Writing this post so you won’t have the same issues as I did when I was trying to publish Dim and Sum :) Check them out here — https://appsto.re/us/9Kogfb

From sketches to the iMessage App Store: How I got my stickers published in 8 days (Part 2 of 2)

This is a continuation from my previous post, you can find part 1 here which talks about my process for preparing my stickers for the iMessage App store– you can check out my stickers here. The second part will focus more on setting up and publishing the app. I’ve also made a cheat sheet for all the things you need to make it easier, check it here ;)

4. Join the Apple Developer’s Program

Assuming you are not a part of the program yet, you will have to register for one to be able to distribute apps on the App Store. It costs USD99 per year or MYR370. The process is straightforward and acceptance is immediate. The only hiccup for me is I had to contact Apple Support to amend my full legal name (required), and that took about a day.

This part could be a deal breaker for some because it involves some initial investment, but like what I always say to all Apple products, ‘Take my moneyyy!’

Don’t you love that big thank you at the top

5. Setup your iOS certificates

You need iOS certificates to develop and distribute your stickers and apps. You will need 2 certificates– development and distribution. The certificates will last for a year.

Click on the + button at the top to create a new certificate.

Once your developer account is ready, go to Account > Certificates, and you should see the image below. I’ve chosen to add my iOS certificates manually, watch this great video guide to see how it’s all done.

The process will need quite a bit of clicking around but otherwise it is quite clear. I will briefly summarize the process in the video here:

Create a new certificate for production

1. Click on the + button > Choose iOS App development
2. Create a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) via Keychain Access.
3. Upload the newly created CSR.
4. Generate the production certificate, download, and install. It will now be shown on your Keychain Access.

Create another certificate for distribution

1. Click on the + button > Choose App Store and Ad Hoc.
2. You may use the same CSR as above.
3. Generate the new distribution certificate, download, and install.
4. You’re done!

6. Register an app ID for the stickers

You will need to register an app ID for your stickers. The same ID will be used later on in Xcode’s configuration. Here’s a brief walk-through:

1. Go to Account > Identifiers > App ID > Click on the +
2. Here’s how mine looked like:

An example of how a Bundle ID is written. It can be anything, as long as it has never been used before, but keep it such that it makes sense to yourself when you read it.

3. Confirm your details and register. You’re done!

7. Create your provisioning profiles

I’m going to skip explaining the purpose of provisioning profiles, except that you need it to be able to install your stickers / apps on your test devices, and to submit them to the Apple App Store.

There are 2 provisioning profiles that you will need for your stickers, highlighted below:

The 2 provisioning profiles that you will need for your stickers

The process for creating the profiles is simple once you have your certificates and App ID set up. Just choose the what you’ve created earlier from the dropdown menus when prompted, download, install, and you’re done!

8. Create a new app on iTunes Connect

If you made it this far down the post, we are almost there! 👊🏼

iTunes Connect is what you will use to publish, test, and view analytics of your app. You can find it in your account. I personally found it to be a bit hidden, so here’s a picture:

Clicking on iTunes Connect suddenly reveals this whole other world, boom.

To create a new app, go to My Apps > Click on + > Fill the form. Assuming you have already done the previous steps, you shouldn’t have any problems filling up the form. You should now have created your first app (stickers).

Take some time to familiarize yourself with iTunes Connect. There are 2 things you should care about here:

Tab 1: App Store

What you have to do here:

• Fill up all required information about your stickers (pricing, description, categories etc.)
• Upload screenshots / artwork of your stickers for the App Store and the iMessage App store.
• The dimensions that you need– iPhone 5.5 inch display (1242 x 2208 px), iPad (2048 x 2732 px).
• Upload your app icon (1024 x 1024 px)
• You will also see the status (preparing for submission, waiting for review, etc) of your app here .

Tab 3: Testflight

Testflight is what you will use if you want to test your stickers with other users. It offers internal testing and external testing options. Internal testing means testing it within your own team with registered users (only specific roles) up to 100 people. External testing allows you to go up to 2,000 testers, but you will have to submit your beta for review by Apple before it’s made available to the testers.

9. Configuring your sticker file on Xcode

Now that you’ve gotten the set up done on iTunes connect, you will need to set up your sticker file on Xcode.

1. If you’re not signed into Xcode yet with your Apple ID, go to Preference > Account > Click on + > Sign in.
2. Go to Project Navigator > Your sticker file. You will see all the fields that you need to fill.
3. Fill the Bundle Identifier field with the same Bundle ID you created earlier.
4. Uncheck “Automatically manage signing”, and choose the provisioning profile that you have created earlier.
5. Mine looks like this:

Now that you have set that up, you will have to edit the information for the extension too, like so:

If you haven’t, set the size of your stickers. You can do this anytime in the project. Here’s how it looks like (on the right panel):

Setting the size for Dim and Sum

10. Exporting your build with Xcode

Now let’s finally upload the build to iTunes Connect!

• Make sure to select “generic iOS device” under Set the Active Scheme, then Select your .xcstickers folder > go to Product > Archive
• Go to Window > Organizer. A new window should appear and you should see your stickers on the left panel.
• Click on validate to see if all is good with your stickers. If there are issues, Xcode will notify you. Since I’m a noob myself, I won’t be offering any tips here ;)
• Now assuming all is good with your build, it’s time to upload it to iTunes connect! Click on Upload to App Store… But don’t worry, what it really means is it will upload the stickers iTunes Connect first, where there will be a review process.

What it really means is it will upload the stickers to iTunes Connect first

• Once it’s done uploading, give it some time, and it should appear on your iTunes Connect account.

11. Submitting your stickers to the App Store

• On iTunes Connect, you will be able to select the build that you’ve just uploaded for submission.
• If you decide to test it before you submit your app, here’s where Testflight will come in.
• Look through all your details and make sure they are OK, because you can’t change them once your stickers are being reviewed.
• Once you’re ready, you can click the submit button.

And that’s it! All you have to do now is to wait for the review process. It was pretty quick for mine, about 3 days. In the meantime, it’s a good idea to use this waiting time to set up your agreements, tax, and banking details with Apple. There will be some more forms to be filled (yay) but that would be the last of it!

Dim and Sum https://appsto.re/us/9Kogfb

Wow, this is a long tutorial. If you made it this far, I thank you and wish you a great journey with your iMessage stickers! It is my hope that other artists, designers, illustrators can get their work out there on different mediums, and have control over their work.

I hope you found this useful, and if there is any part of the tutorial that you need more information on, I’d be happy to help :) You can also check out my stickers here and show it some love , I would love to hear what you think about them!