So, you've just built a custom iOS application and now you need to publish it in iTunes and assist your customer with deploying the app to end users' mobile devices (i.e. app distribution). To make it happen, it's not enough to just have the app's source code, Apple Developer account and AppleID. It always takes more to publish and push the app to the distribution stage of your application lifecycle. Keep reading to find out different ways of publishing and distributing a custom-built iOS app in iTunes.
For starters, let's talk about accesses you need to publish an app:
If the customer doesn't want to provide you with these credentials, you may need to ask them for special roles assignment. That’s also a very important thing to consider, because if you make a mistake and ask the customer for the wrong role, you'll bump into serious issues in the future. So let's review the following roles and what they do:
Now when you have your AppleID, Apple Developer Account, and access to the iTunes Connect, let’s move on to the app distribution. What should you do next?
Distributing an application – just as with developing an application – requires that applications be provisioned using the appropriate provisioning profile. Provisioning profiles are files that contain code signing information, as well as the identity of the application and the intended distribution mechanism. They also contain information about what devices the app can be deployed to for the non-App Store distribution. Similar to a Development provisioning profile, a Distribution Profile will contain the following:
Note that you can use the same AppID and Devices that you used for your development provisioning profile. But if you don’t have one we should create a new Distribution Certificate. It will help Apple to identify our organization. So let’s do it step by step:
You can also request the Certificate's approval from your Admin. With this Certificate you can now try to push your app to the store. It is important to note that to use iTunes Connect, and to publish an app to the App Store, you must be part of either an individual or organizational Apple Developer Program. You will not be able to follow these steps if you aren't a member of the Apple Developer Enterprise Program.
The Apple Developer Enterprise Program allows you to develop proprietary, in-house iOS and watchOS apps that you can distribute to users within your organization and those outside the App Store.
Apple Developer Enterprise Program will cost to you $299 USD per year and will give you an option to deploy and publish your in-house apps. Apple Developer Enterprise Program certificates will last for three years, and provisioning profiles will expire after one year. It is important to note that expired certificates cannot be renewed, and instead, you will have to replace the expired certificate with a new one.
The D-U-N-S Number is a unique nine-digit number that identifies business entities on a location-specific basis. Assigned and maintained by Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), the D-U-N-S Number is widely used as a standard business identifier.
It is also important to note that the Enterprise Program does not provide access to iTunes Connect for distribution or testing (including TestFlight). All apps still need to be signed by Apple.
As with other Apple Developer Programs, only Admin can create Distribution Certificates and Provisioning Profiles in the Apple Developer Enterprise Program. So, if you are Admin, let’s go for the next steps to create a Distribution Certificate:
Once you've got your certificate, your app can be distributed securely using a variety of different means, such as:
To distribute your app in any of these ways you should first create an .ipa file, an iOS application archive file which stores an iOS app. Each .ipa file includes a binary for the ARM architecture and can only be installed on an iOS device. These .ipa files work as packages for applications and are used to push an application locally to iTunes so that it can be synced directly to a device that is included to the provisioning profile.
To wrap it up, be patient and read the manuals before you do anything within your or your customer's Apple accounts!
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