Here's the best bit...
The biggest pain point for me was getting verified as a legal business by Apple.
First, I went to the site and registered for Apple’s Developer Program. I filled out my name and company information. (Aside: I guess Apple won’t let you submit an app unless you have a registered, legal company?)
I click next.
“The information you entered did not match your D&B profile.”
My…what?
A bit of Googling showed that “D&B profile” is Dun and Bradstreet. I’ve never heard of this group before, but I find out that Apple is using them to verify you legal corporation details.
And apparently, my D&B profile didn’t match what I put in my Apple Dev registration.
I google some more and find the Apple dev forums littered with similar posts. Nobody had a good answer.
I contact Apple Dev support. 24 hours later, I’m contacted by email saying that I should contact D&B.
I decide to contact them…but Apple says it will take up to a few days for them to respond.
At this point, I’m thinking of abandoning the whole idea.
While waiting for D&B support to get back to me, I decide to go to the D&B site, verify my identity, and update my company information which, I assume, they had taken from government registration records.
Did I mention how sucky this is? I just want to list my existing web app in the store. Plz help.
I go to D&B to update my business profile. Surprise! They have a JavaScript bug in their validation logic that prevents me from updating my profile.
Thankfully, I’m a proficient developer. I click put a breakpoint in their JavaScript, click submit, change the isValid flag to true, and voila! I’ve updated my D&B profile.
Back to Apple Dev –> let’s try this again. Register my company…
“Error: The information you entered did not match your D&B profile.”
AREYOUFREAKINKIDDINGME.
Talk to Apple again. “Oh, it may take 24–48 hours for the updated D&B information to get into our system.”
You know, because digital information can take 2 days to travel from server A to server B. Sigh.
Two days later, I try to register…finally it works! Now I’m in the Apple Developer program and can submit apps for review.