Launch & publishing

Mobile Auction House App Pre-Launch Checklist

August 20, 2026 · 6 min read

Launching an auction app means coordinating accounts, branding, feature choices, and testing all at once. This checklist covers what to have in place before launch day. Work through it with your team and check off items as you go.

Step 1: choose your plan and accounts

Decide on your app tier first. There are three options: Buyer (basic bidding), Buyer + Seller (bidding and listing), or Buyer + Seller Pro (adds AI titles, advanced search, and more notification types). A regional auction house running events alongside continuous listings usually lands on Buyer + Seller. If daily watchlist summaries and closing reminders matter to your engagement strategy, Pro is worth the added cost. The pricing page has the full comparison.

Set up your Apple Developer account (the Apple Developer Program runs $99/year). You’ll need it to sign the iOS app for release, and Apple’s review process is stricter than Google’s, so start this early.

Set up a Google Play Developer account too ($25 one-time). That’s where the Android build will live.

Create a OneSignal account. It’s free to set up and handles push notifications across the app. You’ll provide your OneSignal API keys during configuration.

Step 2: branding and visual assets

Gather your logo files in high resolution (PNG with transparency works best), in both square and horizontal versions. The square version becomes your app icon; the horizontal one may show up on the splash screen or in app settings.

Your app icon needs to be square, typically 1024x1024px, and legible at the tiny size it appears at on a phone home screen. If your logo is detailed, a simplified version often reads better at that scale. Check it at actual icon size before finalizing.

The splash screen is the first thing bidders see when they open the app. Logo, name, a tagline, or some combination works, as long as it stays simple and on-brand, and it needs to hold up in both portrait and landscape.

Pick a primary color and a set of secondary colors that match your brand. These show up throughout the app on buttons, links, headers, and accents, so settle on the palette once and stick with it.

Both Apple and Google want screenshots for the store listing. We’ll produce those, but plan to write short descriptions of what each one shows.

Step 3: configure your app settings

Set your time zone correctly. It drives every timestamp bidders and sellers see, from lot closing to event start times to notifications, and it shapes deadline bidding behavior directly.

Decide whether you need consignor support. If sellers bring in items on consignment, a common arrangement at many auction houses, enabling this adds a section for tracking fees, statements, and which consignor contributed which lot.

Decide on region support too. If you operate across multiple regions or states, this helps sellers organize inventory geographically and lets bidders filter by location. Single-location operations can skip it.

Add store links: your main site, contact page, or help docs, so bidders can reach your site without leaving the app.

If you accept card payments, you’ll need Stripe keys for secure payment processing, along with your OneSignal keys for notifications.

Decide whether bidders must log in to browse, or can browse freely and only need an account to bid. Most auction houses choose the latter.

Maintenance mode settings let you pause the app temporarily for upkeep without taking it fully offline.

Step 4: site preparation and data

Create at least one event or set of listings in your AuctionWorx site before launch. Bidders expect to see live content the first time they open the app; an empty catalog is a bad first impression.

Test with demo data first: lots with photos, descriptions, opening bids, and reserve prices. This is how you’ll catch data-entry mistakes or visibility issues before real bidders do.

If you work with consignors, document their names, contact info, and commission rates in your AuctionWorx site ahead of time. The app pulls this data automatically once it’s there.

Set up your categories and metadata so they’re clear and consistent. These populate the app’s category menu, letting bidders filter by type, “Antiques,” “Furniture,” “Tools,” and so on.

Step 5: testing before launch

Download the AuctionWorx Mobile demo apps for iOS and Android. These run the Buyer + Seller build, so spend time in them to understand what bidders and sellers each experience day to day.

Testing on a simulator only gets you so far. Get at least one iPhone and one Android device, or borrow them from team members, and test on real hardware.

Run through bidding workflows directly: place test bids, get outbid, check that notifications arrive, and review your account summary. Confirm the flow feels intuitive rather than just functional.

If you’re on the Buyer + Seller plan, test seller workflows too: create listings, edit them, and review sales reports.

Test on both cellular data and WiFi, since apps sometimes behave differently depending on the connection.

Check your branding closely. A cropped logo or an off-brand color will hurt first impressions more than almost anything else on this list.

Confirm push notifications are enabled and that bidders can manage their preferences. Send test notifications and verify they actually arrive.

Where possible, test across a few different iOS and Android versions to catch compatibility issues before real bidders run into them.

Step 6: pre-launch communication

Write app store descriptions for both Apple and Google that explain what your app does and why bidders should download it. Lead with your event schedule or whatever makes your app distinct.

Plan your launch announcement: email to your bidder list, social posts, a press release, whatever fits how you normally reach your audience, and decide when it goes out.

Once approved, you’ll have direct links to your App Store and Google Play listings. Decide in advance where those will go: your site, email footer, social bios.

Make sure your support team can walk a bidder through download, account setup, and the handful of common issues that come up in the first weeks.

Step 7: go-live and post-launch

We submit your app to both stores using your developer accounts, once you’ve reviewed and signed off on everything.

Both stores typically review within a few days. Check your developer accounts regularly for status updates during that window.

Once approved, the app appears on the stores right away. Announce it.

Expect questions and feedback from bidders in the first week. Respond quickly and keep notes on anything that points to a usability issue.

Check download counts, retention, and crash reports early. Any crash is worth fixing fast, before it shapes how people describe the app to others.

Plan your first update for a few weeks after launch, even if the initial release is solid. There’s always something to refine once real bidders are using it.

Using this checklist

Work through this with your team and assign ownership by section: one person on branding, another on accounts, another leading testing.

Not sure which plan fits your operation? See the feature comparison and how each tier behaves in our demo apps, or read our iPhone-specific guide for what buyers expect on iOS specifically.

Questions about a specific step? See our FAQ or reach out, and we’ll walk through your launch plan in detail.