The Mobile App Launch Checklist — How to Ship Apps Like a Boss

Launching a successful mobile app takes a lot more than just coding a minimum viable product and submitting it to the App Store or Play Store. To launch an app that stands out, drives downloads, and keeps users engaged, you need to invest significant time and effort into planning, testing, optimizing, and marketing.

Consider these eye-opening stats:

• Over 5,500 apps are released on the App Store and Play Store every day on average (Source)
• The average app loses 77% of its daily active users within the first 3 days after install (Source)
• Nearly 50% of apps are uninstalled within 30 days (Source)
• The average user spends 77% of their time on their top 3 apps (Source)

With millions of apps vying for users‘ attention, you can‘t afford a subpar launch. As a full-stack mobile developer who has launched over 20 apps and seen downloads range from a few thousand to a few million, I‘ve put together the ultimate guide to shipping your app like a boss.

Step 1: Test rigorously

I can‘t stress this enough: test, test, and test some more before even thinking about launching. All the marketing dollars in the world can‘t make up for a buggy, crash-prone app. Shoddy apps get poor reviews, tank your reputation, and lead to massive uninstalls.

Your comprehensive mobile testing plan should include:

• Unit tests for individual classes and functions
• Integration tests for component interactions
• End-to-end tests that simulate complete user flows
• Performance and load testing
• UI/UX tests on a range of target devices
• Edge case and error handling tests
• Manual QA sessions and dogfooding

Aim for at least 90%+ code coverage with your automated tests. Supplement them with regular manual testing to catch issues automation can‘t.

Best-in-class mobile dev teams have a "shift left" mentality, with testing integrated early and often in the development process. Catching and fixing bugs pre-release is far less costly than post-release.

Step 2: Automate your workflow

Manual builds and deployments are tedious and error-prone. Implementing a robust CI/CD (continuous integration/continuous delivery) pipeline is a must for shipping high-quality apps efficiently.

With a CI/CD pipeline, you can:

• Automatically build and test your app with every code push
• Easily distribute builds to your QA team and beta testers
• Perform automated regression tests and sanity checks
• Generate up-to-date release notes and documentation
• Deploy to the App Store and Play Store with the click of a button

Popular CI/CD tools for mobile development include:

• Jenkins – Open-source automation server with a huge plugin ecosystem
• GitLab CI/CD – Continuous integration, delivery, and deployment built into GitLab
• fastlane – Open-source platform for automating iOS and Android builds and releases
• CircleCI – Cloud-based CI/CD platform with strong mobile support
• Bitrise – Mobile-first CI/CD solution with a visual workflow editor

Whichever tool you choose, a streamlined CI/CD workflow saves a ton of time and headaches compared to manually wrangling builds and releases.

Step 3: Optimize for speed and size

Mobile users are an impatient bunch – 50% of users expect an app to launch within 2 seconds. Bloated, sluggish apps get swiftly deleted and replaced. Performance optimization and app thinning should be high priorities for a successful launch.

Key areas to optimize include:

• Cold start time – Aim for under 2 seconds from tap to interactive
• Responsiveness – Shoot for <100 ms response time for key interactions
• Network latency – Implement caching, compression, batching, retry logic
• Memory usage – Find and fix leaks, avoid unbounded collections, cache images
• Battery drain – Batch network/sensor access, avoid unnecessary background processing
• App size – Remove unused resources, compress assets, use app bundles

Use profilers like Instruments (iOS), Android Studio Profiler, and platform-specific tools to measure and optimize performance pre-release.

By the numbers:

• The average app size is 38 MB on Android and 34 MB on iOS (Source)
• 50% of apps start in 2 seconds or less (Source)
• Every 100 milliseconds of latency costs 1% of sales (Source)

Step 4: Nail your app store presence

Your app‘s listing in the App Store or Play Store acts as its product page and storefront all in one. An engaging, compelling listing can massively boost installs from browsing users.

Some best practices for your app store presence:

• App name – Clear, concise, unique, memorable, keyword-rich
• App icon – Eye-catching, distinctive, simple, recognizable at small sizes
• Screenshots – 3-5 crisp, compelling screenshots showing main features/UIs; incorporate explanatory text
• Video – Short, engaging 15-30 second video that demonstrates key use cases and value propositions
• Description – Highlight benefits, not just features; use active voice; include social proof; naturally incorporate keywords
• Keywords – Target specific, relevant keywords; avoid repetition with title/description; update based on trends
• Localization – Translate and localize all assets for global users

Also consider creating a landing page or mini-site for your app outside the stores. This gives you more control over messaging and provides a destination for marketing campaigns.

