There’s nothing worse than spending thousands of pounds on an iOS mobile app, only for it to be rejected from the App Store. Unfortunately this happens. Apple has some pretty rigorous criteria for getting a mobile app into it’s store, but because of that it means it’s apps are trusted and there are very few problems with nasty things like viruses.
So, why would an iOS app get rejected from the app store….

Technical issues
If you app doesn’t work properly or is full of issues and bugs it won’t pass Apples quality check. This really isn’t a bad thing though, as with all apps there are likely to be a few small bugs, but if you were to launch an app full of issues the negative reviews would  flood in and many will simply uninstall the app, leaving you with a lot harder task to get it right and gain popularity again.

Loading times
Just like Google with websites, Apple has rules about how long it should take an app to load. For a simple app this shouldn’t be any problem, but if you’re building a complicated app or one with information to gather or update from the internet you have a 15 second limit for an iOS app. It’s worth noting that both Windows and Android have similar criteria too, so getting this right is key.

Other supported platforms
Your app might be available as an Android app or a Windows app, but down say that on the iOS app!! Mentioning other platforms is a big no-no, Apple won’t appreciate it and nor will other operating systems!

Localisation
If your app is available in a variety of countries it should be tailored for use in each of them. An ecommerce app from a UK retailer may be available in the US or Japan, but they won’t want to see prices in GBP. Making small changes based on the location of the user will be looked upon favourably by Apple in the approval process.

Keep it clean!
Placing you app on the App Store not only effects your branding and marketing, but Apple’s too. Their reputation is at stake with every iOS app they approve, if it goes wrong or receives negative publicity, they’ll be in the firing line too. Even the most successful apps from some of the biggest tech companies in the world can go wrong, take a look at the recent problems surround Twitter’s Vine app for example. Keep your app clean and make sure it’s not open for abuse.

Image source: Flickr