From Idea to App Store in 30 Days (Step-by-Step)

Day 0: The Text That Changed Everything

"Your app idea is live on the App Store!"

Reading that notification exactly 30 days after starting with just a rough idea still feels surreal. No investors. No technical co-founder. No prior iOS experience.

Just me, a clear plan, and the determination to ship.

The app? A habit tracker called "MorningWin" that's now doing $3,200/month with 1,100 active users.

I documented every single day of the journey. Every win, every setback, every late-night debugging session. This isn't theory—this is exactly how to go from idea to App Store in 30 days.

Ready? Let's build your app.

Before Day 1: The Pre-Flight Checklist

What You'll Need

Time: 4-6 hours per day (I did this alongside my day job)
Money: $200-500 budget (can be less if creative)
Tools: Laptop, iPhone for testing, coffee (lots of coffee)
Mindset: Ship fast, iterate later

What You DON'T Need

❌ Years of coding experience
❌ A perfect idea
❌ Investor funding
❌ A team

Week 1: Validation & Planning (Days 1-7)

Day 1-2: Market Research Deep Dive

Day 1 Morning (2 hours): App Store Safari

I spent the morning becoming an expert on habit tracker apps. Here's my exact process:

Downloaded top 10 competitors
- Streaks: $4.99, great UI, complex for beginners
- Habitica: Free + IAP, gamified, too cluttered
- Way of Life: $15.99, powerful but intimidating
Read 500+ reviews (Yes, really)
- Common complaints: Too complex, expensive subscriptions, buggy syncing
- Common praise: Simple design, good reminders, progress visualization
- Gap identified: Simple morning-focused habit tracker

Created competitor analysis spreadsheet

App Name | Downloads | Price | Key Feature | Main Complaint | Opportunity
---------|-----------|-------|-------------|----------------|------------
Streaks  | 100K+     | $4.99 | Widgets     | Complex        | Simplify
Habitica | 1M+       | Free  | Gamification| Cluttered      | Focus

Day 1 Afternoon: The Reality Check

Used Sensor Tower (free trial) to get real data:

Market size: 50M+ downloads/year for habit trackers
Average revenue per user: $2.30/month
Growth rate: 35% YoY

The "Holy Shit" Moment: Morning routine apps specifically were underserved. Only 2 major players, both with 3.5 star ratings.

Day 2: Talk to Real Humans

Posted in 5 Facebook groups, 3 subreddits, and my Twitter:

"I'm building a simple morning habit tracker. What's your biggest frustration with current apps? Comment for early access."

Results:

67 responses in 24 hours
31 people gave their email
Top request: "Just tell me what to do each morning"

Day 3-4: Creating the Hook

Day 3: Landing Page in 3 Hours

Used Framer (free tier) to build morningwin.app:

<!-- The entire above-the-fold -->
<h1>Win Your Morning, Win Your Day</h1>
<p>5 morning habits. 5 minutes. Life-changing results.</p>
<input placeholder="Enter your email" />
<button>Get Early Access - 50% Off</button>

Added:

Mockup created with Figma (1 hour)
Copy written by Claude (refined 3 times)
Analytics with Google Analytics

Day 4: The First 100 Signups

My exact promotion strategy:

Reddit (r/getdisciplined, r/productivity): "I'm building this, thoughts?"
Twitter/X: Posted mockup with "Would you use this?"
IndieHackers: Shared landing page for feedback
Personal network: WhatsApp message to 50 friends

Results by end of Day 4:

127 email signups
23 people replied wanting to beta test
1 person offered to pre-pay $50 (!)

Day 5-6: Feature Definition

Day 5: The Brutal Prioritization

Listed every feature idea, then cut 80%:

Must Have (MVP):

5 preset morning habits
Check off as complete
Streak counter
One reminder notification

Nice to Have (Version 2):

~~Custom habits~~
~~Social features~~
~~Analytics~~
~~Apple Watch app~~

Won't Have:

~~AI coaching~~
~~Team challenges~~
~~Meditation audio~~

Day 6: User Flow Mapping

Created the entire app flow on paper (yes, paper):

Open App → Onboarding (3 screens) → Main Dashboard
    ↓
Today's Habits (5 checkboxes)
    ↓
Complete All → Success Animation → Tomorrow Locked

Simple. Focused. Shippable.

