In this guide, we will look into how to export a signed APK from your Android Studio and publish it to your play store for your users to download and use.
1. Export signed APK
Go to Build>Generate Signed APK.
By default 'app' will be selected. Press Next.
If you are generating the build for the first time you would not have a key store file, so let's create one. Press Create new.
Choose a file location by pressing the red box. You will be prompted to enter a file name and the location you want to store the key file. Give the key store file a Password. Next give a Alias for your key, which is nothing but a unique string key. Give a Password for your Alias.
Next, under the Certificate section enter atleast one value and press OK.
Once done, it will look like this:
The file you create in this step is very important. Make sure you don't lose this file. Also remember the Alias and password you have given. If you lose any of this, you won't be able to make any future updates to your app in play store.
Verify the details once and press Next.
Choose an APK destination location and check both boxes and press Finish.
You APK file will be generated in the destination folder given.
2. Publish to Play Store.
Login to your . Create a new application.
Give a display title for your app and press Create.
Go to the Store presence tab on the side menu. We need to update the following tabs:
- Store listing
- Pricing & distribution
- Content rating
Store listing
This is where you will give the description, screenshot and feature image. Make sure you fill all the fields marked as Required(*). If you are targeting users of different languages, you can manage your description translation in this tab.
Pricing & distribution
Set if your app is Free or Paid in this tab. Also, manage the countries where you want to distribute your app. Again make sure you fill all the fields marked as Required(*).
Content rating
You need to answer a questionnaire about your app to apply a content rating for your app. Google will use this content rating to display your app to a suitable audience.
