Submitting a Windows Phone 7 Application to the Market

This is the last post in a series of articles detailing the process of building/deploying a WP7 application. I've walked you through setting up the tools, to playing with the hardware to deploying your application to the actual hardware. Now I'm going to show you how to submit an app to the market. I've provided a link to all the articles mentioned below.

• From start to finish with the final version of Visual Studio Tools for Windows Phone 7
• Hands-on : Windows Phone 7 Review
• Deploying your Windows Phone 7 Application to the actual hardware
• Profile your Windows Phone 7 Application for Free

OK, so you have followed my guide and are ready to submit your app to the marketplace. Let’s get started. To submit a Windows Phone 7 application, you need to create an account first. You should already have one if you have followed my guides. After that, you should navigate over to http://create.msdn.com/en-US/. You will see the screen below and should click the Submit for Windows Phone.

It is a 5 step process, but it is very simple. Below is the first screen you will see when submitting your application to the marketplace.

Key Things to Note in Step 1

• The maximum size for a .xap is 400MB. That is a lot for a mobile application. Keep that in mind.
• Your .xap file is usually located in the \Bin\Release or \Bin\Debug according to what you selected.
• You can ask for a Technical exception on this screen. (For example: If your application needs to run in the background)

Key Things to Note in Step 2

• It’s very important that you write a detailed description in Step 2. This is what users will read when they decide to purchase your app or not.
• Make sure you use as many keywords as possible for your app.
• Give a support email address. You do not want your users spreading negative feedback about your app. If you fix it, then chances are they will spread good news.
• Notice that at the bottom of this screen it detects what capabilities are required by your app.

Key Things to Note in Step 3

• It’s really best to have someone that knows Paint.Net or Photoshop to create your app artwork. If you don't have anyone, then you can always do it yourself for free with Paint.net.
• Pay attention to the sizes below. I had to fire open Paint.net and change mine to match exactly the dimensions they listed. (Even if it's off .5%, it will fail).

Key Things to Note in Step 4

• You can add if your application has a Trial mode here.
• Make sure if you price your application greater than .99 cents, it's worth it.
• You can only submit 5 free applications per account.

Key Things to Note in Step 5

• You only have one option here and that is to automatically add it to the Marketplace after passing certification.

After you have submitted your application for publication, you can visit your app hub to see the status. Most of the Windows Phone 7 apps are being tested/approved within a few days.

That is all there is to it. A very simple process to submit your application to the marketplace. If your app fails testing, then Microsoft will send you an email detailing why. If my app fails, then I will document that process as well. Thanks for visiting and keep rocking Silverlight.

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