How to Test your App Before it is Live

Testing your app before it's live is a great way to experience your app through your members eyes.

The first step in this process, is to build the latest version of your App in the App Updates page in the Console. If you haven't started that yet, or are unsure how to do this, why not check out this article.  

Testing the iOS App on your iPhone:

Apple requires their apps to be tested through their in-house system. They use an App called TestFlight to allow you to test versions of your App before they are live. There's no need to worry though, it's a nice and simple system to use. 

 

Once you have built and uploaded the latest version of your iOS app to your developer account (if you are unsure how to do this, then this article is for you), everything else is done through through Apple's own ecosystem. 

So rather than re-write the words of the experts, here are Apple's own guides on how to test your App through TestFlight:

 

Testing the Android App on your Android Phone:

Testing the Android App before it is live in the Google Play Store works a little differently, but luckily it's just as simple. 

 

Once you have built the latest version of the Android App in the App Updates page of the Console (if you are unsure how to do this, then this article is for you), you will see that the button that was previously called build has now changed to download

Android Upload

First, we recommend that you uninstall any versions of your App that you already have on your Android device. 

  1. Click on Download to be taken through to a page with a QR code. 
  2. Scan the QR code with your device to be taken to a web page. 
  3. Tap on the blue button that says Install (Your App Name) to begin downloading the preview app. 
  4. Once it has finished downloading on your device, open the file and press Install
  5. Finally, once it has installed, open the App and enjoy the latest test version of your Android App!

Android Preview Build GIF

Testing the Android App on your Huawei Phone:

Huawei works a little differently to standard Android devices. Here are the instructions, to preview a test version of your App:

  1. Download the Android App preview following the instructions above. 
  2. Once the file is downloaded, navigate to your mobile device's Files app. 
  3. Search for the downloaded zip file and select it. 
  4. Tap the three dots in the top right-hand corner to rename it.
  5. Please remove the ‘.zip’ part of the file so it should end in ‘.apk’ 
  6. Download an APK installer from the Google Play Store.
  7. Open the APK Installer and the file should be there to select, install and open on your device. 

 

As ever, if you need any help, you can always reach out to your lovely Customer Success Manager, our wonderful Support Team at help@disciplemedia.com or you can pick the brains of your incredible fellow hosts in The Collective