packaging and Submitting with Xcode
* Ensure that the bundle ID in Xcode matches the one set up in the developer account, and the version number matches the one set in App Store Connect.
* Once the build is complete, go to App Store Connect, add the build version, and submit it for review.
Congratulations! Now you just need to wait for the review process to be completed.


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