Day 7: The Stack Decision

After researching for 4 hours, chose:

React Native with Expo: Cross-platform, fast to build
Supabase: Backend, auth, database (free tier)
RevenueCat: Subscriptions (takes 15 minutes to setup)
OneSignal: Push notifications (free for <10k users)

Why this stack:

Can build once, deploy to both iOS and Android
Mostly free to start
Tons of tutorials available
AI tools understand it well

Week 2: Design & Prototyping (Days 8-14)

Day 8-10: Figma Marathon

Day 8: Design System

Created in 2 hours:

Colors: Morning gradient (orange to pink)
Font: Inter (clean, readable)
5 components: Button, Card, Checkbox, Header, TabBar

Day 9: Every Single Screen

Designed all 12 screens:

Splash
Onboarding (3 screens)
Dashboard
Habit Details
Stats
Settings
Subscription
Success animation
Profile
Notifications settings

Day 10: The Design Review

Posted designs in Designer News and Dribbble:

47 likes
12 comments
3 major improvements suggested
1 designer offered to help for free (took him up on it!)

Day 11-12: Clickable Prototype

Day 11: Prototype Magic

Connected all screens in Figma:

Added transitions
Created micro-interactions
Built component states
Made it feel real

Day 12: User Testing Round 1

Sent prototype to 10 beta testers via Testflight:

Feedback synthesis:

"Love the simplicity" (8/10 said this)
"Habits seem random" (fixed by adding categories)
"Want to see weekly view" (added to roadmap)
"Morning gradient is perfect" (kept it!)

Day 13-14: Final Design Polish

Day 13: Incorporating Feedback

Changes made:

Added habit categories (Mind, Body, Soul)
Increased contrast for accessibility
Added subtle animations
Created better empty states

Day 14: Asset Export

Exported everything:

2x and 3x images for iOS
Multiple densities for Android
App icon (16 versions)
Screenshot templates for App Store

The Design Handoff: A complete Figma file with:

12 screens
23 components
156 total frames
Developer notes on every element

Week 3: Development Sprint (Days 15-21)

Day 15-16: Project Setup and Foundation

Day 15 Morning: Development Environment

# The exact commands I ran
npx create-expo-app MorningWin
cd MorningWin
npm install @supabase/supabase-js
npm install react-native-reanimated
npm install @react-navigation/native
expo install expo-notifications

Day 15 Afternoon: Supabase Configuration

Created database schema:

-- Users table
CREATE TABLE users (
  id UUID PRIMARY KEY,
  email TEXT UNIQUE,
  name TEXT,
  created_at TIMESTAMP
);

-- Habits table
CREATE TABLE habits (
  id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
  user_id UUID REFERENCES users(id),
  habit_name TEXT,
  completed_dates DATE[],
  streak INT DEFAULT 0
);

Day 16: Authentication Flow

Built login/signup in 3 hours using Supabase Auth:

// Simplified version
const signUp = async (email, password) => {
  const { user, error } = await supabase.auth.signUp({
    email,
    password,
  });
  if (error) throw error;
  return user;
};

Day 17-19: Core Features

Day 17: The Main Dashboard

This is where Cursor AI saved me 10 hours:

// I typed: "Create dashboard with 5 morning habits"
// Cursor generated the entire component with state management

Day 18: Habit Tracking Logic

The core functionality in 200 lines:

Mark habit complete
Update streak
Save to database
Trigger success animation

Day 19: Push Notifications

Morning reminder at 6 AM:

Notifications.scheduleNotificationAsync({
  content: {
    title: "🌅 Time for your morning routine!",
    body: "5 habits, 5 minutes. Let's win the day!"
  },
  trigger: {
    hour: 6,
    minute: 0,
    repeats: true
  }
});

Day 20-21: Testing and Bug Fixes

Day 20: The Bug Hunt

Found and fixed 23 bugs:

Streak resetting at midnight (timezone issue)
Checkbox state not persisting
Success animation playing twice
Deep linking not working

Day 21: Performance Optimization

Reduced app size from 47MB to 12MB
Improved load time from 3s to 0.8s
Fixed memory leaks
Added error boundaries

End of Week 3 Status: ✅ Core app working ✅ 0 critical bugs ✅ Ready for beta testing

Week 4: Polish & Launch (Days 22-30)

Day 22-23: Beta Testing Blitz

Day 22: TestFlight Setup

Invited 50 beta testers:

Uploaded build to TestFlight
Created testing instructions
Set up feedback form
Created Discord for testers