Optimizing your store presence is an art and a science. Regularly A/B test assets like icons and screenshots to continually improve conversion rates.

Step 5: Run a beta test

Before unleashing your app on the world, gather feedback via a limited beta release. Beta testing lets you validate core functionality, find and fix edge case bugs, and get feedback on the overall user experience.

Best practices for beta testing include:

• Recruit engaged, representative testers who align with your target audience
• Provide clear instructions and onboarding; make it dead simple to submit feedback
• Actively gather feedback via in-app surveys, prompts, and follow-up emails
• Quickly triage incoming issues and rapidiously update your beta build
• Solicit candid App Store/Play Store reviews to identify gaps and friction points
• Consider an open beta to get more feedback and build pre-launch buzz

Some popular beta testing tools include TestFlight (iOS), Google Play beta tests (Android), and HockeyApp (cross-platform).

Treat beta testing as an ongoing process, not a one-and-done release. The more iterative feedback you get pre-launch, the more battle-tested your app will be at release.

Step 6: Lock and load for launch

When launch day arrives, you need all hands on deck to ensure a smooth rollout. Some launch day priorities include:

• Monitoring vital signs like crashes, load times, and server health
• Rapidly triaging and resolving any emerging issues or bugs
• Responding to user feedback and reviews in a timely fashion
• Executing your marketing and PR plan to drive awareness and adoption
• Analyzing initial acquisition, retention, and user sentiment data

Have a central "war room" with representatives from development, QA, ops, marketing, and customer service to coordinate launch activities. Make sure everyone is equipped with the tools and dashboards they need to monitor launch health in real-time.

Also have a clear rollback plan in case of unexpected failures or major bugs. The ability to quickly revert to a previous version or disable problematic features can save your launch.

Step 7: Measure and optimize

With your app live in the wild, it‘s time to gather data and optimize for ongoing success. Some key metrics to track include:

• User acquisition – Downloads, cost-per-install, user acquisition channels
• Engagement – Daily/monthly active users, session length, session interval
• Retention – Day 1, 7, and 30 retention; churn rate
• Monetization – Conversion rate, average revenue per user, lifetime value
• Performance – Load times, crash rate, app size, ratings, and reviews

Instrument your app with robust analytics to get a granular view of user behavior. Quickly identify any barriers to adoption and optimize your onboarding flow.

Monitor dashboards daily to spot any emerging trends or issues. Watch app reviews like a hawk to quickly address user complaints and suggestions.

Also track key performance indicators (KPIs) specific to your app‘s value proposition. For example, a photo-sharing app might focus on the number of photos uploaded per user per day. Aligning your development priorities around core KPIs keeps everyone focused on what matters most.

Step 8: Keep the momentum going

Congrats – you‘ve launched your app! But as any experienced app developer will tell you, launch is just the beginning. To maintain and grow your app over time requires ongoing investment in both product development and marketing.

Some proven tactics to drive long-term growth and engagement:

• Regularly release new features and content to give users a reason to come back
• Personalize the user experience based on behavior and preferences
• Experiment with re-engagement tactics like push notifications and email campaigns
• Incentivize referrals and user-generated content to drive organic growth
• Gather feature requests and bug reports to continually improve your offering
• Run A/B tests and experiment with monetization strategies to optimize your revenue

Maintaining an app is often more work than building v1.0. But all that effort is worth it – apps with long-term traction and engagement can drive serious revenue.

By the numbers:

• The average app makes $5-11k per month (Source)
• Worldwide consumer spend in app stores reached $120 billion in 2019 (Source)
• Subscription-based apps have grown revenue 50% year-over-year (Source)

The most successful apps continue to grow revenue for years by delighting and retaining users. Make sure you have a long-term plan to support and evolve your app post-launch.

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Shipping a successful app takes a ton of work – but the payoff can be huge. By investing in testing, optimization, marketing, and ongoing development, you can maximize your chances of launching an app that makes a real impact.

Remember, even the most hyped apps often struggle at first. Don‘t get discouraged by bumps along the way – every misstep is a chance to learn and improve. Keep talking to your users, keep iterating, and most importantly, keep shipping!

Happy launching!