Many stores stay with an app builder they have outgrown because switching sounds risky. Will we lose our reviews? Will customers have to download a new app? In most cases the answer is no, as long as the move is planned properly.
What you want to keep
When you switch builders, three things matter most:
- your store listings: the same app on the App Store and Google Play, with its reviews and ratings
- your installed users: customers who already have the app should simply get an update
- your design and content: the app should look at least as good on day one
Why the listing can usually stay
Apps are published from developer accounts. If your current app is published from your own Apple and Google accounts, the new app can be released as an update to the same listing, with the same name, the same bundle ID and the same package name. Customers receive it like any other update, and your reviews stay where they are.
If your current app was published from your provider's account instead, ask them about transferring it to yours. Both Apple and Google support moving an app between developer accounts.
The Android signing key
Android checks that every update is signed by the same key as the app already installed.
- If your app uses Play App Signing, Google holds the app signing key. Your provider only has an upload key, and the account owner can ask Google to reset it. Updates from your new builder then work as normal.
- If it does not, you will need the original key from your current provider.
Check this first. It decides how smooth the move is.
A switch, step by step
- Review the current app. List its screens, features, integrations and notification automations.
- Rebuild and compare. Recreate the app in the new builder with your branding and real products, and compare the two side by side on your phone.
- Prepare the accounts. Give the new builder access to your Apple and Google developer accounts and sort out the Android upload key.
- Release the update. Submit the new version to both stores as an update to the existing listing.
- Switch off the old provider once the update is live and customers are moving to it.
What changes for your customers
Very little. They receive an update from the store, open the app and keep shopping. Customers who were signed in may need to sign in once more.
AppFromShop offers a free assisted migration: we rebuild your app, share a live preview for you to check on your phone, and in most cases ship it as an update to your existing listings so you keep your reviews and installs. See how migration works.
