An app on the Google Play Store is the strongest proof you can offer an employer or client: they can install it on their own phone in seconds. Play Store release experience appeared in several Ghanaian and remote adverts we read. Publishing also teaches you things tutorials skip: signing, privacy and working through a review.
Before you start: the developer account
You need a Google Play developer account, which has a one time registration fee and identity verification. Check the current fee and requirements on the Play Console help pages. If you do not have a card for online payment, ask a mentor or a trusted adult to help.
Important for new personal accounts: Google requires personal developer accounts created after 13 November 2023 to run a closed test with at least 12 testers who stay opted in for at least 14 days in a row, before the app can be released to everyone. Plan for this early. Friends, classmates, a church youth group or a study group can be your testers, but they must keep the test installed for the whole period. Organisation accounts have different requirements.
Preparing the release build
- Set the app name, icon and a unique application ID, such as
com.yourname.shopbook. The ID cannot change after you publish. - Create an upload key and configure signing as the Flutter Android release guide explains. The upload key proves to Google that a new version really comes from you, so anyone who gets it could sign uploads as you. Keep the key file and its passwords backed up and private. Never commit them to Git.