11 tips to get your app through Apple's App Store review easily

Publishing on iOS is both challenging and rewarding. Even though App Store Review Guidelines are strict and demanding, many developers still want to publish on Apple devices. It is not surprising, particularly because the average iOS app makes 5 times more, per download, than an Android app.

To make things easy and smooth for you, we have gathered together all of our experience and created this 11 step guide. Below you have 11 tips, best practices, and common mistakes that we noticed after publishing thousands of apps in the Apple App Store.

Read them and implement them, and you will never struggle with Apple revision again.

Design

1. Apple is famous for its great and minimalistic design. This is also a big part of their marketing strategy. No wonder they pay special attention, making sure that applications are designed according to current trends. Design is as important as functionality, so go the extra mile and make sure that your app is beautiful and clean. To learn more about current design check our blog post with 5 tips on great design.

2. Icons are a very important element to which Apple draws attention during the evaluation of an app. Make sure that they have high resolution since Apple is checking apps on iPad with their 2048×1536 Retina Display. Also, make sure that icons reflect their purpose and are in accordance with accepted signs. Otherwise, your app is likely to be rejected.

3. A common mistake that beginning developers do is to put text from edge to edge of a screen. Apple considers that kind of app ugly and is likely to reject it. We’ve noticed that the best and the easiest way to avoid this mistake is to keep a 5% margin on each side of the text box.

Navigation bar

4. One of the biggest differences between iOS and Android devices is the lack of navigation buttons at the bottom of a screen. In order to make an app convenient, set the top bar with the back button (see image below). Otherwise, your app will be definitely be rejected.

5. Although the bottom bar is optional, it is highly recommended. Usually, it serves the purpose of linking additional functionalities like: contact forms, call functions, direct access to sections, etc.

Functionalities

6. Apple designers put a lot of effort into making things easy and intuitive for their users, and they expect you to do your part. That means they create a lot of native functionality to get things done easier or faster. We noticed that every time some of native functionality isn’t used, Apple rejects the app. Hence, always use native functions, such as calendar, phone calls, social media sharing, maps, gallery, forms, etc. The more native functionalities you use, the more likely your app is going to be accepted.

7. Although apps considered as trial, demo or test will be rejected, you can try to go through TestFlight, but it must also meet restricted TestFlight Guidelines. That said, remember that apps with unrelated functionality or inactive buttons will be rejected by Apple. Also, screens without any content or to be completed soon will cause rejections. The same goes for apps considered as collections of links.

8. Do not use a device browser to open a website. Instead, change the open URL functions for embedded webs.

Good Practices

9. Apple is proud of their policy of keeping kids safe, so apps containing any kind of pornography, violence or abuse of children will be rejected immediately.

10. Apps may not infringe upon the copyrights of third parties, trademarks, and patents. Also, apps that mention the name or put images of any other mobile platform will be rejected.

11. An important element of publishing in Apple App Store is App Store Optimization (ASO) many of its elements are not only good for promoting your app but also essential to go through Apple review. We made a comprehensive report about ASO, you can read it here.

Conclusion

Although strict requirements might frighten some developers, it is worth publishing on iOS. On one hand, it is a valuable market where you can earn a lot. On the other hand if you already have your app in Google Play, you can double your downloads by publishing it in the App Store. While it may require a few changes, it may also double your revenue.

Last but not least, many mistakes can be easily avoided by using our Templates. They are prepared to meet the high standards of any market and are easy to modify.

What are your tips for publishing for iOS?

Please share them in comments below.