distribute/googleplay/developer-console.jd

page.title=Developer Console
page.metaDescription=Learn about the Developer Console, your home for app publishing on Google Play.
page.image=/distribute/images/developer-console.jpg
Xnonavpage=true

@jd:body

    <div id="qv-wrapper">
  <div id="qv">
    <h2>Publishing Features</h2>
    <ol>
      <li><a href="#allapps">All Applications</a></li>
      <li><a href="#account-details">Your Account Details</a></li>
      <li><a href="#merchant-account">Linking Your Merchant Account</a></li>
      <li><a href="#multiple-user-accounts">Multiple User Accounts</a></li>
      <li><a href="#alpha-beta">Alpha and Beta Testing</a></li>
      <li><a href="#staged-rollouts">Staged Rollouts</a></li>
      <li><a href="#multiple-apk">Multiple APK Support</a></li>
      <li><a href="#selling-pricing-your-products">Selling and Pricing</a></li>
      <li><a href="#in-app-products">In-App Products</a></li>
      <li><a href="#distribution-controls">Distribution Controls</a></li>
      <li><a href="#reviews-reports">User Reviews, Crash Reports</a></li>
      <li><a href="#app-stats">App Stats</a></li>
      <li><a href="#related-resources">Related Resources</a></li>
    </ol>
  </div>
</div>

<p>
  The <a href="https://play.google.com/apps/publish/">Google Play Developer
  Console</a> is your home for publishing operations and tools.
</p>
<!-- <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-startscreen.jpg" style="width:480px;" /> -->
<img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-devconsole-home.png" style="width:480px;">
<p>
  Upload apps, build your product pages, configure prices and distribution, and
  publish. You can manage all phases of publishing on Google Play through the
  Developer Console, from any web browser.
</p>

<p>
  Once you've <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/googleplay/start.html">registered</a> and received
  verification by email, you can sign in to your Google Play Developer Console.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="allapps">
    All Applications
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  Start in All Applications, which gives you a quick overview of your apps,
  lets you jump to stats, reviews, and product details, or upload a new app.
</p>

<div style="padding:1em 0em 0em 0em;">
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-home.png" class="border-img">
</div>

<div class="headerLine" style="margin-top:-6px">
  <h2 id="account-details">
    Your Account Details
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  Specify basic developer profile information about yourself or your company on
  the accounts detail page. This identifies you to Google Play and your
  customers. You can go back at any time to edit the information and change
  your settings.
</p>

<div>
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-profile.png" class="frame">
</div>

<p>
  Your developer profile contains:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>
    <p>
      Developer name &mdash; displayed on your store listing page and elsewhere
      on Google Play.
    </p>
  </li>

  <li>
    <p>
      Contact information &mdash; used by Google only, it isn't seen by your
      customers.
    </p>
  </li>

  <li>
    <p>
      Web site URL &mdash; displayed on your store listing page.
    </p>
  </li>
</ul>

<p>
  On the account details page you can also add restricted access for marketers
  and other teams, register for a merchant account, or set up test accounts for
  Google Play licensing.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="merchant-account">
    Linking Your Merchant Account
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  If you want to sell apps or in-app products, link your Google Wallet Merchant
  Account to your developer profile. Google Play uses the linked merchant
  account for financial and tax identification, as well as for monthly payouts
  from sales.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="multiple-user-accounts">
    Multiple User Accounts
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  Set up user accounts for other team members to access different parts of your
  Developer Console.
</p>

<div style="width:550px;">
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-invite.png" class="frame">
</div>

<p>
  The first account registered is the <em>account owner</em>, with full access
  to all parts of the console. The owner can add <em>user accounts</em> and
  manage console access.
</p>

<p>
  For example, an owner can grant users access to publishing and app
  configuration, but not to financial reports. Learn how to <a href=
  "https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/2528691">set
  up multiple accounts</a> now.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="store-listing-details">
    Store Listing Details
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  Use the Developer Console to set up a <em>Store Listing page</em>. This is
  the home for your app in Google Play. It's the page users see on their mobile
  phones or on the web to learn about your app and download it.
</p>

