Publishing your app to the Windows Store puts your work in front of millions of potential customers, in hundreds of markets around the world. Here, we walk through the steps you'll follow to get your app published.
The exact steps you follow depends on how you've configured your business operations and what types of apps you want to develop. Take a look at each of these steps and then choose the path that's right for you.
Individual developers
An individual developer account is one of two account types that the Windows Store supports. We use the term “individual,” but it doesn’t necessarily mean that only one person is working on the app (although that could be the case). Instead, it’s better to think of this type of account in terms of its capabilities. With an individual developer account:
- You can create only Windows Store apps. (If you want to create a desktop app, you must create a company account.)
- A few app capabilities aren’t available to you. Specifically, you can't use the enterpriseAuthentication, documentsLibrary, or sharedUserCertificates capabilities.
- Developers based in the United States don’t need an Employer Identification Number (EIN).
1. Review our app requirements and developer agreement.
Take a few moments to look over our app developer agreement and our certification requirements. These documents define both the relationship between you and Microsoft, and the criteria your app needs to meet to be eligible for listing in the Windows Store. You might even want to look at how to resolve some common certification errors; this info can help you get your app through the certification process as quickly as possible.
2. Open a Windows Store developer account.
You may have done this already, but if you haven’t, open a Windows Store developer account. Registering takes only a few minutes. When you’re done, you’ll be ready to start submitting your apps to the Windows Store. (If you’re going to submit paid apps to the Windows Store, keep in mind that we may need some time to verify your payment information, and that you control the payment instrument you used to purchase the account.)
By the way, if you decide to create a new Microsoft account to use with your Windows Store developer account, remember that we use strong authorization measures to help ensure your account remains secure. For more info, review our information about keeping your account secure.
3. Choose and reserve your app name.
You can choose and reserve your app name whether you have an existing app that you think is ready to go or you haven’t written a single line of code. Don’t forget to make sure that your app name is unique, and to consider how to name your app in foreign languages, if you want to sell your app internationally.
4. Decide what age rating applies to your app.
You must give your app an age rating when you submit it to theWindows Store. In addition, you may also need to upload a ratings certificate from one of the supported ratings boards. Be sure to think through not just the intended use for your app but also your app’s capabilities in general. For example, apps that allow unrestricted access to the Internet, or that use hardware features like webcams and microphones, often must be listed as rated for ages 12 and older, even if they are intended for a younger audience.
5. Write your app's description.
Your app’s description is one of your best opportunities to encourage users to download your app. We offer some guidance to help you create compelling descriptions. If you’re selling your app internationally, remember that you’ll have to translate your description into the different languages your app supports. Also, don’t forget to inform potential customers of functions that your app supports but that aren’t immediately obvious—for example, in-app purchases.
6. Choose your business model.
Next, choose a business model. The Windows Store supports several sales models: free trials, ad-supported, free with in-app purchases, and, of course, a variety of price tiers. While no one can predict the best pricing model for your app, you can learn from checking out similar apps and using the many Windows Store reports to track your app’s performance over time.
7. Choose the countries and regions in which you want to sell your apps.
The Windows Store supports a large number of languages, countries, and regions, offering your app an unprecedented global reach. Take a look at which markets and languages the Windows Store supports, and choose the ones that make the most sense for you and your app. Be sure to check out our guidelines for globalizing your app.
8. Test your app using the Windows App Certification Kit.
When you think your app is ready for the Windows Store, download our Windows App Certification Kit. You can use this kit to test your app and identify any potential problems with your app before you submit it to the Windows Store
9. Submit your app to the Store.
Your developer account is in place, you’ve reserved your app name, and the app has passed the tests in the Windows App Certification Kit. You’re as ready as you can get to submit your app to the Windows Store! Review our app submission checklist, which describes the different stages of our certification process. Also keep an eye on your Windows Store dashboard, so you can track the status of your app during certification. And if your app fails certification? Don't worry—we have several tools and resources to help you identify and fix the problem as quickly as possible.
