The 10 Ways to Prepare your Android App for Google Play Store

Preparing your app for its first look in the app store doesn’t just include having a right marketing plan in place. It goes way beyond that. There are a number of things you have to take care of in terms of your app’s technicalities.

Especially when your app is getting prepared to go live on Play Store, a platform that is filled with at least thousands of similar apps for every category, you need to pay special attention on making it visible and worth sticking to.

When it comes to Google Play Store, in order to have a smooth app launch that creates a lasting impression, you will have to start preparing your app from days in advance. Something your partnered android app development company would help you with.

Here are a list of things that you should consider before making your app release in the Google Play Store.

1. Make the App Size Small

Nobody likes an app that is large in size and takes up a huge space on their mobile devices. App size becomes an even  bigger problem when your users are working on their app in a network conditions that are dominated by 2G and Edge.  

While there are a number of ways you can reduce your app size, For us, these have come very handy in our Android App Development process –

• Use tools such as DexGuard or ProGuard to reduce the app size by eliminating a number of unused methods, after analyzing the APK with the help of a APK Analyzer. Along with this, compression of resources that are included in the APK also works.
• If the app stores a number of assets like video clips, audio clips, etc. it is better to off load the assets to the server and then load them on-demand.

2. App Localization

One of the best things about developing Android apps is the market it opens your application up to. By localizing your mobile app to fit in the language and culture of the areas your users belong to, you will open yourself to a much greater customer base.

To help with app localization, you should invest in a translation service agency that not just knows the languages and phrases well but also knows about the culture so that they can advice you with the words you should use and avoid.

Read: How to Localize your App to Increase its Conversion Rate by 200%

3. ADetailed Performance Audit

The last thing that you would want with your app after it’s launched is to see a series of bad reviews commenting on your app’s performance issues. Getting an in depth app quality and performance check made before your app is introduced to the world, will increase the longevity of your mobile app in the Play Store.

A strict audit on how your app is performing will ensure your users having a good time within the application.

4. AStringent Security Check

Even when you have made your app go through a series of security checks n number of times in the past, make sure you check its security status before it’s launched in the market.

If your app deals in storing personal information, make sure that all the data and information are properly encrypted before they are shared on the app. In case of passwords and pins, use hadhing instead of encryption, to save them.

Lastly, don’t forget to keep your code copy proof. Unless you are not planning to make your app’s code an open source, keep it secured to prevent someone from making changes to it.

5. Integration of Crash Reporting Tool

You wouldn’t want to encounter a situation where you find out your app is crashing but your developers are clueless about it, to even solve it well within time. Integrating a crash report tool in your mobile application from its very early stages will prepare its timely monitoring and check.

6. Test App on Different Device and Android Versions

If Android gives you a massive potential of coming in front of a world of millions, it also makes things tricky by making you available on n number of devices, each with their set of features and configuration. And there are the different OS versions, which the million users are not on the same page with.

Read: The role Android Espresso and AWS Device Farm plays in Android App Testing

To ensure that your mobile application performs well in the market, you will to test it among different platforms and operating system versions. Almost all the OEMs personalize their ROMs in order to create unique experience for their specific set of users, making it all the more important to test your Android app on different devices.

7. Last Minutes SDKs

The minimum SDK you allot to you Android app should be the blend of the features your app want to offer and the users’ base it wish to target. The number would also depend on the which operating system the majority of your user base is on. Keeping your API level in line with the operating system they are on, and one or two versions above it (wherever possible) will make it easier to keep them hooked for long.

8. Work on Optimization

Before launching your app on Play Store, make sure you have optimized the images and the layout for the variety of screen sizes.

9. Have a Release Plan

Give your Android app the support of a proper release plan. By the time the app comes at the final stages of its development, decide on the release time, which should not coincide with any major event or on the weekend.

Decide whether you will be launching the whole app in one go or would you be releasing it in batches. And whether or not you will be sending the app to a batch of your prospective customers for feedback.

Having a plan for mobile app release ready is also needed to make your team of developers ready on the sidewalks to handle the issues that the users might come across in the first few days of the launch.

10. Make the Content Play Store Ready

Now that you are 90% close to your app launch and everything is going as per your release plan, it’s time to make your content visible among the thousands of similar apps in the Play Store.

Everything from your app name to its description should incorporate keyword in a way that it makes sense while increasing its chances of becoming visible on the store. The images and videos you use for upload, should clearly define the purpose of your application. So, start preparing them to solve their purpose perfectly.

Now that you know the 10 ways you can prepare your Android app to not just get visible on its first day but also have an ensured app downloads number, what are you waiting for? Contact our Team of Play Store Experts and get it ready for millions.