These directions apply to new apps as well as any existing app that needs an upgrade and still has Photo Finale Inc. listed as the developer in the App Store.

Let us know if you have questions or need help with any of the steps.   -Rachel (rachel@photofinale.com) 

1. Branding. 
   1. NEW apps:  Please fill out this form: https://www.photofinale.com/form-app  This form collects the graphics and info we need to build and package the app. App name, icon, splash screen, description, keywords, etc.  The form has a template to use for the two graphics you will need and details about each field. 
   2. Updates to apps: If you already have an app and we are updating it, please check your listing in the App Store. All changes require a new build, so at the time of updating is when we do this. You can either email to rachel@photofinale.com, or fill out the form again and let us know that's where the info is. Sending updated info is not required. If we do not receive anything, we'll just build the update with the same icon, splash, description, as it has currently.
2. Enroll in the Apple Developer Program. Apple now requires an each app to be under a developer account owned by the app's brand (as opposed to under our “Photo Finale” developer name). The benefits for submitting the app under your company name are that your company is listed as the developer, you have direct access to statistics on the iTunes admin site, you will have access to update Promotional Text that shows up in the App Store listing at any time, and in general, you will have more control over the app listing.  Steps/what you will need:
   1. Get a DUNS number. First, enrollment will require a DUNS number. If you don’t have one a link is included in the enrollment form. It takes a week or so and is free.
   2. Register an Apple ID. You will need an Apple ID that is associated with your company email address. Notes...
      1. If you already have an Apple ID associated with your company, e.g. jennifer@yourcompany.com, that can be used.  If you do not already have one, we recommend setting up something like apps@yourcompany.com. 
      2. Make sure that you have the email address set up first and verify that you do receive messages sent to it.  Signing up for a new Apple ID can be done at: https://appleid.apple.com.  After the app is submitted, you will be able to use it to log in to view statistics and make changes to the promotional field that shows in the App Store. 
      3. Apple states that it will not accept free email domains (like gmail), but you should use a corporate/business email when you go to use the Apple ID you create for a developer account, so make sure it's your company domain's email. If you do not have one, it may not work when you get to that step.  
      4. For creating the Apple ID... you can do this now from a browser (previously an Apple device was required). You will need to be able to receive a text message to enable the two-factor verification method.
   3. Register for the Apple Dev account. Info: https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/  You must register as an organization, not as an individual.
      1. Please use proper-case when you put in your organization name. Do not use all capitals.
      2. The program is US$99 a year, which you will need to keep up-to-date in order to keep the app listing active. 
      3. If you enroll with a corporate name that is too different from anything you are submitting for the app, the will reject the app. If your business and app name are different, please send us documentation to prove they belong to the same entity that we can include with the appeal to Apple after the rejection. Also, so we can tell which app needs to go with your account.
3. Add a Photo Finale user to your account. Once you have the developer account, you will then invite us to your account. This will give us access to initiate a transfer (for existing apps) or start off your first version. Please go to appstoreconnect.apple.com > Users & Access > Add a new user with this info:
   1. First Name: Photo
   2. Last Name: Finale
   3. Email: pfdev@photofinale.com
   4. Roles: “admin”
   5. Developer Resources: check the box
4. Contact Photo Finale with Details. Once you have added the user above to your account, please let us (rachel@photofinale.com) know and send the following information:
   1. Team Agent Apple ID. The email address you registered as the admin of your new account.
   2. Team ID. To find, go to developer.apple.com, click Account and sign in. Then, click Membership.
   3. Business name that you used to sign up for the account (these aren’t always recognizable if they don’t match the company name we know you by)
   4. Company/developer name that should show up along with the app listing (I just want to verify in case you have registered with one business name, but it would make more sense to list the app with a different name—often dealers use their official corporate entity name for the account, but have their photo business go by another name, or may prefer the store or simpler name that customers know them by for the app store listing)
   5. Proof: IF your Apple developer account company name does not match your app business name you will need to provide us with some official documentation that shows ownership of the brand or dba that we can submit along with the transfer request. Please send a jpg or pdf that we can include to send to Apple. Other dealers in the same situation have send a tax registration document that showed the app business name and the account business name were registered by the same parent.
5. Approve Transfer (applies to updates only).  Once your account is squared away, we will put in a request to Apple to transfer the app from our account to your new account. You will have 60 days to approve this. You should get an email from Apple asking you to do so.
6. NEW APP! We build the new app, or the upgraded version, and submit that to Apple. They generally approve in about a week and your app will be ready to take orders!

A note about emails you will get from Apple

You will get emails from Apple from time to time, some of which you can ignore and some of which you need to act on.  As you are the agent, there is no way to prevent you from getting the should-be-ignored emails.

