Have 2 queries related to publishing and testing app
1) Testing: If an app which is published on GSuite marketplace and live. And now we want to make further enhancements to our app.
To test this second version, we want to publish this app as unlisted so that our QA team can do testing.
My query is: Will the app which is in already in marketplace with "Version-1" will go "off" from marketplace as soon as I publish same app as "Unlisted" with "Version-2"
2) Unpublish an app: As a developer, if I unpublish live app from marketplace then will it have any impact on exisiting customers who have already installed the app?
Will the users still able to use the app or will it be uninstalled for them.
I can only derive from experience:
Yes. When you upload a version 2, it will unergo a review. While it's being reviewed, the version 1 will still be active. The moment v2 is approved, even with unlisted status, it will overwrite the v1. So, if you really want to keep the version 1, you can upload v2 as a separate item, unlisted or not.
Users who have downloaded the app before you removed it from the store will still be able to use it accordingly.
Related
I am developing Xamarin.Forms application which will be used for Android and iOS. It will have access to full functionality with a paid subscription.
I researched about subscriptions policy for Play Market and App Store and they require to use their in-app billing if an application gives access to some of its functionality only with a subscription.
But if, for example, user buys the subscription in Android app and then wants to use iOS app - what is the best way to handle this? Since subscriptions are created separately on Play Market and App Store side they need to be somehow synced?
That's probably a problem that was solved a ton of times, but I can't find how to do it
This is explicitly allowed on the platforms, e.g., here's an excerpt from Apple's App Review Guidelines:
3.1.3(b) Multiplatform Services: Apps that operate across multiple platforms may allow users to access content, subscriptions, or
features they have acquired in your app on other platforms or your web
site, including consumable items in multi-platform games, provided
those items are also available as in-app purchases within the app.
As to how to do this: Basically you have to have user authentication and a backend that ties a subscription status to a user ID. Also, the backend needs to keep the subscription status up to date by refreshing the subscriptions with the stores (Apple App Store, Google Play Store).
(If you weren't using Xamarin, I'd recommend using RevenueCat for this (disclaimer: I work there), but we don't have a Xamarin SDK so I don't think
that that's a possibility)
So here I am again, exploring new Google platform and hunting down information and docs.
I'm trying to build a skeleton of a flow before I write any business logic code with actual use of the APIs, and as expected from Google, this process is excruciatingly painful.
I've tried to follow this doc:
https://developers.google.com/gsuite/marketplace/listing
Packaged the zip, put the flag DOMAIN_INSTALLABLE flag as was instructed in order for the app to be installible from the marketplace. In the dashboard of PRICING & DISTRIBUTION I've selected Private and added testers to the list of testers.
Now when I click View in Chrome Web Store (seen in image) it takes me to the extensions web store, and not to the marketplace store.
How can I get to the GSuite Marketplace flow, rather than the extension flow? Do I need to alter my manifest.json in some way that is not mentioned in the docs?
Thanks
it's true that the publishing flow is too complicated now. We are working on improvements and in the future everything will be in one place.
Unfortunately G Suite Marketplace does not support trusted testers (yet), that's why it doesn't show up.
What you might be able to do, is modify the url a bit after you clicked on 'View in Chrome Web Store'.
Just remove everything after the webstore id
I use this url:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/xxxxxx
xxxx should be your webstore id
You should be able to show your unlisted app in the Gsuite Marketplace, where you can initiate the install flow.
It works for me, but my test app
Looking into building some Gsuite Marketplace apps, but we have having issues at the publish time already.
Publishing an app following these steps makes the app to be accessible from the Chrome Marketplace.
(e.g. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/qwertzuiopasdfghjkl/publish-accepted)
Using Chrome web store app link (e.g. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/app-name/qwertzuiopasdfghjkl)
redirects to a Gsuite link (e.g. https://gsuite.google.com/marketplace/app/qwertzuiopasdfghjkl?pann=cwsdp&hl=en-US) but brings a 404 page.
Waiting seems to do the job (url works after a couple of days - approval)
Changing app type from "Private" to "Unlisted" break it completely; even waiting up to a week, the link never works again.
My questions are:
How do you switch between "Visibility options" without breaking your
app?
How do you guys deal with updating publishing apps on Gsuite
Marketplace and keep it working?
Cheers!
Every new update requires a new installation. So everytime you make changes whether feature or visibility settings, treat it as if you were uploading a new app.
If you change the visibility, it will undergo a review process as if it were a new app.
Users who have already installed your app will still be able to use it.
Our app has been lucky enough to be pre-installed on some phones but it has in-app purchases. We have some customization so we don’t want it to appear in the Play store. How do I make that work with Google Play Billing services, but not have it show up in the Play store?
As per official docs
To test in-app billing, you need to publish your app to an alpha or
beta channel in Google Play.
You will have to publish to play store. However you can either publish it publicly or to a private channel. If your app is built for enterprise, you can publish it using a private channel. Here's more about it:
https://support.google.com/a/answer/2494992?hl=en
That ways your app wont be public on play store and you may still be able to implement in app purchase - not sure about it yet but you may want to check.
You may also check publishing to beta/alpha channels or trying out an alternative payment solution based on what you plan to sell as described here
Alternative in-app-purchase methods for Android
I am integrating google app marketplace SDK to my web app and publishing it to chrome web store as specified here
I have published the app to restricted users (domain users only) to test the workflow.
The app is published to the domain users but when I access it and click to install, it adds as a chrome extension but I cannot access it as a Google Marketplace app.
For marketplace integration, I have created a project under Google APIs Console and enabled Google Apps Marketplace SDK. If I click the "Test Install Flow" button
the app is successfully installed as a marketplace app which I can access from universal app navigator of my domain email.
Question
Is this the best way I can test whether the app installs as a marketplace application for restricted users? Can I not see it added by directly installing it from the published url?
I have gone through a few links which mention that it is now not easy to submit app to marketplace unless you use atleast one of the Google Services APIs and get through the Google Apps Marketplace Listing Review Request.
Can not post Google Apps Marketplace Listing Review Request for API Project
How to create listing on google apps marketplace?
If I do not intend to use any of the Google Services APIs, and just use Google App MarketPlace SDK, will I not be able to get the app listed in marketplace?
Any help is much appreciated!
Assuming you have added both "DOMAIN_INSTALLABLE" and "GOOGLE_DRIVE" in your mainfest.json file. Try adding "app" section to the manifest. See https://developers.google.com/chrome/apps/docs/developers_guide