Publish Android app to Google Play

Publish Android app to Google Play

After successfully building your Android mobile app with SimiCart, you need to get your app published to Google Play Store so your customers can download it, use it and start purchasing.

Make sure you already have a Google Play Developer Account.

1. Generate google-services.json file

Log in to your Firebase Console. Click Add Project if you haven't created any Firebase project for your app.



Create a name for your project, then click Continue.



By default, Google Analytics is enabled for your project. Keep it as is and click Continue.



Select your existing Google Analytics account or create a new one. Then click Create project. When everything is ready, there will be a message: "Your new project is ready". Click Continue.



In your Project Overview, click Android button to add an Android app for your project.



Android package name: Enter a unique ID for your app. Normally it is the reverse form of your domain name. For example: com.simicart.demo.
Then click Register app.



Click Download google-services.json button to download the .json file. You will need this file to generate the .apk file in the next step.



Keep clicking Next until you get to step 4. You can click Skip this step to finish adding Android app to your Firebase project.



2. Get .apk file

Open your SimiCart Dashboard, go to App Builder > Publish. Under Android section, select Your Google Developer Account under Submit by.


There are some required information that you need to fill out:
  • Service Json: Upload the google-services.json file that you get from Step 1 above.
  • Android Key: This is the same as the Android package name that you created in Firebase from Step 1.
  • Version Name: a number representing your app version on Google Play Store. This can be in the form of x.x or x.x.x (For example: 1.5 or 4.0.2)
  • Version Code: Every APK has a versionCode that's incremented with each update of your app. When selecting the Version Code for your APK, keep in mind that you'll need to increase the versionCode for every update
  • Description: Your app's description on Google Play
  • Short Description: The first text users see when looking at your app's detail page on the Play Store app.

Then, click Get your release file. The process is going to take a few minutes and then you will see a link to get the .apk file. Click Download Android App to get the .apk file.

3. Submit your app

Go to https://play.google.com/apps/publish/ and click Create Application.




Fill out your app name, then click Create.




There are 5 sections you need to complete before submitting an application on the Google Play Store: App releases, Store listing, Content rating, App content, and Pricing & distribution. When all 5 circle checks are green, then your app is ready to be submitted.





1. App releases


Click on App releases section from left menu and click Manage under Production to create new Production version.



Click Create Release.





Click Browse Files and select the .apk file you get from Step 1.


If this is the first time you submit your app, you need to enter the release name yourself. From second time onwards when you submit app updates, the release name will be automatically suggested based on previous version.



Click Save.


2. Store listing

In Store listing section, you have to provide below information:
  • Title: Your app name on Google Play
  • Full description and Short description: You can copy these from your SimiCart Dashboard
  • Screenshots: Upload at least 2 screenshots. You can add up to 8 screenshots for each supported device type: Phone, Tablet (7 inch & 10 inch), Android TV, and Android Wear.
  • Hi-res icon (512x512): your app's icon on Google Play
  • Feature Graphic (1024x500): The feature graphic will be displayed at the top of your Store Listing page in Google Play Store


Under Categorization, choose your Application type and Category.

Content rating should be skipped in this section and will be guided in the next one.


You are also required to provide some Contact details such as Website, Email, and Phone.

Provide a Privacy Policy URL or check Not submitting a privacy policy URL at this time to skip.

3. Content rating

Select Content rating section, then click Continue.




Fill out your Email and confirm it. 

Under Select your app category, select Consumer store or Commercial streaming service.



Next, answer all required questions and click Save questionnaire.



After the questionnaires are saved, click Calculate Rating.




At last, click Apply Rating to finish this step.




4. App Content

In App Content section, click Start. Answer the questions step-by-step to the Summary page. Then click Submit.




5. Pricing & Distribution

Select the options as in the screenshot below:




In this section, you can specify countries where your app is available.




Under Contains ads, select No, it has no ads.



After completing all above steps, top menu will display a status as Ready to publish. Click on it then you will be directed to App releases section. Click on Edit release button.

Click Start rollout to production and confirm for finishing publication process.

After submitting, it may take 1 to 3 days for your app to be approved and published on Google Play Store.


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