10. Start reviewing reports to see how you can improve your app.
Your app is in the Windows Store! Check out its listing page and start using our reporting tools to track your app’s sales and feedback.
Company developers
A company developer account is the second of two account types that the Windows Store supports. (An individual developer account is the other account type.) A company account can use the enterpriseAuthentication, documentsLibrary, or sharedUserCertificates capabilities. It's also the only way to submit desktop apps to the Windows Store. One thing to remember about company accounts: they can take a little longer to set up, because we need to verify that you represent your company. If you're a US developer, you'll need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) to set up your account.
1. Set up a Microsoft account for company use.
Your Microsoft account is what you, and the developers you work with, use to access your Windows Store Dashboard. In addition, we use strong authorization measures to help ensure that your account remains secure. Review our information on keeping your account secure; the info there can help you decide the best ways to create and manage your Microsoft account.
2. Open a Windows Store developer account.
You may have done this already, but if you haven’t, open a Windows Store developer account. Registering takes only a few minutes. When you’re done, you’ll be ready to start submitting your apps to the Windows Store. (If you’re going to submit paid apps to the Windows Store, keep in mind that we may need some time to verify your payment information.)
3. Choose and reserve your app name.
You can choose and reserve your app name whether you have an existing app that you think is ready to go or you haven’t written a single line of code. Don’t forget to make sure that your app name is unique, and to consider how to name your app in foreign languages, if you want to sell your app internationally.
4. Decide what age rating applies to your app.
You must give your app an age rating when you submit it to theWindows Store. In addition, you may also need to upload a ratings certificate from one of the supported ratings boards. Be sure to think through not just the intended use for your app but also your app’s capabilities in general. For example, apps that allow unrestricted access to the Internet, or use hardware features like webcams and microphones, often must be listed as rated for ages 12 and older even if they are intended for a younger audience.
5. Write your app's description.
Your app’s description is one of your best opportunities to encourage users to download your app. We offer some guidance to help you create compelling descriptions. If you’re selling your app internationally, remember that you’ll have to translate your description into the different languages your app supports. Also, don’t forget to inform potential customers of functions that your app supports but that aren’t immediately obvious—for example, in-app purchases.
6. Choose your business model.
Next, choose a business model. The Windows Store supports several sales models: free trials, ad-supported, free with in-app purchases, and, of course, a variety of price tiers. While no one can predict the best pricing model for your app, you can learn from checking out similar apps and using the many Windows Store reports to track your app’s performance over time.
7. Choose the countries and regions in which you want to sell your apps.
The Windows Store supports a large number of languages, countries, and regions, offering your app an unprecedented global reach. Take a look at which markets and languages the Windows Store supports, and choose the ones that make the most sense for you and your app. Be sure to check out our guidelines for globalizing your app.
8. Test your app using the Windows App Certification Kit.
When you think your app is ready for the Windows Store, download our Windows App Certification Kit. You can use this kit to test your app and identify any potential problems with your app before you submit it to the Windows Store.
9. Submit your app to the Store.
Your developer account is in place, you’ve reserved your app name, and the app has passed the tests in the Windows App Certification Kit. You’re as ready as you can get to submit your app to the Windows Store! Review our app submission checklist, which describes the different stages of our certification process. Also keep an eye on your Windows Store dashboard, so you can track the status of your app during certification. And if your app fails certification? Don't worry—we have several tools and resources to help you identify and fix the problem as quickly as possible.
10. Start reviewing reports to see how you can improve your app.
Your app is in the Windows Store! Check out its listing page and start using our reporting tools to track your app’s sales and feedback.
Desktop app developers
Unlike other types of apps, users don’t purchase or download desktop apps directly from the Store. Instead, the Store acts more as a listing service—a way for users to discover your apps. To acquire a desktop app, a user clicks a URL (one that you provide when you list the app) that takes them to a website. From there, the user can download or purchase the app.
As you look through this checklist, remember that the Windows Store supports two types of developer accounts: individual accounts and company accounts. To list a desktop app, you must create a company account.
