How do I know the URL to where someone can install my app if the app isn’t approved? This is required by the Review team to get the app approved. We typically did this by having the user give us their myshopify.com store name, which we could then use to build the URL that would lead them to a page to install our app. Since we’re not allowed to ask for that name, it seems we can only link them directly to our app listing page. But since we’re not approved, we don’t have an app listing page.
What do we then link them to, to install our app, without knowing their myshopify.com store name?
I don’t understand the link between a user’s store and app listing URL? Why do you need a merchant’s store in order to get your app approved? If the app is custom to a specific user, normally these apps are not required for approval
If the plan is to list to the app store, then all you need to do is to follow these steps and create a listing page. Shopify will automatically provide all you need including a listing URL.
The one thing you will need here is the demo store URL where your app is installed and functioning to someone can view how your app works. For this, you can just create a demo store from your partners account.
Of course if you intend for your app to be public (i.e listed on app store) there will be no URL until your app is approved. So all you need to do is submit your app for approval from your partner account and the rest will be provided by shopify, if the app passes approval process.
If your app is custom i.e is to be used by only one store, you don’t need approval. You can just install your app to the store manually or go to your app on your partners account and create a distribution. From their, pick the single store option, enter the store details and you should have an install URL.
We’re still working through this, once we do our next submission I’ll update things. We spoke with our rep and they recommended this flow:
We ask for the .myshopify.com name, use that to send them to our current flow and install page (how to make this answered by policenauts1 here) BUT if they try to connect a second store, we again ask for .myshopify.com name, they click connect and we direct them to https://apps.shopify.com/yourappnamehere which will currently be a 404 not available page (since you’re not yet approved but thats OK).
She mentioned it’s OK that the page 404’s for now during the inspection process, because once it’s approved it will work. Hope this also helps further why we need the store name @mrngodi thanks for your help!