Category: Help Knowledge Base

In this guide, we will go through some of the frequently asked questions about testing iOS apps.

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t provide users with an easy way to test iOS apps before they are available in the App Store, they require you to use TestFlight, an app that is maintained by Apple itself. Although the app is easy enough to use, it will require you to take some extra steps before your users can test it.

Different testing methods using TestFlight

Invitation

This is the quickest method to get users to start testing your app.

You will be required to add your testers to your Apple Developer Account, and then, once they have accepted the invitation, add them as testers to TestFlight.

Here is a breakdown of the steps for your reference:

1. Invite a user by his Apple ID email, to your Apple Developer Account. You can find a guide on how to do so, clicking here
2. Once the user has accepted the invitation, you will need to add him as a tester to your app in the TestFlight area. You can find a guide on how to do so, clicking here

Public link

If instead of adding users to your Apple Developer account and then inviting them to TestFlight you prefer to simply send a link to the users that you would like to test the app you can use the Public Link alternative.

To generate your public link you will need to submit your app for review and wait until it gets approved by Apple, which usually takes about 48 hours. Once your app is approved you will be able to generate a link that can be shared with users so they get access to a test version of your app.

You can find a complete guide on how to generate the public link for your app by clicking here.

Redeem Code

The redeem code is required in order for users to be able to download the app in TestFlight.

Below you will find answers to the most common questions about the redeem code.

How do I get a redeem code?

The redeem code is sent to your email once you are added as a tester to TestFlight.

Where do I use the redeem code?

The redeem code is used inside the TestFlight app, when you open TestFlight you should see a “redeem code” link on the top right:

Can other users use my redeem code?

No, each user will need to be invited separately in order for a unique redeem code to be generated.

I didn’t get my redeem code, what do I do?

Before anything make sure to check your email SPAM box, if you still can’t find your code we recommend resending the invitation to your email.

In order to be able to publish your app to the App Store, for iOS devices, you will need to have an Apple Developer Account.Below we will list all the steps that you need to take in order to register for your own Apple Developer Account.Keep in mind that you will need a few things in order to be able to enroll in the Apple Developer Program, these are the requirements:Apple IDIf you have an iOS device, you probably already have an Apple ID, if for some reason you don’t have one yet, you can quickly register here: https://appleid.apple.com/accountEnable Two-Factor AuthenticationAs a security measure, Apple will require you to have two-factor authentication enabled in your Apple ID before you can proceed with the enrollment. You can find more details on how to enable the two-factor authentication clicking hereDUNS NumberApple will also require you to have a DUNS number if you are a Company. If you are not sure if you have a DUNS number or if you’d like to request one (totally free), you can do so in this page: https://developer.apple.com/enroll/duns-lookup/Why should I enroll as a Company?You must enroll as an organization if your company is a registered company such as Corporation (Corp., Inc.), Limited Liability Company (LLC, LC, Ltd. Co.), or a legal entity (GmbH, AG, KG, oHg, etc.).If you are a sole proprietorship you must register as an Individual. Apple does not accept DBAs, fictitious businesses, trade names, or branches for enrollment as a company/organizationBenefits of an Organization account:

• You can invite developers to access your account
• You can choose the name that will be displayed on the stores as the Developer of the app – this will match your company name e.g. Business Inc.
• Apple will know you’re authorized to act for the company and will not challenge your use of your own brand name and content

Next StepsOnce you have your Apple ID and DUNS Number in hands, you can then proceed with the next steps:

1. Register as a Developer, you just need to read and accept the agreement here: https://developer.apple.com/account
2. Start the Apple Developer Program enrollment as an Organization here: https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/After filling in the form, make sure to check your email for the enrollment confirmation.Note that Apple will verify the provided information and that the internal review process might take up to 3 days.
3. The Apple Developer Program has a recurring cost of $99 per year, and you will need to maintain the payments up to date in order for your app to be available in the App Store. At the end of the enrollment, you will be requested to proceed with the payment, click Purchase and make the payment to complete the enrollment.

