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Get started: Publish your first app in the Microsoft Store

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Introduction

Distributing apps via Microsoft Store is a good choice for developers of any app type and size. The Microsoft Store is a centralized hub for Windows users to discover and install a wide range of apps, providing developers access to a vast audience of over a billion users across Windows 10 and Windows 11. Microsoft Store also offers you various ways to make money from your apps, and lets you choose your own commerce platform and revenue sharing model. Microsoft Store also supports a wide range of app types and technologies, and allows you to bring your traditional desktop apps to the Store without changing your code or installer.

For the full benefits of publishing your app into the Microsoft Store, please visit benefits of distributing your apps via Microsoft Store.

Prerequisite

A Windows app developer account in Partner Center is needed before you start the app submission process. There are 2 types of developer accounts available in Partner Center: Individual and Company.

To understand how to open developer account, you can watch the following video:

Who should select an individual account:

  • Independent developers whose distribution of apps through the Store is not in relation to their business, trade, or profession
  • Small scale creators producing content for non-commercial purposes
  • Individuals creating digital content as a hobbyist, amateur, school, or personal project

The individual account costs approximately $19 USD. It is a one-time registration fee. (The fees varies depending on your country or region)


For more details, refer steps to create individual developer account.

Get started with app submission

We recommend packaging your app (which is built with any app framework - UWP, Win32, PWA, WinApp SDK etc.), as MSIX. By packaging your app as MSIX, you can take advantages of many features like a complimentary binary hosting (provided by Microsoft), complementary code signing (provided by Microsoft), Microsoft Store commerce platform, package flighting, advanced integration with Windows (to use features like share dialog, launch from Store etc), Windows 11 backup and restore etc.

For packaging your Win32 app as MSIX, follow these steps.

Note: If you distribute your application as a web download (EXE /MSI) and you are planning to distribute it as a packaged application (MSIX) in the Store, you might want to prevent users from installing both versions or migrate users from the unpackaged web version to the Store version. Learn more about transitioning users from web unpackaged to Store packaged app.

Choice of commerce platform

Microsoft Store offers developers a flexible and transparent revenue sharing model (including in-app purchases, subscriptions, ads, and tips) that lets you choose your own commerce platform and keep 100% of the revenue for non-gaming apps, or use Microsoft’s commerce platform and pay a competitive fee of 12% for games and 15% for apps. This means that you can maximize your profit and control your business model, while benefiting from the convenience and security of Microsoft’s commerce platform.

App submission [MSIX/PWA]

To understand the submission process of MSIX apps, you can watch the following video.


For more details, refer to the steps below.

Reserve your app's name [MSIX/PWA]

All apps on the Microsoft Store must have a unique name. To secure a name for your app, the first step is to reserve it, which you can do up to three months before publishing, even if development has not started.

Steps to Reserve Your App's Name:

  1. Navigate to the Partner Center apps and games page.

  2. Click New product.

  3. Click on MSIX or PWA app. If you want to submit an MSIX or PWA game, click on Game.

  4. Enter the name you would like to use and click Check availability. If the name is available, you will see a green check mark. If the name is already in use, you will see a message indicating so.

  5. Once you have selected an available name that you would like to reserve, click Reserve product name.

For more information, please visit Reserve your app's name - Windows apps | Microsoft Learn.

Create your app submission [MSIX/PWA]

  1. After reserving an app name, you will be redirected to Application overview page. Click on Start Submission. A product submission in draft status will appear. This draft includes all the submission steps that need to be completed.

  2. For submitting a PWA, learn how to convert your website into a PWA.

  3. Complete each tab of the submission draft:

  4. After you complete a section, click on Save. Once all sections are complete and you are ready to submit, click on Submit for certification.

If your draft is missing any necessary information, it will be marked as Incomplete.

For more information, please visit Create an app submission - Windows apps | Microsoft Learn.

App certification process [MSIX/PWA]

When you finish creating your app's submission and click Submit to the Store, the submission enters the certification step. This process can take up to three business days. During certification, we will perform security tests, technical compliance tests and also a content compliance check on you app submission. You will be notified if your submission fails any of these tests.

After your submission passes certification, on an average, customers will be able to see the app’s listing within 15 minutes depending on their location. You will be notified when your submission is published to the Store, and the app's status in the dashboard change to 'In Microsoft Store'.

To understand the certification process of MSIX apps, you can watch the following video.


For more information, please visit The app certification process - Windows apps | Microsoft Learn.

Post-certification [MSIX/PWA]

Analyze performance for MSIX apps and games

View detailed analytics for your apps and games in Partner Center. Statistics and charts let you know how your apps are performing in the Store; from how many customers you have reached to how they are using your app and what they have to say about it. You can also find metrics on app install, app health, app usage, and more. You can view analytic reports right in Partner Center or download the reports you need to analyze your data offline. We also provide several ways for you to access your analytics data outside of Partner Center.

To understand how to analyze your MSIX app's performance, you can watch the following video.


For more details, you can refer to the following reports.

Reports available for your apps

There are different reports available for your apps, check the descriptions to find the metrics you are looking for.

Report Description
Acquisitions report See how many people have seen and installed your app in Store. You can also review data for different acquisition channels, markets, and platform details in this report.
Add-on acquisition report See how many add-ons you have sold, along with demographic and platform details.
Usage report See how customers on Windows 10 or Windows 11 (including Xbox) are using your app, including data about custom events that you have defined.
Health report Get data related to the performance and quality of your app, including crashes and unresponsive events.
Reviews report See the rating and reviews your customers have left for your app and provide responses to let customers know you are listening to their feedback.
Insights report See meaningful insights about your app like significant (changes increases or decreases that we detected over the last 30 days in your acquisitions and health data).

Appendix [MSIX/PWA]

Troubleshooting

Full app submission documentation

  • If you are seeking more detailed documentation, click here.

Contact information for support

  • If you need further assistance, a support ticket can be raised from here.