Need to act on:

• Initial transfer (if you already have an app you will have to approve its transfer from the PF developer account to your account)
• Membership expiring / renewal  (annually)
• New agreement needs signing   (whenever Apple updates terms of service)

Should ignore:

• App Store Connect: Your App (XX) has one or more issues
• iOS Distribution Certificate Expires in X Days
• iOS Provisioning Profile Expires in X Days

FAQ

1. Re: step 2b... if you do not have an Apple device upon which to authenticate your account, you will need one. There are rumors of ways around this involved calling Apple, but to-date, it's not easy to get around it. 
2. The Apple program is $99/year, which you pay to Apple and need to keep updated. 
3. The app uses your Photo Finale site settings–so all products, pricing, shipping, promos that you have online, will be offered in the site. The exception currently is Rush service, which is not in the app yet. 
4. We do not have "app only" promos or pricing, though that will be coming.
5. Make sure your Welcome email (set in Lab 50), makes sense for your website as well as your app.

More Info:

This page was here from previous instructions, but still has some good detailed info and examples. Much of it is also in the branding form, but if you are unfamiliar with the App Store and apps, this section will be helpful to read.  

Art Details:
Icons Customers will see your icon in the iTunes store, and on their device’s home screen after download.  The icon in the app store will show when the app name is searched – this could be on a computer or in the App Store on an Apple device. Post-download, the icon will show on the user’s home screen of their iPhone/iPad and serves as a gateway to open the application. We just need one 1024x1024 flattened PNG file, we will generate all the sizes from that. Use the template linked to above. The icon will always be square and looks best with no outline. Do not round the corners, that gets done automatically. The form will ask you to submit: icon.png
Splash Screens These screens appear while an app loads. The size is specific to each device’s full screen size and will only be visible for a few seconds. Do not include address, phone, website or anything more than a few words. This example isn't great–footer of the iPad screen has too much info. The 3 words at the top are ok though.  The template we provide is 2208x2208, with directions to put artwork inside the center square so we can generate the necessary sizes/orientations. The form will ask you to submit: splash.png OR If you'd like to create each orientation/size separately, the sizes we need are:  splash_640x960.png splash_640x1136.png splash_1024x768.png splash_2048x1536.png

Field Details:
App Name - There is a 30 character limit to the App Name. This will appear when the app is searched for and in the iTunes store.  It should be unique to your business (i.e. your store name) to separate you from others. Many members choose to use the “Foto Source” or “Foto Depot” name, if this is the case - adding your location to the end is a good idea to make your app more searchable, and to avoid customer confusion (Ex: Foto Source – McLean). It is the App Name, along with the keywords that are used in the search hits.  Subtitle - There is a 30 character limit to the subtitle.
Display Name This will appear on a device’s home screen under your icon. It should be similar to your full app name, however it generally can’t be longer than 12 characters. It really depends on the width of the letters, so if you have a few Ws in your name, it may be less. Consider shortening the full app name to use abbreviations: pictures - pics; FotoSource- FS TIP: How can you tell if your name is too long? Open Safari on your device, click the center menu button, and select add to home screen. Type your display name in the text box given and click Add. If the full name shows up you are good to go! If your name appears cut off (see below) we recommend that you come up with a shorter one.
Description Your description will appear in the iTunes store when your app is searched for. You are welcome to use our example as a template, but please make sure you offer each feature/size that is mentioned first. If you plan on using your app in multiple languages, please submit copies of your description in each language. Helpful to include: your service area, pickup/shipping options, your location, store contact info, website, special products, hours.

Design Tips:
Whether using an existing logo or creating something completely new, utilize all branding possibilities by following these characteristics: your art should be recognizable based on certain constraints, unique to your business, and representative of app capabilities as well as of your current marketing strategy. See what works. Browse the App Store and take a look at icons. Some work better than others. Make it recognizable. Icons and splash screens should be eye-catching and attractive. Common problems arise in image sizing, resolution, and spacing of elements. Make it unique. Maximize branding effectiveness by creating art unique to your business. Use this medium to define or enhance your business’ identity and personality. Space. Icons are most commonly viewed on device home screens, these icons are small and can be hard to see. To maximize space, keep your graphic simple and large within constraints. Multiple colors, text, and other effects can cause your icon to look busy and unrecognizable. Keep in mind that the display app name will be shown under the icon, so text is usually not necessary. Splash screens are much larger leaving room for text, graphics, whatever! But, keep in mind the splash is only shown briefly, while the app loads, so the user will not have time to read a lot of text. Leave off the detailed info. Splash screens are only shown for a second or two, so should not contain much text...forego addresses and phone numbers...users can't return to this screen, so anything they can't read and remember in a few seconds should be left off. Size. The most common issues arise in image sizing and/or re-sizing, often making art look stretched or blurry. They can be avoided by starting with a correctly sized new canvas, not up-sizing artwork, and keeping proportions.
Representative.  Your art should reflect your current marketing strategy as well as the purpose of the app. By creating a unified message among all interaction nodes, a stronger connection is bound to customers.   Pix[M] has done a nice job of keeping their icon clear, large, and representative of their website through use of their logo. Their splash screens effectively illustrate their app’s purpose.

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Need Help?

Contact Rachel at rachel@photofinale.com.