Built your first app with AI? A launch checklist for the App Store

Before you submit: the rules that catch new apps

1. 1
   Spam (guideline 4.3). Apps that look like many others — the same template, the same features with a new name — are rejected. Give yours a real difference and say it on the first screen.
2. 2
   App completeness (2.1). No placeholder text, no dead buttons; if the app needs a login, give the reviewer a demo account.
3. 3
   Minimum functionality (4.2). A website wrapped in an app is not enough; the app should do something useful on the device.
4. 4
   Code that changes the app (2.5.2). An app may not download or run code that adds features after review. Apple has pulled several apps that build and run other apps for exactly this.
5. 5
   Privacy (5.1.1). A privacy policy link, and data collection labels in App Store Connect that match what the app and its SDKs really collect.
6. 6
   Payments (3.1.1). Digital features and subscriptions are sold through in-app purchase.

The store page

You get 30 characters for the name and 30 for the subtitle, plus a 100-character keywords field: use them for the words people search, not for slogans. The first screenshots should show what the app does for the user. Promotional text (170 characters) can be changed at any time without a new version — use it for launch news and offers.

Pricing that lets people try

Free to download, a free tier that is actually useful, and a subscription or a one-time unlock for more. For your first users, go further: a free year through offer codes gets people to really use the app — and to tell you what is wrong with it.

Your first hundred users

1. 1
   Friends, colleagues and communities around the problem your app solves — ask for honest feedback, not five stars.
2. 2
   List the app on AppHunt with a free year of premium: people there are looking for apps to try.
3. 3
   A launch day on Product Hunt, and a post in the subreddits where your users are (read each community’s rules on self-promotion).
4. 4
   One page on your site that answers the question your app solves, so search can find you later.

After launch

Watch crash reports, answer reviews — people notice a developer who replies — and ship small updates often. When your codes run out, add more: every new batch brings in another wave of users.