That’s it! The enrollment process is now completed, as soon as you receive a confirmation from Apple saying that your account has been approved you can then invite our team to your account so we can start working on your iOS app.

In this guide you will find more details on how to prepare the following graphics:

• Splash screen
• App icon
• Notification icon
• Featured image

The app icon and splash screen are important aspects of apps, they are the first two things a user will see after installing your app.

Below you will find instructions and tips on how to prepare the graphics for your Canvas app.

Before you start, make sure you have a good quality version of your logo to work with, this will drastically improve the final graphics for your app.

What is a high-quality version of my logo?

A high-quality version of your logo means that it allows it to be resized without losing quality, below you will find the two most common cases:

Source files as vector

If you have the source file for your logo in .ai, .svg, .cdr, .pdf, it means that you can easily increase its size without losing any quality, this is the ideal scenario

Good quality and big size

Alternatively, you might only have your logo in .png or .jpeg, which is fine, but in these cases, your logo will need to be at least 1000x1000px in size, so we can resize it with minimal quality loss.

I don’t have any of these 🙁

In this case, our recommendation would be for you to have a designer assist with preparing a vectorized version of your logo, which will allow you to apply your brand in different scenarios with a more professional and better quality look.

If your logo consists of a simple font, you can then provide the font files to our team and we will try to work with it to prepare the graphics.

Below you can see the difference that a high-quality graphic can make in your app:

Splash screen background

The splash screen for your app consists of two graphics, the logo, and the background, which will be placed one over the other in the final version, as you can see below:

It is important to keep in mind that your background will get cropped depending on the device size in which your app is installed, so you definitely don’t want to use text or anything that can’t be cropped in your background.

The background image must be 2048x2048px in size, no transparencies, in .png or .jpeg format.

Splash screen logo

Your logo will be placed over the background, it must be 1000x1000px in size, with a transparent background, in .png format.

Note that although the file size is required to be 1000x1000px in size, your logo should be centered and have some bleeding on the sides, to make sure your logo won’t touch the edges of the device.

See the images below for reference:

App icon Android

When preparing the icons for your apps you need to keep in mind that the app icon will be displayed in a small size, so depending on how your logo looks like you will want to use a reduced or minimalistic version of your logo, which will fit much better into the icon, see below:

SAMPLE ICONS

For Android specifically, you will need to provide 2 different files for the app icon, similarly to what you did for the splash screen.

App icon logo

The app icon logo must be 512x512px in size with a transparent background, in .png format, with some padding on the sides.

You can see an example below:

App icon background

The app icon background must also be 512x512px in size, with no transparencies, in .png format, you can see an example below:

App icon for the Play Store

You will also need to provide a separate version of your app icon, with your background and logo merged into a single file, this graphic will be used in the Play Store.

The Play Store app icon must be 512x512px in size, no transparencies, in .png format, here is an example:

App icon iOS

The iOS app icon consists of a single file, with 1024x1024px in size, no transparencies, in .png format.

For iOS keep in mind that the icon will be automatically rounded by Apple, so you will want to make sure that you have some padding on the sides to avoid having elements getting cropped.

Here you can see an example:

Push notification icon for Android

Android allows you to customize the icon that is displayed on the user’s device when a notification is received.

Just like with the app icon you will want to use a minimalistic version of your logo, since the push icon is displayed in very small sizes.

The file must be at least 200x200px in size, with a transparent background, in .png format.

You will then need to upload your file to the Android Asset Studio tool, which you can find clicking here.

Here you can see a quick video of how that process looks like:

Keeping users logged-in is extremely important, so they don’t have to login everytime they open their app.

In some cases the user login time might be affected by your server configuration or even third-party plugins installed on your website.

Below you can see a function that will help with adjusting the login duration in WordPress, the code must be placed in your theme’s functions.php file:

// keep users logged in for longer in wordpress
function keep_users_logged_in_longer( $expirein ) {
// 1 month in seconds
return 2628000;
}
add_filter( ‘auth_cookie_expiration’, ‘keep_users_logged_in_longer’ );