Most first-time founders think launching an app means building it and hitting publish. Then they realize the actual work happens before and after: talking to users who will actually pay, designing flows that don't confuse people, getting approved by app stores, and making sure everything works when someone opens it at midnight.
This checklist gives you a clear, step-by-step path to get from idea to live app. Whether you're building traditionally or using a platform like Anything to turn descriptions into working apps, these steps help you launch faster and avoid expensive mistakes.
Mobile app launch checklist
Step 1: Validate your idea
- Talk to 5–10 real users
- Identify how they currently solve the problem
- Capture frustrations with existing tools
- Confirm real intent ("When can I try this?")
- Build a simple landing page to test interest
Step 2: Define your MVP
- Identify the single core problem your app solves
- List essential vs. nice-to-have features
- Remove any feature that doesn't block core value delivery
- Document your final MVP scope
Step 3: Design core user flows
- Map onboarding flow
- Map main action flow
- Map settings/profile flow
- Create wireframes or sketches
- Choose basic branding (name, colors, logo)
Step 4: Build your app
- Implement user authentication
- Set up database and storage
- Add navigation between all screens
- Integrate payments (if needed)
- OR: Use Anything to generate full-stack app with a prompt
Step 5: Test on real devices
- Set up TestFlight (iOS)
- Set up Google Play closed testing
- Recruit 50–100 beta testers
- Fix crashes and major blockers
- Tackle quick UX friction points
Step 6: Set up analytics and crash reporting
- Install Firebase Analytics
- Install Firebase Crashlytics
- Set up core events (signup, main action, purchase)
- Build dashboards for DAU, retention, and funnels
- Review analytics daily during first week
Step 7: Prepare store assets
- Finalize app name
- Write subtitle/keywords (iOS) or short description (Android)
- Write long description
- Create screenshots with text overlays
- Design app icon at all resolutions
- Publish privacy policy
- Complete Google Data Safety form
Step 8: Plan your launch
- Build a landing page with email capture
- Grow a pre-launch list (goal: 500–1,000 users)
- Draft launch posts for social platforms
- Prepare before/after visuals
- Identify communities for launch (PH, Reddit, LinkedIn)
Step 9: Go live
- Submit builds at least 2 weeks early
- Wait for approvals before announcing
- Email your list the moment you go live
- Respond to comments within 30 minutes
- Monitor crash-free sessions, feedback, and conversions
- Patch critical issues immediately
Step 10: Iterate after launch
- Analyze onboarding drop-offs
- Review feature usage vs. expectations
- Identify top user complaints or questions
- Ship stability fixes within 2–3 weeks
- Push updates consistently to improve rankings
- Plan next feature cycle based on real data
Step 1: Validate your idea
Before you write a single line of code or open a builder tool, talk to real people who have the problem you're solving. Connect with 5 to 10 potential users through conversations, surveys, or a simple landing page that explains what you're building.
Ask:
- How they currently solve this problem
- What tools frustrated them
- Why nothing works well enough yet
Watch for signs of real commitment rather than polite interest. You'll know you're onto something when someone asks "when can I try this?" instead of just saying "that's cool."
William Sayer, a professional mountaineer who climbed Everest, built TakeawaysApp to capture insights from conversations. He spent time understanding what busy professionals needed before building. That validation helped him get from idea to the App Store in just 2 months.
Step 2: Define your MVP
Choose the smallest set of features that solves the core problem.
When you're planning, every feature feels essential. Here's a practical test to help you prioritize: if you removed this feature, would the app still solve the main problem? If you answer yes, then you're looking at a nice-to-have, not an absolute need.
When the first version of Uber launched, it didn't have ratings, fare splitting, or multiple car types. It was just a basic way to request a ride. Instagram began as a simple photo-sharing app without Stories, Reels, or even direct messages.
Your MVP is a starting point, not the destination. You'll continue improving based on actual user feedback, which is far more valuable than pre-launch assumptions.
Step 3: Design your core flows
Map the 3 flows that matter most:
- Onboarding (how new users start)
- The main action (the core thing users do)
- Settings (how users control their experience)
You don't need pixel-perfect designs right away. But you do need to understand how users move through your app before you start building. This lets you catch navigation problems and missing screens.
Create simple wireframes showing each screen and how users navigate between them. Tools like Figma work well here, but even hand-drawn sketches work if they're clear enough to guide your build.
Prepare basic branding elements: your app name, logo, and color scheme. These don't need to be final, but having them before you build means your app looks intentional instead of thrown together.
Step 4: Build your app
Most founders get stuck here. Traditional development means hiring a team or spending months learning to code. But neither option works if you want to launch in weeks. The technical work alone—authentication, database setup, payment processing, mobile builds—can take months and cost tens of thousands of dollars.
If you're nontechnical, platforms like Anything let you describe your app in plain English. Write a simple prompt, for instance: "Create an app where users can create accounts, post photos with captions, and like other users' posts," and the platform builds the entire app, including authentication, backend infrastructure, and native mobile builds.
This means you can move from a validated idea to testing in days instead of months and focus on understanding your users rather than learning database setup or debugging deployment issues.
