For startups, execution speed and cost-efficiency are critical when launching a product, and selecting the right technology stack directly impacts project timelines and costs. Among the multiple available options, Ruby on Rails stands out as a strong contender due to its capabilities and tools enabling startups to develop efficient and maintainable web apps quickly and at a reasonable cost.
In this article, experts from Itransition, a company with 10+ years of experience in Ruby on Rails development, cover this framework, its benefits for startups, and the most popular use cases.
Why do many startups choose Ruby on Rails?
Before exploring the key factors that have made Ruby on Rails a popular choice among startups, let’s briefly review its fundamentals.
As a full-stack framework, Ruby on Rails enables teams to build both the frontend and the backend of a web app using the Ruby programming language. Fundamentally, the framework follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern, which structures an application into three interconnected components:
- The Model manages the app’s business logic and data
- The View manages user input and displays data to the user
- The Controller works as the intermediary between the Model and the View
Now, we can proceed to the factors driving Ruby on Rails adoption among startups:
Development speed
High development speed is considered one of the primary strengths of Ruby on Rails, particularly for startups that need to launch products quickly. In accordance with the “Convention over Configuration” principle, Ruby on Rails enables teams to automate a range of programming tasks, such as configuring folder structures, database connections, and RESTful routing, which accelerates development. Also, teams can use pre-built solutions from the framework’s vast library ecosystem to build common app functionalities without creating them from scratch, which can additionally speed up the development process.
Cost-efficiency
Ruby on Rails is also widely recognized as a highly cost-efficient framework, which is a critical decision factor for many startups operating within tight budgets. The framework itself is open source, which means teams can download and use it at no cost, therefore avoiding licensing fees associated with proprietary web development frameworks. Combined with its development speed, Ruby on Rails can reduce the number of work hours needed to build and launch an app, which can lower overall development costs.
Maintainability
Due to budgetary constraints and limited human resources, for startups, the ongoing need to maintain their web apps can quickly become overwhelming. Ruby on Rails with its MVC design pattern helps startups build easier-to-maintain apps. As RoR apps are built as sets of separate interconnected components, teams can modify or scale only specific parts of their applications with minimal impact on other parts, which can lead to safer and faster updates.
Ruby on Rails use cases for startups
Ruby on Rails is a highly versatile framework – it provides all the tools required to build web apps, web portals, and websites. Here are some common scenarios of how startups utilize this framework:
- SaaS development
Ruby on Rails can be an excellent choice for developing SaaS applications. Its ecosystem provides many ready-made solutions for common SaaS app features, such as data processing, user authentication, and payment processing. SaaS apps built with RoR can handle significant traffic, which enables startups to meet growing user demands. Netflix, Basecamp, and Heroku are a few examples of companies that have successfully used Ruby on Rails for their SaaS product development.
- Marketplace development
Ruby on Rails is also a reliable framework for developing web-based marketplaces, as proven by the success of companies like Shopify, Fiverr, and Airbnb. As was already mentioned, the framework excels at scalability, which is particularly important for marketplaces, many of which need to handle high volumes of daily user requests. Additionally, Ruby on Rails provides a wide range of built-in security mechanisms (cross-site request forgery defense, cross-site scripting protection, etc.) crucial for marketplaces processing large amounts of sensitive user and payment data.
- Web portal development
Many popular web portals were built with the help of Ruby on Rails, with GitHub and Dribbble among the popular examples. The framework’s extensive use can also be largely attributed to its collection of libraries, which provides pre-built components for common portal functionalities, including user management, database management, and content management.
- Website development
Ruby on Rails is suitable for building a wide range of websites, including ecommerce sites, news sites, and social networking sites. Bloomberg, Goodreads, and Urban Dictionary are examples of companies that used Ruby on Rails for website development and relied on this framework for their operations.
Final thoughts
Ruby on Rails, which is known for rapid development, cost-efficiency, and software maintainability, is widely considered an optimal framework for startups. It enables startups to efficiently develop web-based solutions with limited financial resources and accelerated time-to-market constraints.
If you plan to build a web app by using Ruby on Rails and require experienced IT talent, consider partnering with external Ruby on Rails developers to avoid costly in-house recruitment and training. Professional developers can help you build a secure, scalable, and market-ready web app in accordance with the unique needs and requirements of your startup business.
