How to launch a Mac app
George · 3 min read
The short answer: decide first whether you sell through the Mac App Store, directly from your own site, or both. Then make a launch page that shows the app at work on a Mac, says clearly which macOS versions it supports, and puts the download one click away. Launch it where Mac users look for new tools, and keep the page up after launch week.
Small Mac apps are having a moment. Menu bar utilities, focus tools and AI helpers built by one person are easier to make than ever, and Mac users are used to paying for good small tools. Launching one has a few details that are different from a web app.
Mac App Store or direct download
The Mac App Store handles payments, updates and trust. People can install with one click, and the listing comes with ratings and a familiar page. In exchange, your app runs in Apple's sandbox, goes through App Review, and Apple takes a commission on sales.
Direct download from your own site gives you more freedom: no sandbox limits, your own pricing and trials, and no store commission. You still need to sign the app with a Developer ID and have Apple notarize it, or macOS will warn people when they open it. Updates and payments are then yours to handle.
Many developers do both, or start with one and add the other later. Either way, decide before you launch, because it changes your launch page.
What your launch needs
- Screenshots of the app on a Mac. Show the actual window, menu bar item or panel, at a size where the text can be read. A short screen recording works well for apps with a lot of motion.
- The macOS versions you support. Mac users check this first, and nothing loses a download faster than finding out after installing.
- Apple silicon or Intel. Say if the app runs on both.
- One clear download button. A Mac App Store badge if you are there, or a download link if you are not.
- A proper icon. Mac icons are drawn as a rounded square with space around it, following Apple's template. A square logo dropped into the dock looks out of place next to other apps. The free app icon and favicon generator makes all ten Mac sizes in that shape.
Launching on ShipDesk
ShipDesk tells Mac apps apart from iPhone apps. Paste your Mac App Store link and your launch is labelled Mac app, with a Mac App Store badge on its page. People can find it with the Mac filter on all launches.
If you sell the app directly instead, launch it with your website. Your launch page then links straight to it.
Where Mac users look
- Launch sites and boards where makers browse new products every week.
- Communities around Mac software and productivity, where people share the small tools they use every day. Follow each community's rules on self-promotion.
- Your own audience. If you build in public, the people who watched you make the app are your first users.
After launch week
The launch is a start, not the finish. Keep the page current, answer every question, and post an update when you ship a meaningful new version. Mac users often keep using a tool for years once it earns its place, so the first months of care matter.
The short version
- Choose the Mac App Store, direct download, or both, before you launch.
- Direct downloads need a Developer ID and notarization.
- Show the app on a Mac and say which macOS versions it supports.
- Use a proper Mac icon in Apple's rounded square shape.
- On ShipDesk, a Mac App Store link labels your launch as a Mac app.