This article guides Android developers through creating an app in Google Play Console, completing initial dashboard tasks, and setting up store listing details. Before starting, make sure you create a Google Play developer account.
Create your app
To create an app in Play Console:
- Sign in to Play Console.
- Click Create app.
- Enter the name of your app as you want it to appear on Google Play. You can change this later.
- Enter a package name.
- Select a default language.
- Specify whether your application is an app or a game. You can change this later.
- Specify whether your application is free or paid.
Note: If your game is free, it appears on both Google Play and Google Play Games on PC by default. If your game is paid, you must release it on Google Play Games on PC yourself.
- Add an email address that Google Play users can use to contact you about this application.
- In the 'Declarations' section, complete the following actions:
- Acknowledge the "Developer Program Policies" and "US export laws" declarations.
- Accept the Play App Signing Terms of Service.
- Click Create app.
Set up your app
After you create your app, start setting it up. Your app's dashboard guides you through the necessary steps to make your app available on Google Play.
Start by providing details about your app content and entering information for your Google Play listing. After that, move to app release; this process guides you through pre-release management, testing, and promotion to build pre-release excitement and awareness. The final step is launching your app on Google Play to make it available to users.
Developers with personal accounts must meet specific testing requirements before they can make their app available on Google Play. To learn more, see App testing requirements for new personal developer accounts.
To start setting up your app, click Dashboard in the main navigation menu. For the next steps, see Set up your app on the app dashboard.
Manage your app and app bundles
Google Play uses Android App Bundles to generate and deliver APKs optimized for each device configuration, providing users with more efficient apps. This means you only need to build, sign, and upload a single app bundle to support optimized APKs for a wide variety of device configurations. Google Play manages and serves your app's distribution APKs for you.
Package names for app files are unique and permanent, so name them carefully. Package names can't be deleted or re-used.
Releases on Google Play can have one of three statuses:
- Draft: APKs that Google Play has not served to users.
- Active: APKs that Google Play serves to users.
- Archived: APKs that were once active but are no longer served to users.
To view your app bundles and APKs:
- Sign in to Play Console, select your app, and go to the Latest releases and bundles page (Test and release> Latest releases and bundles).
- Next to 'Latest app bundles', click View all app bundles.
The All app bundles page features a filter at the top of the page, with which you can filter the list of app bundles by upload status, file type, and release status.
To learn more about managing your artifacts, see Inspect app versions on the Latest releases and bundles page.
Apps on Google Play have a size limit based on the maximum compressed size of your APKs at download across supported devices.
After you upload an app bundle, Play Console uses gzip to estimate your app's download size. Google Play uses advanced compression tools, which means the actual download size for a user is often smaller than the estimate shown in Play Console.
To learn more about Google Play size limits, see Optimize your app’s size and stay within Google Play app size limits.
Android requires that all apps be digitally signed with a certificate before installation. For more information, see Sign your app on the Android Developers site. When you create your first release, you can configure Play App Signing to decide whether your app uses a Google-generated app signing key or an app signing key that you choose.
Every app bundle and APK has a versionCode value in the manifest file that increments with each app update.
To upload your app to Play Console, the maximum possible value for the versionCode is 2100000000. If the versionCode of your app exceeds this value, Play Console prevents you from submitting a new app bundle.
When selecting the versionCode for your app bundle, note that you must increase the versionCode for every update and stay below the maximum limit.
Note: For more information about versioning your app, see Version your app on the Android Developers site. Keep in mind that the Android MAXINT value differs from Play Console upload requirements
When you upload an app bundle, it must meet target API level requirements for Google Play.
See target API level requirements for Google Play apps to understand the target API levels required to provide Android and Google Play users with a safe and secure experience.
Set up your store listing and settings
Your app's store listing appears on Google Play and includes details that help users learn more about your app. Your store listing is shared across tracks, including testing tracks.
Add product details- Sign in to Play Console, select an app, and go to the Store listings page (Grow users > Store presence > Store listings).
- Fill in the fields under 'App Details'.
| Field | Description | Character limit* | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| App name | Your app's name on Google Play. | 30 |
You can add one localized name per language. |
| Short description | The first text users see when looking at your app's detail page in Google Play. | 80 | Users can expand this text to view your app's full description. |
| Full description | Your app's description on Google Play. | 4,000 |
*Character limits apply to both full-width and half-width characters. The numbers listed in the table are the maximum limits regardless of character type.
To showcase your app, add preview assets such as screenshots and videos.
Add and manage translations
When you upload an app, the default language is English (United States, en-US). You can add translations of your app information, along with in-language screenshots and other graphic assets. To learn more, see Translate and localize your app.
Add localized images and videos
To market your app in different languages more effectively, you can add localized graphic assets on the Store listings page (Grow users > Store presence > Store listings).
Users see localized graphic assets on Google Play if their language preferences match the languages you add.
Use automated translations
If you don't add custom translations, Google Play automatically displays your store listing either as an automated translation generated by Google Translate or in your app's default language.
When an automated translation is shown, Google Play includes a note explaining that the listing was translated automatically, along with an option for the user to view the app's default language. Automated translations aren't supported for Armenian, Raeto-Romance, Tagalog, and Zulu.
Tip: While automated translations provide a convenient fallback, providing bespoke translations offers the best user experience. To add your own translations or order professional localized assets, see Translate and localize your app.
You can choose a category and add tags to your app or game in Play Console. Categories and tags help users to search for and discover relevant apps on Google Play.
To learn more, see Choose a category and tags for your app or game.
When you provide an email address, website, or phone number, your contact information is available to users on your app store listing.
A contact email address is required. To provide your users with the best support experience, including a website where users can contact you is recommended.
To add your support information:
- Sign in to Play Console, select your app, and go to the Store settings page (Grow users > Store presence > Store listings).
- Scroll to 'Contact Details'.
- Add your support email address (required), phone number, and website URL.
Next steps
- Prepare your app for review.
- Discover best practices for creating a compelling store listing.
- Publish your app using standard publishing or managed publishing.
- Run A/B tests on your store listing.
Related content
- Learn more about publishing your app in the Academy for App Success.