1. Set up a Microsoft account for company use.
Your Microsoft account is what you, and the developers you work with, use to access your Windows StoreDashboard. In addition, we use strong authorization measures to help ensure your account remains secure. Review our information on keeping your account secure; the info there can help you decide the best ways to create and manage your Microsoft account.
2. Sign up for your desktop dashboard account.
Your next step is to sign up for a desktop dashboard account. This account is what lets you certify your app before you list it in the Store. This step is mandatory, because the Store doesn’t sell your app directly—instead, it lists your app and lets you provide a URL to a website through which users can purchase your app.
3. Test your app using the Windows App Certification Kit.
When you think your app is ready for the Windows Store, download our Windows App Certification Kit. You can use this kit to test your app and identify any potential problems with your app before you submit it to the Windows Store
4. Submit the results of the Windows App Certification Kit to the desktop dashboard.
After you submit the results of the Windows App Certification Kit, we’ll attempt to certify them. Certified apps appear in your desktop dashboard and are ready to be submitted to the Windows Store.
5. Open a Windows Store developer account.
You might have done this already, but if you haven’t, open a Windows Store developer account. Registering takes only a few minutes. When you’re done, you’ll be ready to start submitting your apps to the Windows Store. (If you’re going to submit paid apps to the Windows Store, keep in mind that we may need some time to verify your payment information.)
Important When you open your Windows Store developer account, you must use the same Microsoft account that you used when you created your desktop dashboard account (in step 2).
6. Create and upload your app’s listing info.
Make your app stand out by creating a great app listing. For desktop applications, the two most important things you must list are the URL to a page where users can purchase your app, and a description that explains your app to users. You’ll also need to specify your app’s price (so your app shows up as either paid or free) and the languages and markets that your app supports.
7. Submit your app to the Store.
When you’ve finished creating your app’s listing info, your next step is to submit your app to the Store. After we’ve approved the listing info, your app is available for users to discover, download, and purchase!
Enterprise developers
If you are an enterprise developer, your apps probably fall into one of two categories: apps that you want to make available to a large number of potential users, and apps that are really only relevant to individuals within your company. If you want to make your app available to as many people as possible, your best option is to list the app in the Windows Store. In that case, one of the following checklists should be able to help you:
If you’re writing a proprietary app, it’s likely that you want to deploy it yourself—a process called sideloading. Here are the general steps you follow to make this happen.
1. Test your app using the Windows App Certification Kit.
When your app is ready for deployment, download our Windows App Certification Kit and use it to test your app. The kit helps you identify potential problems with your app before you deploy it to your users.
2. Sign the app.
To deploy the package to users, your app must be appropriately signed by a Certificate Authority that is trusted by the targeted PCs. The Publisher Name in the package manifest must match the Publisher Name in the certificate that is used to sign the app. Again, check the Windows Dev Center for additional details about signing the app via Visual Studio.
Windows trusts many Certificate Authorities without any additional configuration. If the certificate is from one of these already trusted authorities, you don’t need to deploy and manage additional certificates to the targeted Windows 8 PCs. You also can use your company's internal Certificate Authority to sign the app. If you choose this option, your IT admins must ensure that the CA certificate is installed in the Windows images of targeted PCs.
3. Hand the app over to your IT admins.
When you’re ready, give your IT admins the app so they can deploy it. They’ll need two items from you:
- The signed app package. (You might have more than one package, if you support different processor architectures.)
- The packages for any dependencies (such as the Microsoft Windows Library for JavaScript).
We recommend that you have your IT admins also run the Windows App Certification Kit to verify your results.
4. Get the users’ PCs ready and deploy the app.
An IT admin can prepare users' PCs as:
- Managed PCs—Windows 8 PCs that your IT department manages and that are joined to the corporate domain.
- Unmanaged PCs—Windows 8 PCs that either aren’t managed directly by your IT department or have enterprise sideloading disabled.
5. Deploy the app.
Before you deploy the app, make sure you've prepared the target machines. Then choose a deployment option to install the app.