Day 23: Beta Feedback Implementation

Top issues fixed:

Habit completion not syncing (fixed in 2 hours)
Dark mode colors hard to read (adjusted contrast)
Onboarding too long (reduced from 5 to 3 screens)

Beta Metrics:

47/50 testers active
Average session: 3.2 minutes
Day 1 retention: 89%
Bug reports: 12 (all fixed)

Day 24-25: App Store Assets

Day 24: Screenshots and Copy

Created using Figma templates:

5 screenshots per device size
3 device sizes (iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 8, iPad)
Localized for 3 languages (English, Spanish, French)

App Store Description:

Win Your Morning, Win Your Day

Start each day with purpose. MorningWin helps you build
life-changing morning habits in just 5 minutes.

✓ 5 science-backed morning habits
✓ Simple, beautiful interface
✓ Streak tracking & motivation
✓ Gentle reminder notifications
✓ No overwhelming features

Join thousands taking control of their mornings.

Day 25: App Preview Video

30-second video showing:

App open animation
Checking off habits
Streak celebration
Success screen

Created using Screen Studio in 90 minutes.

Day 26-27: Subscription Setup

Day 26: RevenueCat Integration

Pricing strategy:

Free: 7-day trial
Monthly: $4.99
Yearly: $29.99 (50% discount)
Lifetime: $79.99 (launch week only)

Day 27: Paywall Implementation

Simple paywall after onboarding:

Show value proposition
Display pricing
Handle purchase
Unlock premium features

Day 28-29: Final Testing & Submission

Day 28: The Final Checklist

[x] All features working
[x] No crashes in 2 hours of testing
[x] App Store assets ready
[x] Privacy policy live
[x] Support email set up
[x] Analytics tracking properly

Day 29: Submission to App Store

The nerve-wracking part:

Final build uploaded (version 1.0.0)
App Store form filled
Screenshots uploaded
Hit submit at 11:47 PM

Status: Waiting for Review

Day 30: Launch Day

Morning: Approval!

Email at 8:23 AM: "Your app MorningWin is now Ready for Sale"

Launch Strategy Executed:

10 AM: ProductHunt Launch

Posted with custom graphics
Reached out to 30 friends to upvote
Commented on 5 other launches
Result: #4 Product of the Day

12 PM: Social Media Blast

Twitter/X thread documenting journey
LinkedIn post about lessons learned
Instagram stories showing app
TikTok showing morning routine

2 PM: Community Outreach

Posted in 10 relevant subreddits
Shared in 5 Facebook groups
Messaged 20 micro-influencers
Submitted to 10 app directories

6 PM: Email Campaign

Sent to 127 landing page subscribers
Subject: "It's here! Your 50% discount inside 🎉"
Open rate: 67%
Conversion: 23%

Day 30 Results:

Downloads: 312
Paid conversions: 34
Revenue: $127
Reviews: 7 (all 5 stars)
Crashes: 0

The Reality Check: What Actually Happened

Time Tracking: Where Did 200 Hours Go?

Planning & Research:      20 hours (10%)
Design & Prototyping:     35 hours (17.5%)
Development:              90 hours (45%)
Testing & Debugging:      25 hours (12.5%)
App Store Preparation:    15 hours (7.5%)
Marketing & Launch:       15 hours (7.5%)
-----------------------------------------
Total:                   200 hours

Budget Breakdown: Every Dollar Spent

Domain name:             $12
Figma Pro (1 month):     $15
Apple Developer:         $99
Google Play:             $25
TestFlight:              $0
Supabase:               $0 (free tier)
RevenueCat:             $0 (free tier)
Marketing ads:           $50
Screen recording tool:   $39
Stock photos:            $29
Total:                   $269

What Went Wrong (The Truth)

Week 1 Mistakes:

Spent 8 hours on a logo (used a template eventually)
Almost built for Android first (iOS users pay more)
Nearly added 10 features (stuck to 5)

Week 2 Struggles:

Redesigned main screen 4 times
Prototype broke, lost 3 hours of work
Color scheme changed last minute

Week 3 Disasters:

Corrupted git repo, lost full day
Supabase hit rate limit during testing
Push notifications didn't work on iOS (cert issues)

Week 4 Panic:

App rejected first time (screenshot had Android UI)
RevenueCat webhook failed
ProductHunt launch almost missed deadline

What Went Right (The Wins)

