Android app for your store
With Android App, your online store becomes an app with its own name and icon. Customers install it from Google Play and open your store straight from their home screen.
This feature is only on the Enterprise plan (see Billing & Plans). On other plans the Android App menu shows a lock and the page invites you to upgrade. Only the shop owner can open it.
What the app is
The app uses the same online store customers see in the browser: products, cart, payment, points and customer accounts. You do not manage two stores. Only the wrapper differs: the icon on the phone, the name under the icon and the splash color.
So changes to your store reach the app by themselves, with no new upload to Google Play: new products, prices, banners, pages and fixes from Etalasse. You only need to build again when you change the icon, name, colors or your store address (for example when you connect a custom domain).
Who publishes
Every app has one of two publisher modes. Only an Etalasse admin can set it, not the Dashboard.
| Mode | What you see | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Etalasse publishes | Status, version and the Google Play link. No downloads. | Fill in the app details and ask for a build. Etalasse uploads it to its own Play account. |
| You publish (default) | Every step below, including downloads and the Google Play fields. | Upload the files to your own Google Play account. |
Step 1: app details
Open Android App in the menu (online store section, below Custom Domain), then fill in:
| Field | Rule |
|---|---|
| App name | Up to 30 characters. Shown on Google Play. |
| Short name | Up to 12 characters. Shown under the icon. |
| Main color and Background color | Start from your store's main color. |
| App icon | Choose from the Media Library. Must be square and at least 512 × 512 pixels. |
| Package name | The app's identifier, for example com.mystore.app. Lowercase letters, numbers and underscores, at least two parts separated by dots. Filled in from your shop username at first. |
You can change the package name while it is not locked. Once the Play page is filled in or a build has finished, it is locked for good. Google treats a different package name as a different app, so reviews and installs do not move over. Decide before the first build is uploaded.
Step 2: build the app
Click Build the app. The status moves like this:
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Waiting | Your request is in the queue. |
| Building | The app is being made. The page refreshes itself. |
| Ready | The build is done. |
| Failed | The build failed. The reason shows on the page. Fix it and build again, or contact support if it keeps failing. |
A shop can ask for 3 builds in 24 hours. What is left shows next to the button. The button is off while a build is running or when there are unsaved changes.
Step 3: download the files (if you publish)
When the status is Ready, three files are available: the App bundle (.aab) to upload to Google Play, the Store listing kit to fill in the Play page, and a Test file (.apk) to try the app on a phone. Download links work for 10 minutes; press the button again for a new one.
Step 4: put it on Google Play (if you publish)
- Create a Google Play developer account in Play Console. There is a one-time registration fee of USD 25 (we did not re-check this figure against Google's page when writing this guide, so confirm the current fee when you sign up).
- Mind the rule for new personal accounts. According to Google's documentation (checked 31 Oct 2026), a personal account created after 13 November 2023 must run a closed test with at least 12 testers opted in continuously for at least 14 consecutive days before it can apply for production access. Organization accounts do not have this requirement. Google's rules can change, so check the official testing requirements page before you plan your schedule.
- Create the app in Play Console with a package name exactly the same as in the Dashboard.
- Upload the
.aabfile and turn on Play App Signing when Google offers it. Google then signs the app with its own key. - Copy the signing key's SHA-256. In Play Console open Test and release → App integrity, copy the SHA-256 fingerprint of the app signing key and paste it into App signing SHA-256 in the Dashboard (one per line, up to 3). This makes Android open your store links inside the app instead of the browser. Without it the app still works; only the links open in the browser.
- Send it for review. Fill in the store listing (the kit from Step 3 helps) and submit it to Google's review. Review time varies.
- Once it is live, paste the Google Play link (
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=<package name>) into the Dashboard. Your online store then shows Download on Google Play to Android visitors.
Click Check again to reload and see whether both the fingerprint and the link are saved.
Updates
- Automatic, no build: products, prices, banners, pages and store fixes from Etalasse reach apps that are already installed.
- Needs a build and a new upload: a new icon, name, colors or store address. Click Build again, download the new
.aaband upload it as a new release in Play Console.
Common problems
- The Build the app button is off — save your changes first, complete the name, short name, both colors and the icon, or wait for the running build.
- Icon rejected — make sure the picture is square and at least 512 × 512 pixels.
- Package name can't be changed — it is locked because a Play page or a finished build exists. Contact support if you really need to start over.
- 3-build limit shown — wait for the time shown, then try again.
- Play link rejected — the link must be exactly the Play page of your package name.