OEM developers
If you’re a developer working with an OEM to preinstall your app, you must follow specific steps to get apps listed in the Windows Store or make them available for imaging on OEM PCs.
Submitting and listing the app in the Windows Store is a little different for developers who work with OEMs. Here are the steps to follow as a developer to write apps for OEM preinstallation.
1. Decide on business terms and agreements.
Before you get started, work with the OEM to identify any necessary preinstallation terms. These terms usually cover things like:
- Whether the app is exclusive to the OEM or can be downloaded by anyone from the Store
- Whether the app must be preinstalled on the PC
- Financial terms
Work with the OEM and ensure that everyone agrees to these terms before moving on to the next step.
2. Create a developer account.
With your agreements in place with the OEM, you’re ready to open a Windows Store developer account. The Windows Store supports two types of accounts: individual accounts and company accounts. In most cases, you’ll be creating a company account. If so, make sure you understand the tools we have in place to help keep your account secure.
Remember that, as part of your agreement with the OEM, your apps may be exclusive to that OEM. If that’s the case, you need to create a Microsoft account and developer account to use specifically for those apps. This is important because by default the OEM will have access to all of the apps that you submit using this account. (Our info about the StoreManifest schema can help explain how to change this default setting.) If you don’t create a new account, or if you use an account that is already used for another OEM, each OEM involved could have access to all of your apps through its Partner dashboard—even to apps that weren’t written specifically for that OEM.
3. OEM downloads the Windows Store enrollment forms.
After you’ve created your developer account, your OEM partner should go ahead and download the Store enrollment forms. (The OEM should know where to get these forms.) The OEM needs the Microsoft account you used when you created your developer account to complete this form. Basically, this form allows the OEM to access certified apps that you created for it through its Partner Dashboard.
4. OEM fills out the enrollment form.
Now that the OEM has the Store enrollment forms, it must to fill them out. The important item here is that the OEM must specify your Microsoft account that you used to create your developer account.
The OEM will need this info from you:
- Developer account—the Microsoft account used for the developer account. This is in the form of an email address which is associated with the developer account.
- Developer company name—the name of your company.
- Contact name of the developer account—a person who can be contacted if there are questions about the account.
- Contact phone number of the developer contact—the phone number at which the contact person can be reached.
- Contact email address of the developer contact—the email address at which the contact person can be reached.
5. Decide whether your app is exclusive to the OEM.
By default, apps submitted with an exclusive account for an OEM are available only to that OEM. If your business relationship with the OEM allows you to opt out this exclusivity, you need to configure a Store Manifest file, which you include with your app package when you submit it to the Store.
6. You and the OEM agree on a custom data file.
A custom data file can be used to identify who preinstalled an app and the machine type on which the app is installed, and to send that information back to you as the developer. Use of a custom data file allows you to design your contracts with OEMs not only around the preinstallation of apps, but also for sign-ups generated by preinstalled apps. It also allows a you to create a single app for all of your partners to preinstall and still differentiate between referrals from each one.
As the name implies, a custom data file can be in any format. If you think a custom format is required, work with your OEM to determine what format to use and what data the file should contain.
7. Submit your app to the Store.
Using the developer account you created in step 2, submit your app to the Store! If you’re not sure what the Store submission process is like, check out Submitting your app for more info.
Note During the submission process, you have the option of either publishing your app as soon as possible or selecting a specific publishing date. For developers who work with OEMs, we recommend you choose to publish your app as soon as possible.
8. The Windows Store returns your app’s certification results.
You can check your app’s status at any time during the certification process. If your app passes certification, you can find it on your dashboard. If for some reason your app fails certification, you can find help in Resolving certification errors.
9. Let the OEM know when your app is published.
After your app passes certification, it takes a little more time for it to be published to the Windows Store. We notify you as soon as we publish your app. When you receive that notice, notify the OEM you're working with. From then on, the OEM can download your app, set the app's position on the Start screen, and image the OEM's PCs.
Build date: 3/19/2013