Simple focus: 5 habits only made everything easier
Real feedback: Beta testers caught critical bugs
AI assistance: Saved 50+ hours of coding
Community support: IndieHackers gave incredible advice
Launch timing: Monday morning = more visibility

Month 2-3: What Happened Next

Growth Trajectory

Month 2:

Downloads: 2,847
MRR: $1,240
Rating: 4.8 stars (67 reviews)
Retention: 62% after 30 days

Month 3:

Downloads: 5,123
MRR: $3,200
Featured in App Store "New Apps We Love"
First $1,000 profit month

Key Updates Based on User Feedback

Version 1.1 (2 weeks post-launch):

Added weekend mode
Custom habit names
Widget for iOS
Fixed 17 bugs

Version 1.2 (6 weeks post-launch):

Apple Watch app
Habit categories
Export data feature
Dark mode improvements

The 30-Day Blueprint (Your Turn)

Week 1 Checklist

[ ] Research 10 competitors
[ ] Read 500 reviews
[ ] Talk to 20 potential users
[ ] Create landing page
[ ] Get 100 email signups
[ ] Define 5 core features
[ ] Choose tech stack

Week 2 Checklist

[ ] Create design system
[ ] Design all screens
[ ] Build clickable prototype
[ ] Test with 10 users
[ ] Iterate based on feedback
[ ] Export all assets

Week 3 Checklist

[ ] Set up development environment
[ ] Build authentication
[ ] Implement core features
[ ] Add analytics
[ ] Set up notifications
[ ] Fix critical bugs
[ ] Optimize performance

Week 4 Checklist

[ ] Beta test with 50 users
[ ] Create App Store assets
[ ] Set up monetization
[ ] Submit to App Store
[ ] Prepare launch campaign
[ ] Execute launch day plan
[ ] Celebrate! 🎉

Lessons That Will Save You Weeks

Lesson 1: Ship at 60% Perfect

My app wasn't perfect. It had 5 features when competitors had 50. But it did those 5 things really well. You can always add more later.

Lesson 2: Real Users > Your Opinion

I wanted a meditation feature. Users wanted simplicity. Guess who was right? Always choose user feedback over your assumptions.

Lesson 3: AI is Your Co-founder

I saved 100+ hours using AI tools. Not for everything, but for boilerplate, debugging, and initial implementations. It's like having a junior developer who never sleeps.

Lesson 4: Marketing is Half the Battle

A mediocre app with great marketing beats a great app with no marketing. Start building your audience on Day 1, not Day 30.

Lesson 5: Constraints Force Creativity

Having only 30 days forced me to cut ruthlessly. Those constraints led to a simpler, better product than if I'd had 6 months.

Your First 3 Actions (Do These Today)

Action 1: Pick Your Idea (15 minutes)

Don't overthink. Choose something that:

Solves a problem you have
Can be built with 5 features or less
Has paying competitors (validates demand)

Action 2: Set Your Deadline (5 minutes)

Open your calendar. Mark 30 days from today. Tell someone about your deadline. Post it publicly. Accountability matters.

Action 3: Create Your Landing Page (2 hours)

Tonight, create a simple landing page. One headline, one description, one email capture. Use Carrd, Framer, or even a Google Form. Start collecting interest.

The Truth Nobody Tells You

Building an app in 30 days isn't about being a great developer. It's about:

Making decisions quickly
Cutting features ruthlessly
Shipping before you're ready
Learning from real users
Iterating based on data

I'm not special. I'm not a coding genius. I just followed a system and refused to quit.

Your app—the one you've been thinking about for months—can be live in 30 days. Not perfect. Not complete. But live, with real users, generating real feedback.

The only question is: Will you start today?

Join Me for Round 2

I'm doing this again with a new app idea. Want to build alongside me? Here's how:

Join the newsletter for daily updates during my next 30-day build
Join our Discord where 200+ builders are doing their own 30-day challenges
Tweet me your Day 1 - I'll personally review your idea

Remember: Every app you use daily was once just an idea in someone's head. They weren't smarter than you. They just started.

Your 30 days begins now. Let's build something amazing.

P.S. - MorningWin is still growing. Month 6 update: 14,000 users, $8,400 MRR, and an acquisition offer I'm considering. It all started with Day 1.

P.P.S - Download the 30-Day App Challenge PDF Checklist with daily tasks, templates, and resources. It's exactly what I wish I had when starting.