Apple App Store

Developers can download the complete source code for their app and publish it using standard Apple development tools. Median also offers configuration, consulting, and publishing services. If you would like assistance with publishing, please contact us.

Apple Developer Account

To publish an app on the Apple App Store, you must have an active Apple Developer account.

You can enroll in the Apple Developer Program here: https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/.

Individual vs. Organization Apple Developer Accounts

When enrolling in the Apple Developer Program, you must choose between an Individual account or an Organization account. The appropriate choice depends on how your app will be owned, managed, and published.

Both account types allow you to publish apps to the App Store, but they differ in branding, account management, and verification requirements.

Organization Account

An Organization Apple Developer account is designed for companies, startups, and teams that want to distribute apps under a business name. With this account type, the organization’s name appears as the seller on the App Store instead of an individual developer's name.

Organization accounts support team-based development by allowing multiple users to access the account through role-based permissions. The following roles are available for you when managing the app:

• Account Holder: Legal owner. Signs contracts, renews membership.
• Admin: Manages users, certificates, profiles, and submissions.
• Developer: Creates certificates & profiles, registers devices, signs apps.
• App Manager: Creates apps, uploads builds, manages TestFlight.
• Marketing: Updates screenshots, descriptions, views analytics.

Because the account represents a legal business entity, Apple requires additional verification during enrollment. Organizations must provide company information and a D-U-N-S® Number, which Apple uses to confirm the organization’s identity.

Individual Account

An Individual Apple Developer account is intended for a single developer who wants to publish apps under their personal identity. When you publish an app using this account type, your personal name appears as the seller on the App Store listing rather than a company name.

This account type is designed primarily for independent developers and personal projects. It provides the ability to build, sign, and publish apps, but it offers limited support for team collaboration. Typically, the account is managed by a single account holder with full administrative access.

Individual accounts are generally faster to set up because Apple does not require business verification. This makes them a good option for developers who are experimenting with app development, building side projects, or publishing apps independently.

Individual Account Limitations

New personal accounts (created after November 2023) face major publishing restrictions.

• No Direct Production: Production releases, pre-registration & full distribution are locked until testing is done.
• 14-Day closed Testing: Must run a closed test with 12+ real testers for 14 consecutive days. Dropouts reset the clock.
• Extra review required: After testing, you must request access and answer Google's questions before going live.
• Published under your name: No company branding. Apps will be listed under your personal name.

Side-by-Side Comparison

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Want to publish quickly or represent a company? Go with an Organization Account.

Which Should You Choose?

For most business apps, an Organization account is recommended because it allows team management and displays your company name in the App Store.

If you are building a personal project or experimenting with app development, an Individual account may be sufficient.

If you plan to transfer ownership to a company later, migrating from an Individual account to an Organization account can require additional steps, so consider your long-term publishing needs before enrolling.

iOS Bundle ID

The Bundle ID uniquely identifies your application within the Apple ecosystem. It connects your app to the provisioning profiles and signing certificates in your Apple Developer account.

The Bundle ID is not visible to end users. Apple recommends using reverse domain name notation.

For example, if your website is example.com, your recommended Bundle ID is com.example.app.

Choose a Bundle ID that is unique and consistent with your organization's naming conventions.

Signing Certificates

After creating your Apple Developer account, you must generate signing certificates to build and distribute your app.

For detailed instructions, see Apple’s documentation: Maintaining Your Signing Identities and Certificates.

AppStoreConnect App Store Listing

Create your app store listing at https://appstoreconnect.apple.com. You'll need to fill out several pieces of information including app name, description, search keywords, screenshots for the various devices sizes, content rating, contact person and a few more.

Once your listing is complete, select the build you want to submit. If no build is available yet, follow the steps in the Uploading Your Build section below.

App Store Screenshot Requirements

Apple supports screenshots for several device sizes. With the introduction of Media Manager in App Store Connect, you can upload screenshots for the largest device sizes, and Apple will automatically scale them for smaller devices.

For a complete list of supported screenshot sizes, see: Apple's Screenshot specifications.

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App Store Screenshot Templates

Median provides a collection of 500+ free screenshot templates for Android and iOS apps. These templates support a variety of design styles and branding requirements.

Browse and download the templates here: App store screenshot templates

Screenshot File Requirements

Screenshots must meet the following specifications:

• 72 DPI
• RGB color space
• Flattened images (no layers)
• No transparency
• High-quality JPEG or PNG format

Screenshot sizes for iPhone

Screenshot sizes for iPad

By default, all Median apps are universal meaning they run on all iOS and iPadOS devices. Therefore you need to provide and upload iPad screenshots.

Uploading Your Build

You may download the complete iOS source code for your app from your Median app's manage page. Uncompress the ios_source.tar.gz file (you might use tar -xzvf ios_source.tar.gz using Terminal on Mac OSX). Then, open MedianIOS.xcworkspace in the latest non-beta version of Xcode.

You'll want to be sure that your developer account is added to Xcode, and that the Provisioning Profile you generated previously is available to use. You may double check that your app's Bundle ID is set correctly in your app's General settings.

You can now go to Product -> Archive in the menus. If Archive is grayed out, make sure to select Generic iOS Device or a plugged-in physical iOS Device in the top left of the Xcode window. Once your app is Archived, you'll see a button to upload the build to the App Store. After the upload is successful, it sometimes takes an hour before the build appears in your AppStoreConnect app store listing.

Once your build is selected, and all your App Store listing data is filled out, you may click the "Submit for Review" button in the top right. On the next page, you may be asked questions about Cryptography, the Advertising Identifier, and 3rd Party Content. Median apps DO use Cryptography, but fall under the exception for standard user authentication. Median does NOT use the Advertising Identifier. You will have to determine for yourself if your app uses 3rd party content, and if you have the rights to it.