I recently launched my first iOS app, and it is an achievement that gives me great pride. I am not an iOS developer, but I do have a team of highly talented developers who take care of all the development work for me. The role that I played in the development of the ShoutMeLoud iOS app was in planning the app, deciding what features it would offer, and marketing and promoting the app.
Since this is my first iOS app, I have been learning everything an iOS app publisher should know. I will continue to share what I’ve learned in the coming days, but for now I want to point you toward some of the best resources available to you for the purpose of developing your own iOS app.
The following websites and tools will help you with every phase from the very beginning right through the marketing and promotion phase. It has taken a fair amount of time for me to pull this resource together for you, and I intend to continue to update it as time goes on. So you should bookmark this resource post for later use.
If you have developed an iOS app or if you are planning to develop one, you would do well to check out these useful resources for iOS developers and publishers. You are also welcome to suggest any additional useful resources in the comments section at the end of this post.
Tools & resources for iOS developers & publishers
Prototype: Wireframe your app idea
This section will be useful to you if you are in the planning stage of your app. These websites will help you to create the prototype for your iOS app, which you can share with your team members or developers. This is a great way to turn your idea into a functional example. You can design a prototype for one screen size, and these websites will automatically apply your design for a variety of screen types and sizes.
iOS app testing on cloud:
Once the initial version of your mobile app has been developed, you need to test it with a select set of users. Official app stores like Google Play Store and the iOS App Store allow you to test apps, but if you are looking for a quick solution, you can use App.io to stream your app from the cloud to any mobile device. So you can think of App.io as a streaming solution for mobile apps. They offer a one-week free trial, which is good enough to kickstart your iOS app testing.
This is a great tool for you to quickly test your iOS app’s compatibility with multiple devices.
Creating iOS app screenshots:
Now you’re all set to launch your iOS app on the Apple App Store, and you need to have various sizes of screenshots for iPhone and iPad. Here you can download a Photoshop template that you can quickly edit to create the screenshot for iPhone. Check the bottom of the page for the Photoshop template for iPad or the iOS app icon template.
Launchkit.io is a web-based tool used to create an iPhone screenshot for the Apple App Store. This makes it easier for you to create the screenshot for all popular iPhone devices. You can either upload the screenshot, or you can search for your existing iOS app from the Apple App Store.
Creating an iOS app demo video:
Adding a video demo to your app store listing will help to increase the visibility of your app. One major requirement here is to create an app demo video with a professional appearance.
TechSmith AppShow is an app for Mac OS, which lets you create professionally looking app video demos in just a few minutes. I recommend using it to create the video demo of your iOS app, and using Fiverr to get professional voice-over work done for the app demo video. You also have an option to export the video directly to Camtasia, and do further editing from there.
Miscellaneous online tools for iOS app developers:
Want to be notified whenever your app gets a review? Want to automatically tweet five-star ratings of your iOS app? App Review Monitor makes all of this possible. You can receive app reviews by email or using Slack (which is another great tool).
App Listing Rater is a very useful tool once your app is live. You can search for your published iOS app and see what you can do to improve your app’s listing. Consider it similar to app store optimization.
Official App Analytics:
This is a free tool available to all iOS app publishers. You can login to your iTunes Connect account and see your app’s analytics. The best part is that you don’t need to make any changes to your app in order to use the official Apple app analytics. At the time of writing, this tool is in beta, and soon it will be available to all the iOS app publishers.
These are the most helpful tools and resources I have curated for any iOS app developer or publisher to date. I will continue updating this resource with new information. I also urge you to share your resources with us in the comments section below.
