Developing and Publishing Applications Overview for Windows Phone Marketplace
April 17, 2012
When your application is completed, you can sell it on the Windows Phone Marketplace. Consumers can buy and download applications from a centralized location and payments are automatically handled for you. For general guidelines about marketing your application in the Windows Phone Marketplace, see Best Practices for Application Marketing.
This topic guides you through the steps of submitting your application for distribution through the Windows Phone Marketplace. The Windows Phone application development lifecycle consists of the following general steps:
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If you want users to interact with the Windows Phone Marketplace from inside your application, see Launchers for Windows Phone. |
App Hub is the website where you register for membership as a Windows Phone developer. App Hub is also where you submit and manage your applications for distribution through the Windows Phone Marketplace. You should register for membership as a Windows Phone developer before you begin creating applications because some development tasks, such as installing your application on a physical phone for testing, require App Hub membership.
For step-by-step instructions about how to register, see the App Hub Registration Walkthrough. For frequently asked questions about registration, see the Registration FAQ.
Now, you are ready to start developing Windows Phone applications. The topic Getting Started with Windows Phone Development contains links to all the information that you need to get started. Code Samples for Windows Phone provide you with a jump-start to implementing new features, and the Education Catalog provides a wide variety of articles, tutorials, and utilities to help beginners and experts alike. For the full Windows Phone SDK documentation, see Windows Phone Development.
Developing and Testing Your Application
You can use both the Windows Phone Emulator and a physical Windows Phone device to develop and test your application. For more information about the Windows Phone Emulator, see Windows Phone SDK Tools. For information about how to unlock your phone for development and testing work, see Deploying and Testing on Your Windows Phone.
Preparing Your Application Icons
Images that represent your installed application on a user’s phone include the tile on the Start screen and the tile in the installed application (or game) list. These files exist in your Windows Phone application project. When you submit your application for certification, these files are part of your .XAP file. For more information, see Application Artwork.
The Marketplace Preparation Test Kit
The Marketplace Test Kit provides a suite of automated, monitored, and manual tests to help make sure that your applications are accepted in the Marketplace the first time you submit them. The Marketplace Test Kit enables you to test your application against the certification requirements right from Visual Studio. For more information, see Windows Phone Marketplace Test Kit.
The following two subsections explain the key prerequisites that you need before you submit your application. For a checklist of requirements, see the Application Submission Checklist.
The .XAP File
When you finish your application and build your project in Visual Studio, Visual Studio creates the .XAP file for the application. The .XAP file contains the executable file and all the resources needed by your application. The .XAP file is the only application file that you need to upload in the submission process. For more information, see Upload your Application.
Application Artwork
When you submit your application for certification, you provide the artwork that represents your application in the Windows Phone Marketplace catalog. For more information, see Application Artwork.
After you have assembled the prerequisites, you are ready to submit your application to App Hub for certification. For the full list of certification requirements, see the Application Certification Requirements for Windows Phone. After the application has satisfied the certification requirements, you are notified. If you chose the automatic publication option during the submission process, your application is automatically published, otherwise you can publish it manually on the App Hub dashboard. You can review your application submissions at any time on the App Hub dashboard.
For step-by-step instructions about how to submit your application, see the Application Submission Walkthrough. For frequently asked questions about certification, see the Certification FAQ.
After your application is published, it appears in the Windows Phone Marketplace catalog. You can create links that to allow users to jump directly to your application in the Windows Phone Marketplace catalog. These links can be used in emails, text messages, and applications. For more information, see How to: Link to Windows Phone Marketplace Content.
After your application is published, if you want to make changes to your application and release the new version to users, you must submit an update. For more information, see Updating Applications in Windows Phone Marketplace.
There are many places that you can get help with any stage of the Windows Phone application development lifecycle. App Hub provides Community Forums where you can ask questions, give advice, or just discuss the finer points of Windows Phone programming.
You can also find help and information at the following places:
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For the latest news about Windows Phone application development, see News.
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For answers to frequently asked questions, see Windows Phone Marketplace FAQ.
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For more information about support, see Support and Feedback.
