Preparing to deploy to Android Market (now Google Play) might be an intimidating prospect, but it doesn’t need to be. Google has made it easy to get your app into the Android Market.
Note that Google continually improves the Developer Console, so don’t be surprised if you see a few differences from these images (and even the name – it’s now Google Play). The basic process to deploy your app to the Android Market (Google Play) generally remains the same.
Signing up as an Android Developer and Publisher
Before you can publish an app, you need to register with the Android Market. It costs $25, but this is a one-time fee, good for as many applications as you want to deploy to Google Play.
Once you have registered, you can get into the Developer Console. From here, click the lovely blue button to upload an application:
You’ll have the option to upload your .apk file, and then you get to the rest of the text and graphic assets.
Click on any of the Developer Console images below to see them in greater detail.
Add some spiffy images
I make sure I have all of my graphics and text ready before I go do deploy an app, so things go faster.
Several of the graphics are required, and you can’t deploy your app without them. Hopefully you have your high-resolution icon and your screenshots ready now.
Promo and feature graphics are also important, but if you don’t have them ready you can wait until after you deploy your app to the Android Market (Google Play).
Your .apk and graphic assets to use in the Android Market
If any more proof was needed that independent developers can succeed with Android apps, the Amazon Appstore is doing its best to provide it.
While it may seem like an insurmountable task to get an Android app out there and start earning money, it really isn’t. You just need the right tools and knowledge to prevent getting bogged down in unnecessary tasks. That’s why I distilled just the most important tasks to cover into this guide.
An unfortunate part of Android app sales is getting declined payments, refunds, and even chargebacks. It can be discouraging when you find that income you could have earned is snatched back from you, so it’s best to arm yourself with knowledge of how the system works.