Getting your app built

Your app is built from your existing Houzez website — the same listings, agents and enquiries, in a native iOS and Android app. We do the building, signing and uploading.

What we can't do for you is own the accounts. Apple and Google require the app to be published under your developer accounts, in your company's name. That's not a preference of ours: it's how the stores work, and it means you own your app outright. If we published every client's app under one account, Apple would eventually reject them all as duplicates under App Review guideline 4.3(b).

So there's some setup only you can do. This is that list.

How long it takes

Most of the calendar time is waiting for Apple to verify your company — everything else is quick. Start the Apple account first, on day one, then work through the rest while it's pending.

The order to work in

1. Apple — open your developer account — do this first, it's the long pole
2. Your Houzez website — while Apple is pending
3. Google Play — note the testing rule on that page, it surprises people
4. Apple — create the app and keys — once Apple approves you
5. Firebase, Google Cloud and OneSignal — quick, and Facebook if you want it
6. Brand and store listing — your icon, colours and store text
7. Send us everything

What we do

Once we have your accounts and credentials, we build both apps, sign them with your certificates, and upload them.

You'll get a TestFlight link for iPhone and an internal-testing link for Android so you and your team can use the real app before anyone else sees it. When you're happy, we push it to the stores for review.

The final "publish" button is always yours. We upload; you release. We never make your app public without you clicking it.

That part is written down too, so you know what's coming: testing your app, then going live, then what to expect afterwards.

A few things worth knowing before you start

• Your app's ID can never be changed. Something like com.yourcompany.app. It's set once, at the very beginning, and it's permanent for the life of the app. We'll agree it with you first.
• Three of the files you'll create can only be downloaded once. Apple and Google show them to you a single time and never again. Save them the moment you create them; if you lose one, you delete it and make a new one.
• Don't email us keys and passwords as plain attachments. The checklist explains how to send them safely.

If anything here doesn't match what you're seeing on screen — Apple and Google redesign these consoles regularly — just ask us. It's quicker than guessing.