You may be questioning the merits of investing time and money into learning Rails. It is understandable given the increasing popularity of alternative frameworks, like Angular and Express. However, Rails is still a highly valuable tool, as confirmed by the 7.2% of expert developers who participated in the most recent Stack Overflow developer poll. There is no doubt that Rails is still an effective technique even in 2019.
Ruby on Rails has been proven to be a highly effective tool for creating online stores, with a number of prominent eCommerce systems such as Shopify, Spree and Solidus utilising it. This usefulness is likely to remain in 2023, making it a great choice for creating the eCommerce platform of your dreams.
Are you still unsure? Here are a few convincing reasons why you should consider using Rails for your next business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or subscription-based eCommerce project.
Reasons why Ruby on Rails is the best choice for your e-commerce platform
The following are some of the reasons why Ruby development firms continue to adopt Rails as their preferred framework:
Superior adaptability.
Ruby on Rails offers a range of modules to enable users to build a fully functioning e-commerce application. This makes integration and customization easy, as well as allowing for additional plugins to be installed, increasing the platform’s capabilities. Furthermore, this allows for upgrades to be made without requiring a complete overhaul.
RoR’s flexibility also allows you to focus on building an MVP to quickly validate your assumptions around your eCommerce. Once you have that initial feedback, you can easily adapt and correct anything to match your audience’s wants and needs.Creating a minimum viable product quickly.
It is worth highlighting the speed with which a minimum viable product (MVP) can be created for an eCommerce business using Rails. This is advantageous for those who are new to the eCommerce industry and those who are launching a new business and want to ensure that their product will be successful.
One of the things that make RoR so fast is that this framework follows a convention over configuration approach, that relieves you from having to go through excessive configuration (a.k.a. Django). Also, Rails uses a Don’t Repeat Yourself philosophy that makes development much more efficient and quicker, even if you’re working with a small Ruby development team.Simple and easy to use.
Rails provides a structured framework which enables developers to create cleaner and more efficient code, thereby increasing the effectiveness of eCommerce programmes. By adhering to the set of rules, developers can be assured of fewer surprises throughout the development process.
The framework also doesn’t need you to reconfigure it time and time again. That’s because you’ll have to go through a simple configuration process once and then build the application without having to apply adjustments as you go. To top it all off, you can do all of that following very straightforward documentation that can help you get coding in no time.Growth without risk.
As a developer of an online store, security should be a priority. With the handling of private information such as customer names, addresses and credit card numbers, robust security systems are essential. Fortunately, Ruby on Rails provides a variety of security-focused gems to aid in the construction of secure systems.
Gems are a sort of plugins or extensions that can expand the power of RoR. Thus, you only need to add them to your basic Ruby language, and you’ll be ready to use them. This means that you can include security gems for basically everything you need to protect your eCommerce platform, from alternatives for vulnerability detection to options for patch-level verification.Incredibly large group of people and a plenty of tools.
Gems have a range of uses beyond enhancing security in Ruby on Rails applications. With hundreds of Ruby gems available, users can benefit from tools for testing and debugging eCommerce sites, processing payments, and uploading data.
Those gems are the result of the coordinated work of the huge Ruby on Rails community that continuously works on different projects and updates to keep the framework powerful, fresh, and relevant. That enormous community of Ruby developers doesn’t just build gems, though – they also constitute a massive support network that can help you build whatever you are thinking of by answering questions and suggesting solutions.Simple implementation.
Releasing a finished online store product to customers can be a challenging task, as any flaws or faults could render the development effort ineffective. Rails’ automation capabilities can help to ensure a successful deployment.
Thus, you can enjoy a fast and efficient debugging process, courtesy of the test automation features included in the framework. That, combined with the Don’t Repeat Yourself principle and the testing gems available, can greatly simplify your work ahead of your platform’s release and pave the way for a smoother deployment.Cost-effective.
Rails can help to reduce the cost of e-commerce development while still meeting high standards. This is possible due to the fact that it is a free and open-source framework, allowing you to download and start working on your projects straight away.
Of course, that’s not the only reason why RoR is cost-effective. The combination of all the benefits I’ve explained above results in lower costs, as you’ll code quicker, the platform will be more secure, and the deployment will be far less complicated. All of that means that you won’t have to pay a lot of development hours to ensure that your platform works as intended.
For Online Stores, Rails Is a Natural Fit.
It is evident that Ruby on Rails is an excellent choice for e-commerce development. It offers a range of features that make development much faster and more efficient, as well as providing a stable platform for businesses to grow online. This highlights that, despite what some may believe, Ruby development is still a viable option for those who know how to utilise its tools.
