Even the greatest of apps will have no value if nobody can use them. All apps get their true value through the fact that they help users to perform a task. Great apps are a delight to use and provide the functionality to perform a task well. However, if no user has access to the app, the app is pointless.

The process of publishing an app on an app store is not just a matter of uploading the package for the users to download. Publishing involves adding polish to the finer, and not necessarily functional or even directly related, areas of the app.

An app can provide all the functionality to perform a task well. It can run well on the user's device. But, if the app only supports a single language or a single type of device, the app is actually very limited. Not all users speak the same language, and not all users use the same device. Android is one of the most popular operating systems because it runs on millions of different devices, and users expect the app to both look great and run well on all of them.

Publishing an app takes great code, releasing it onto users' devices, while continuing to maintain and grow the experience as time passes. If apps were just launched and then forgotten, the users would soon start looking for different apps as their requirements change.

In order for many apps to be economical for developers, they have to protect their app and its content. If an app provides content that requires the users to have bought the app, then the developer must ensure that the content is only accessible to those customers. Users will be unhappy if they have had to pay for the content, and then found out that they can access it for free somewhere else.

Just like protecting the content, the code must also be protected. There are many tools out there that can take an Android app and decompile it down to the source code. Because of this, nefarious developers might not only steal the content but also the code. This poses a risk, as there will now be a clone on the app store that will cause confusion for the users. And not only this, the clone may pretend to be the original and steal private data from unsuspecting users.

Once the content has been secured, the code protected, and the app packaged, the developer now needs to upload the app to an app store. This is not just a simple upload, but it involves creating marketing media. Users will not download an app without an icon, without screenshots, or without a decent description. This is why it is essential to spend time making the app desirable even before installation.

The final, and most important, part of publishing an app is the testing phase. No matter how great the app is, if it fails to meet the user's requirements or crashes, it will be uninstalled. Testing an app with real users, or a testing team, ensures that all the features that the app provides work, and work well.

Only once the app has been produced, protected, packaged, proved, and promoted, can it be said that the app has been published.