<p>
  Upload custom brand assets, screenshots, and videos to highlight what's great
  about your app. Provide a localized description, add notes about the latest
  version, and more. You can update your store listing at any time.
</p>

<div>
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-details.png" class="frame">
</div>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="upload-instantly-publish">
    Upload and Instantly Publish
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  From the Developer Console you can quickly upload and publish a release-ready
  Android application package file. The app is a <em>draft</em> until you
  publish it, at which time Google Play makes your store listing page and app
  available to users&mdash;your app appears in the store listings within hours,
  not weeks.
</p>

<p>
  Once your app is published, you can update it as often as you want: Change
  prices, configuration, and distribution options at any time, without needing
  to update your app binary.
</p>

<p>
  As you add features or address code issues, you can publish an updated binary
  at any time. The new version is available almost immediately and existing
  customers are notified that an update is ready for download. Users can also
  accept automatic updates to your app, so that your updates are delivered and
  installed as soon as you publish them. You can unpublish your apps app at any
  time.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="alpha-beta">
    Alpha and Beta Testing
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  It's always valuable to get real-world feedback from users, especially before
  launch. Google Play makes it easy to distribute pre-release versions of your
  app to alpha and beta test groups anywhere in the world.
</p>

<p>
  In the <strong>APK</strong> section of your Google Play Developer Console
  you’ll find the <strong>Alpha Testing</strong> and <strong>Beta
  Testing</strong> tabs. Here you can upload versions of your apps’ APK files
  and define a list of testers as a <a href=
  "https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601">Google Group</a> or <a href=
  "https://support.google.com/plus/topic/2888488">Google+ Community</a>. Once
  this is done you’ll receive a URL that you forward to your testers, from
  which they can opt-in to the testing program.
</p>

<div>
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-ab.png" class="frame">
</div>

<p>
  After opting-in, your testers then go to your app’s product page and when
  they download the app Google Play will deliver them the alpha or beta version
  as appropriate. Incidentally, if a user happens to be opted-in to both your
  testing groups, Google Play will always deliver them the alpha test version.
</p>

<p>
  Note that users cannot provide feedback and reviews on alpha and beta
  versions of your apps. To gather feedback you could used the <a href=
  "https://support.google.com/groups/answer/46601">Google Group</a> or <a href=
  "https://support.google.com/plus/topic/2888488">Google+ Community</a>, or
  setup an email address or your own website.
</p>

<p>
  You can use these testing programs to <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/essentials/optimizing-your-app.html">optimize your
  apps</a>, help with <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/users/expand-to-new-markets.html">rollout to new
  markets</a>, and start <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/users/build-community.html">building your
  community</a>. There is also more information on using beta test in the
  <a href="{@docRoot}distribute/tools/launch-checklist.html">Launch
  Checklist</a> and <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/tools/localization-checklist.html">Localization
  Checklist</a>.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="staged-rollouts">
    Staged Rollouts
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  You can also stage the rollout of your apps using the Production tab in the
  APK section of your Google Play Developer Console. Here you can define the
  percentage of user who’ll be able to download your app.
</p>

<p>
  Staging your rollout will help limit the impact of unexpected bugs or server
  load and enable you to gauge user feedback with an unbiased sample of users.
  Users can rate and review your apps during staged roll outs, so if you’re
  hesitant, start your rollout to a small percentage of users. Be sure to watch
  for and respond to any negative reviews.
</p>

