Tell me that publishing is even a step

A customer built a working extension, used it every day, and had no idea that putting it on the Chrome Web Store was something he could do. In his words: "I am so new to this that I didn't even know it was something that needed to be done."

He is not unusual. Most people stop at the download and never find out what comes next.

What this would do:

Say clearly, once an extension is working, that publishing is available and roughly what it involves.

Explain that you can list it privately, for your own team or school, without selling anything to anybody. A lot of people assume publishing means distributing.

Show the steps before you start, rather than after you have committed to it.

The publishing tools already exist. People simply do not know they are there.