How to Prepare your Android App for Submission

To allow our team to submit your mobile app to Google Play, you would need the following: 

1. A Google Play Developer account
2. Your Google Play Account ID
3. Grant access to our developer account (needed to create the app)
4. Create a Google Service account (needed to update and publish your mobile app) 

Create A Google Play Developer Account (Organization)

If you do not already have an organization developer account, you would need to create one. You can find more information in this article.

To publish your app through Learnworlds, you must join the Google Developer Program with an organizational account. If you enroll as a private account, you won't be able to add Learnworlds to your developer account.

Locate your Google Play Developer Account ID

Visit your Google Play console here and locate your  Developer Account ID. 

Grant Access to our Developer account

You would need to invite the user [email protected] and add permissions to allow us to initialize your mobile app on the Google Play Store. 

1. In your Google Play Console, locate the Users and permissions menu.

2. Invite new user [email protected] and add permissions for App Access (Admin), and Invite User:

Create a Google Service Account and the JSON API key

To push subsequent releases/updates to each client’s store, you need to create a new service account and provide us with the access API key (JSON format). Follow these steps:

1. Create a Google Cloud Project (You can skip this step if you already have a Google Cloud Project you want to use.) Create a project in the Google Cloud Console.

2. Once you have set up the Google Cloud Project, you need to enable the Google Play Developer API for this project. To enable Google Play Developer API:

1. Go to the Google Play Developer API page in Google Cloud Console.
2. Click Enable.

3. Create a new service account.

1. In the Google Cloud Console go to Service Accounts and select your Project.
2. Click on CREATE SERVICE ACCOUNT at the top.
   
3. Provide a Service account name and click CREATE.
   
4. Click Select a role and choose the role Service Accounts → Service Account User.
   
5. Click on Done.
   
6. Go to the Users & Permissions page on the Google Play Console.
7. Click Invite new users.
   
8. Add the email for the Service Account you created and make sure to grant Admin (all permissions) for it.
   
9. Click Invite User at the bottom.

Your service account is now created, and you would now need to create and export the API key that we would need to use in the mobile app setup.

In case you cannot create the JSON key and receive the following error please follow the steps below, 1. Log in to your organization here https://console.cloud.google.com/ (From the top left, make sure to select your Organization and not the Project you have created).

2. Navigate here https://console.cloud.google.com/iam-admin/iam and "Grant Access" to the account owner with the "Organization Policy Administrator" role.

3. Navigate here https://console.cloud.google.com/iam-admin/orgpolicies and ensure that "Disable Service Account Key Creation" is not enforced.

You can find more information about this here

Create and Export the Key

To Create and export (JSON file) the key you would need to navigate back to your Google Cloud Console Account:

1. Locate your key and select Manage Keys.

2. Under KEYS click ADD KEY and then Create New Key:

3. Select JSON as a key type, and press CREATE, which will download a file into your system. Keep this file safe. You will need it!

Provide the information to our development team

As you have gathered all the necessary information, the only part of the process left is to add it to your LearnWorlds school, so that our team can access it and proceed with the publication process.

Navigate to Mobile App → Store Setup and choose the Play Store tab. 

1. Enable the application’s submission.

2. Paste your Google Developer account ID.

3. Attach the JSON file that you obtained from your Google Service account.

4. Choose your Store language. You can choose the local language of your target market or the "English" language to reach a wider audience.

Upon providing these details, there are a few crucial steps that you need to take to provide us with the relevant resources to submit your application to the Play Store.

You must translate the main elements of the application’s listing into your desired language. You mandatorily need to fill in the desired information in the store language that you set in the previews step, and then you can add as many language translations as you like. 

Notes: 

• You can translate your app listing’s elements into as many languages as you like. 
• On the App title field, you will need to add a title similar to your LearnWorlds school name. You can check whether your chosen name is available here: https://www.namecheck.com/en/mobile-apps/
• In the Mobile app full description field, it is very important to be as thorough as possible in describing your school's mobile app and main features.

You need to upload your Mobile app feature graphic, which is a powerful way to convey your message to your app’s potential users. 

Note: The feature graphic should be JPEG or 24-bit PNG (no alpha) with its dimensions being 1024px by 500px.

Typically, feature graphics are shown in context with top-level app metadata, such as an app icon or title. This means that a common best practice is that the Feature Graphic is consistent with your school’s branding and theme. 

You will need to add:

1. Your Privacy URL: You can find more information related to this matter here.

2. Website URL: Here, you will need to supply your school’s URL or any other URL where your school is clearly advertised. 

3. Support Email: This is the support email that Google will contact you at, should an issue arise in your application. Make sure that this is a valid email address and ensure the deliverability of messages. 

4. Category: This is the place where you will need to choose your app’s main category. Google has strict guidelines on what category should be chosen, thus make sure to read each category’s description thoroughly, here.

5. Tags: Categories and tags help users search for and discover the most relevant apps in the Play Store. You can include up to 5 tags.

6. Content Rating Questionnaire: Content rating is fundamental to ensure that your app is accepted and remains on the Google Play Store, as unrated apps are prohibited. You should ensure the full deliverability of emails to this address. 

Lastly, you will need to provide answers to a variety of content rating questions that will help determine your app’s content rating. 

Don’t forget to click on Save before advancing to the next step of the process!

Once you have prepared your Android app for submission, you will need to create and select a user for app reviewer by following the steps here.