<p>
  Note that rollbacks aren’t supported due to the <a href=
  "{@docRoot}tools/publishing/versioning.html">app versioning requirements</a>
  of the Android platform. If you need to rollback, consider launching a
  previous APK with a new version number. However, this practice should be used
  only as a last resort, as users will lose access to new features and your old
  app may not be forward-compatible with your server changes or data formats,
  so be sure to run <a href="#alpha-beta">alpha and beta tests</a> of your
  updates.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="multiple-apk">
    Multiple APK Support
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  In most cases, a single app package (APK) is all you need, and it’s usually
  the easiest way to manage and maintain the app. However, if you need to
  deliver a different APK to different devices, Google Play provides a way to
  do that.
</p>

<p>
  <em>Multiple APK support</em> lets you create multiple app packages that use
  the same package name but differ in their OpenGL texture compression formats,
  screen-size support, or Android platform versions supported. You can simply
  upload all the APKs under a single product listing and Google Play selects
  the best ones to deliver to users, based on the characteristics of their
  devices.
</p>

<p>
  You can also upload up to two secondary downloads for each published APK,
  including multiple APKs, using the <em>APK Expansion Files</em> option. Each
  expansion file can be up to 2GB and contain any type of code or assets.
  Google Play hosts them for free and handles the download of the files as part
  of the normal app installation.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="selling-pricing-your-products">
    Selling and Pricing Your Products
  </h2>


</div>

<div class="figure-right">
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-buyer-currency.png" class="frame">
</div>

<p>
  You have tools to set prices for your apps and in-app products. Your app can
  be free to download or priced, requiring payment before download.
</p>

<ul>
  <li>If you publish your app as free, it must <strong>remain free for the life
  of the app</strong>. Free apps can be downloaded by all users in Google Play.
  </li>

  <li>If you publish it as priced, you can later change it to free. Priced apps
  can be purchased and downloaded only by users who have registered a form of
  payment in Google Play.
  </li>
</ul>

<div class="sidebox-wrapper" style="float:right;">
  <div class="sidebox">
    <p>
      See <a href=
      "http://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/bin/answer.py?hl=en&amp;answer=138294&amp;topic=2365624&amp;ctx=topic">
      Supported locations for distributing applications</a> for a list of
      countries where you can distribute or sell your apps.
    </p>
  </div>
</div>

<p>
  You can also offer in-app products and subscriptions, whether the app is free
  or priced. Set prices separately for priced apps, in-app products, and
  subscriptions.
</p>

<p>
  When users browse your app product pages or initiate a purchase, Google Play
  shows them the price they’ll be charged in their local currency.
</p>

<p>
  For each product, you initially set a default price in your own currency. If
  you do no more, Google Play will automatically set local prices once a month
  based on the US-Dollar price for your app.
</p>

<p>
  However, Google Play gives you complete control over how you price your
  products in each country. To start you can manually set fixed local prices
  from the default price, using the <strong>auto-convert prices now</strong>
  feature. You can then review these prices and set new ones for any countries
  you wish &mdash; the price for each country is independent, so you can adjust
  one price without affecting others. For most countries, the price you set is
  the final price charged to users, including taxes.
</p>

<p>
  For more on pricing your apps, see <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/users/expand-to-new-markets.html#localize-your-google-play-listing">
  Expand into New Markets</a>.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="in-app-products">
    In-app Products
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  You can sell in-app products and subscriptions using <a href=
  "{@docRoot}google/play/billing/index.html">Google Play In-app Billing</a> as
  a way to monetize your apps. In-app products are one-time purchases, while
  subscriptions are recurring charges on a monthly or annual basis.
</p>

<p>
  In the <strong>In-app Products</strong> section for a specific published or
  draft APK you:
</p>

<ul>
  <li>Create product lists for in-app products and subscriptions.
  </li>

  <li>Set prices.
  </li>

  <li>Publish the products with the app or withdraw obsolete products.
  </li>
</ul>

<p>
  For details on how to implement In-app Billing, see the <a href=
  "{@docRoot}google/play/billing/index.html">In-app Billing</a> developer
  documentation. You make use of in-app products in the <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/monetize/premium.html">Premium</a>, <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/monetize/freemium.html">Freemium</a>, and <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/monetize/subscriptions.html">Subscription</a>
  monetization models
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="distribution-controls">
    Distribution Controls
  </h2>


