Releasing a mobile app could be very painful. The deployed codebase is hard to switch on users’ devices. If you are a front-end-based developer, as I was, it’s harder to get used to that you couldn’t just update your app on the client’s side. It’s not a matter of clicking F5 on the keyboard anymore.

Let’s take a look at these 5 points, which could save your app from disaster.

1. Deliberate release

You may say: Thank you, Cpt. Obvious! But hold on. I understand that you carefully thought out all releases in advance, but keep in mind this one rule: it is better to deliver a well-tested app than a just-one-more half-worked feature. As I said - you have one shot at making a first impression. And even if you’ll fix your app with the light speed, your client probably won’t trust you again.

2. Backward compatibility

Ok, you’ve checked twice your release, you are all good, and you can live in peace with your app. Of course, no! If your app base on API communication, remember that your back-end application’s backward compatibility is crucial! Not all of your users will use the newest version of your app, so during each release, you have to keep in mind that some of them are still connecting to the previous version, and you cannot just remove deprecated endpoints. You can set up versioning or keep old endpoints that don’t touch. It’s another aspect to consider.

3. Keep your users informed.

We all make mistakes. Bugfixing is normal, and clients are appreciated when you take care of their well-being (except the situation from the first paragraph!). However, to keep them smiling, you have to inform them that something special is waiting for them on AppStore. How to do it? There is plenty of methods, some of them you can find in this blogpost.

4. Don’t publish at the last minute.

Is your app going to show from January 1st? Don’t wait with release till December 31st! Reviewers are also humans, and they need a lot of time to check your app - especially if it’s the first release. It’s way better to push your application even two weeks before (a sooner is better). You’ll never know how many rejections you’ll have to go through before you can press “Submit to the Store” button.

5. Keep your app up-to-date.

Cpt. Obvious strikes back! But in mobile development, it’s essential to taking care of being up to date all the time. New versions of libs and frameworks do not contain only new features or bugfixes. Authors fit their code to new devices and systems; they track all mobile news for us. You don’t have to think about the latest version of iOS. You only have to update your app to sleep peacefully.

Let’s deploy!

I hope, by following these rules, you’ll avoid a lot of troubles with your deploys. Let’s give yourself a chance for an easy and comfortable release, even on Friday at 4 PM.