Whether you build traditionally or use a platform, you need these core elements:
- User authentication that works securely
- Reliable data storage
- Payment integration if you're charging users
- Navigation that makes sense
Dirk Minnebo, a nontechnical founder with 10 years in consulting, built Founders Table, a complete platform matching founders for dinners with custom algorithms, encrypted chat, and conversation games. He had the first version live within days and built 4 different apps in a single month. Before Anything, he could only manage basic landing pages in tools like Bubble.
Step 5: Test on real devices
Use TestFlight for iOS and Google Play's closed testing for Android to get your app on real devices. Recruit 50 to 100 beta testers from your waitlist or target audience, then ask them to use the app normally for a week.
Watch for common issues like:
- Crashes
- Confusing flows
- Features that don't work as expected
Start with urgent bugs: anything that crashes the app or blocks users from core functionality. After that, look for quick wins where small changes can remove friction from key flows.
Don't try to fix every small issue before launch. You need a working app, not a perfect one.
Step 6: Set up analytics and crash reporting
You can start with Firebase Analytics and Firebase Crashlytics, which are free and comprehensive. These tools give you everything you need to know about how users move through your app, where they get stuck, and when the app crashes.
Platforms like Anything include these integrations automatically, so you can enable crash reporting and basic analytics without manual SDK setup. Without this data, you're making decisions based on guesses instead of evidence.
Here's how to do this:
- Track 5 to 7 core events like signups, key actions, and purchases
- Add crash reporting automatically with Firebase Crashlytics so you know about technical problems before users complain
- Set up simple dashboards for daily users, your main funnel, and feature usage
Check these dashboards daily for the first week, then weekly for the first month. Use this data to guide your priorities as you iterate on your MVP.
Step 7: Prepare App Store and Play Store assets
Start with these essential elements:
- Your app name
- Subtitle and keywords (iOS) or short description (Android)
- The long description that explains what your app does and why someone should install it
Create screenshots that show your app's interface with text overlays highlighting what users can do.
Design your app icon at the required resolutions. Your icon needs to be recognizable at small sizes and distinctive enough to stand out in search results.
Write a clear privacy policy and host it at a public URL. Both platforms reject apps without accessible privacy policies. Google's Data Safety form also requires detailed information about exactly what data you collect and how you use it. Missing or incomplete privacy information is one of the top reasons apps get rejected.
Step 8: Plan your launch
Create a simple landing page that explains what your app does and who it's for. Add email capture so interested users can sign up for launch notifications. If you start building this list 6 to 8 weeks before launch, you'll have 500 to 1,000 potential early users ready when you go live.
Draft social posts for Twitter, LinkedIn, and relevant Reddit communities where your target users spend time. Focus on the problem you're solving rather than features or technical details.
The best launch posts show a clear before-and-after: here's the painful way people solve this problem now, and here's the simpler way our app handles it.
Here's a good example: before writing any code, Bailey spent time understanding that tarot readers and energy workers were stuck using outdated 1980s phone platforms with no way to run real businesses. She built Aura Vista around solving that specific pain point, which meant her target audience was ready when the app launched on mobile.
Step 9: Go live and monitor
Submit your builds to both app stores at least 2 weeks before your planned public launch date. It's not unusual for your first submission to be rejected, and review times vary from 1 day to 2 weeks.
If you're using platforms that handle deployment automation, this process is streamlined, but you still need to account for the review timing. Don't announce anything until the app is actually approved and live in both stores.
When you're approved:
- Announce to your email list first
- Post where relevant
- Respond to every comment within 30 minutes in the first few hours—early engagement boosts visibility
- Share to your other channels throughout the day, spacing posts so you maintain momentum without overwhelming any single audience
Monitor 3 signals obsessively in the first 48 hours:
- Crash-free session rate (target 99.95%)
- User feedback in reviews and support channels
- Your core conversion metrics
When you spot critical bugs or major usability issues, fix them immediately. Everything else can wait.
Step 10: Iterate after launch
Your first week of data tells you more than months of planning. Look at data like:
- Where users drop off in your onboarding flow
- Which features they actually use versus the ones you thought were important
- What questions or complaints show up repeatedly in feedback
Start with urgent bugs: anything that crashes the app or blocks users from core functionality. After that, look for quick wins where small changes remove friction from key flows.
Plan your first meaningful update for 2 to 3 weeks after launch. This update should address the top 3 to 5 issues you've identified from real usage data, focusing particularly on crash fixes and stability improvements.
Regular updates signal to both users and app store algorithms that your app is actively maintained, which helps with rankings and conversion.
Launch your mobile app faster with Anything
Whether you're hiring developers, coding it yourself, or using a platform to build for you, this guide will help. But the real difference is speed.
Anything lets you describe what you want in plain English, then builds the whole thing: user authentication, backend infrastructure, and native iOS, Android, and web apps. Then you can focus on understanding your users and refining your value proposition instead of hiring a development team or learning to code. This will get you from idea to testing in weeks instead of months.
That's how builders are shipping real apps: they focus on solving problems while Anything handles the infrastructure.