</div>

<p>
  Manage which countries and territories your apps will distribute to. For some
  countries, you can choose which carriers you want to target. You can also see
  the list of devices your app is available for, based on any distribution
  rules declared in its manifest file.
</p>

<h3 id="geotargeting">
  Geographic targeting
</h3>

<p>
  You can use controls in the Google Play Developer Console to easily manage
  the geographic distribution of your apps, without any changes in your
  application binary. You can specify which countries and territories you want
  to distribute to, and even which carriers (for some countries).
</p>

<p>
  When users visit the store, Google Play makes sure that they are in one of
  your targeted countries before downloading your app. You can change your
  country and carrier targeting at any time just by saving changes in the
  Google Play Developer Console.
</p>

<div class="figure-right" style="width:500px;">
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-supported-dev-requirements.png" class="frame">
</div>

<p>
  To help you market to users around the world, you can <a href=
  "{@docRoot}distribute/tools/launch-checklist.html#start-localization">localize
  your store listing</a>, including app details and description, promotional
  graphics, screenshots, and more.
</p>

<h3 id="captargeting">
  Capabilities targeting
</h3>

<p>
  Google Play also lets you control distribution according to device features
  or capabilities that your app depends on. There are several types of
  dependencies that the app can define in its manifest, such as hardware
  features, OpenGL texture compression formats, libraries, Android platform
  versions, and others.
</p>

<p>
  When you upload your app, Google Play reads the dependencies and sets up any
  necessary distribution rules. For technical information about declaring
  dependencies, read <a href="{@docRoot}google/play/filters.html">Filters on
  Google Play</a>.
</p>

<p>
  For pinpoint control over distribution, Google Play lets you see all of the
  devices your app is available to based on its dependencies (if any). From the
  Google Play Developer Console, you can list the supported devices and even
  exclude specific devices if needed.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="reviews-reports">
    User Reviews and Crash Reports
  </h2>


</div>

<div class="figure-right" style="width:500px;">
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-reviews.png" class="frame">
  <p class="img-caption">
    The User reviews section gives you access to user reviews for a specific
    app. You can filter reviews in a number of ways to locate issues more
    easily and support your customers more effectively.
  </p>
</div>

<p>
  Google Play makes it easy for users to submit reviews of your app for the
  benefit of other users. The reviews give you usability feedback, support
  requests, and details of important functionality issues direct from your
  customers.
</p>

<p>
  Use crash reports for debugging and improving your app. You can see crash
  reports with stack trace and other data, submitted automatically from Android
  devices.
</p>

<div class="headerLine">
  <h2 id="app-stats">
    App Statistics
  </h2>


</div>

<div class="figure" style="width:500px">
  <img src="{@docRoot}images/gp-dc-stats.png">
  <p class="img-caption">
    <b>App statistics page</b>: Shows you a variety of statistics about a
    specific app's installation performance.
  </p>
</div>

<p>
  You get detailed statistics on the install performance of your app.
</p>

<p>
  See installation metrics measured by unique users as well as by unique
  devices. View active installs, total installs, upgrades, daily installs and
  uninstalls, and metrics about ratings.
</p>

<p>
  Zoom into the installation numbers by metric, including Android platform
  version, device, country, language, app version, and carrier. View the
  installation data for each dimension on timeline charts.
</p>

<p>
  These charts highlight your app’s installation peaks and longer-term trends.
  They help you learn your user’s adoption behavior, correlate statistics to
  promotions, see the effect of app improvements, and other factors. Focus in
  on data inside a dimension by adding specific points to the timeline.
</p>

<p style="clear:both">
</p>

<div class="dynamic-grid">
<div class="headerLine">
<h2 id="related-resources">Related Resources</h2>
</div>

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