The app store launch checklist
Ordered by when you should do it rather than by topic, because half of ASO failures are things done in the wrong week — keyword research after the title is locked, screenshots the night before submission.
Two weeks out
Positioning · 8 itemsConfirm the primary category — it decides which listings you are compared against.
Research the keyword field or short description in the target language, not by translating English.
Write the title and subtitle to carry keywords and meaning at the same time.
Decide the single benefit the first screenshot has to communicate.
Pick five to seven screens for the gallery and reject the rest.
Choose an art direction that fits your category convention.
Check what the top ten listings in your category look like at thumbnail size.
Decide your launch storefronts and which are worth localising.
One week out
Creative · 9 itemsGenerate the screenshot set at exact store dimensions for every device family you declare.
Write one headline per frame, four to six words, benefit not interface.
Order the gallery: hook, proof, breadth, trust, nudge.
Shrink the first two frames to 150 px wide and confirm the headlines still read.
Produce the localised sets for your chosen markets.
Finalise the app icon and check it at 40 px on light and dark backgrounds.
Produce the Google Play feature graphic at 1024 × 500.
Confirm no frame shows placeholder content, unearned proof, or another platform.
Confirm every feature shown is reachable in the build you are submitting.
Submission day
Compliance · 10 itemsEvery file at the exact pixel dimensions its slot expects.
All PNGs flattened to RGB with no alpha channel.
One orientation per device family — no mixing portrait and landscape.
At least two phone screenshots for Google Play; feature graphic present.
iPad set supplied if the binary declares iPad support.
Screenshots uploaded under the correct localisation, language by language.
Review notes explain how to reach any gated feature shown in the gallery.
Age rating consistent with everything visible in the artwork.
Pricing and offer claims match what a new user actually experiences.
Privacy nutrition labels and data safety form completed honestly.
Launch week
Signals · 6 itemsRatings prompt implemented at a moment of success, not on first launch.
Respond to the first reviews — both stores surface developer replies.
Watch install-to-open; a conversion jump with a retention drop means the gallery overpromised.
Confirm the listing renders correctly on a real device in each launch storefront.
Check the search result thumbnail for your own brand term.
Verify deep links and any campaign URLs point at the intended listing.
Ongoing
Compounding · 7 itemsRun a Product Page Optimization or Store Listing Experiment on the first screenshot.
Change one variable per test and hold the duration you decided in advance.
Re-check keyword rankings monthly and refresh the keyword field seasonally.
Add a localisation whenever a market shows high impressions and weak conversion.
Regenerate the gallery after any significant UI redesign.
Re-run the pre-submission checklist on every metadata update, not just the first.
Track competitor listing changes in your category quarterly.
Going deeper on any line
The screenshot ASO guide
What to put on the first two frames.
Headline formulas
Twelve patterns and six rewrites.
Sizes & safe zones
Every dimension, both stores.
Requirements & rejections
What blocks an upload and what fails review.
Localization guide
Which markets, in what order.
A/B testing
PPO and Store Listing Experiments.
App icon sizes
Every slot, plus the design rules.
Conversion rate
Which asset moves which stage.
Checklist questions
What is ASO?+
App Store Optimisation: the work of getting your app found in store search and browse, and then getting the people who find it to install. The first half is metadata and ranking; the second half is the icon, screenshots and reviews. Most teams do the first and neglect the second.
What matters most on this list?+
The first screenshot and the app icon, because they are the only two assets that appear in a search result, and the keyword field or short description, because it decides whether you appear at all. Everything else is refinement around those three.
When should I start ASO work?+
Before the build is finished. Deciding the single benefit your first screenshot has to communicate is a product question as much as a marketing one, and teams that answer it late often discover their strongest screen is not the one they planned to lead with.
How often should I revisit the listing?+
Keyword rankings monthly, a running A/B test more or less continuously, and a full creative refresh after any significant UI redesign or at the turn of the season if your category is seasonal.
Does this checklist cover both stores?+
Yes. Store-specific items are named explicitly — the feature graphic and the two-screenshot minimum are Google Play; the iPad set and the keyword field are Apple.