Now that you have built your Chrome web app, it is time to test it in your browser and get it uploaded to the Chrome Web Store. It is a super-simple process, as long as you have been following along. If not go back and read the first part of this article here.
First things first… Testing your app. To do this, all you have to do is go into your “Settings” menu an choose “Extensions”. Alternatively you can go to the web address: chrome://extensions/
Follow the directions in the below image and check that box labeled “Developer Mode”. That will give you a couple of additional buttons to work with. You are going to want to click on the “Load Unpacked Extension” button. This will have you search for the folder in which your original files are stored. (NOT the Zip file)
Once you have tested it and are happy with your finished product it is time head on over to the Chrome Developer’s Dashboard to get your app submitted. Google introduced a new policy that in order to upload apps you have to have a PAID developer account, so they will make you pay a fee before you can upload an app. Is it worth $5? I am still not sure, but I went ahead and paid it anyway… Maybe I will come up with some amazing app idea down the road…
So now that we got that out of the way you just have to upload the app. Make sure you zip the folder into a single zip file. Most modern zipping utilities (7zip) will allow you to simply right click the folder and add it to a zip. If you don’t have 7zip installed on your computer, go ahead and download it. I’ll wait.
So you have your zip file and you clicked through the Chrome Developer Dashboard and uploaded the file. It will now bring you to the edit screen, from here you can add things like a description and screenshots to the page. Fill in everything that is required:
- In the Detailed description section, enter text that describes your app.
- In the Icon section, upload the same 128×128 icon that you put into the ZIP file.
- In the Screenshots section, upload at least one screenshot of the app (1280×800 or 640×400). Four or five would be better.
- In the Promotional images section, upload your promotional images (you must upload at least the 440×280 image).
- Under the Verified website section, select the website for which the app is an “official item”. The drop-down lists only the domains for which you’re the verified owner.
- In the Categories section, select at least one category for your app. For more information, see Choose your app’s category well in Best Practices.
- If you want to charge for your app, specify the price and the payment system in the Pricing and Payments section. You can use the built-in Chrome Web Store Payments system if you are in a supported region. For more information about payment options, see Monetizing Your App.
- At the bottom of the edit page, click Save draft and return to dashboard.
Now it will give you a chance to preview the listing, pay that $5 fee (If you haven’t already) and publish your app. After it is published and it goes live it will look like the following:
The page itself will look like this:
If you have any questions about the process please leave a comment, or look me up on Twitter!