How to Pick a Technology Stack for Your Future Web Application

When you are building a house, the quality of the construction materials you opt for has a critical impact on your building’s functionality. Similarly, when building an application, the amalgamation of the technologies you utilize — a technology stack — in many ways define the success of your web product.

The importance of the latter can’t be overestimated; a shrewd choice of the right technological tools opens many doors for your project in future while the error can cost you a pretty penny. If it turns out that you need to make drastic alterations to your technologies’ set, it may become a Herculean task for your business. So, take it seriously.

Understanding the Essence of Tech Stack For Web Application

Tech stack is an array of software tools that in aggregate represent a logically complete platform, which is used to run some service. At bottom, tech stacks are divided into two groups according to the aspects they concern:

1) Front-end. These tools are utilized for the implementation of the client-side one programming, which includes everything that is displayed on users’ screens. The most commonly used front-end components are:

• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). It is responsible for browser’s display of the web pages’ content.
• Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). It is responsible for the look and feel of this content in browsers.
• JavaScript (JS) and its frameworks. These tools are used for making web pages interactive. The choice of the specific framework should be based on particular project’s requirements.

2) Back-end. This aspect includes server-side programming, which is not visible to the end user, but which actually fuels the client side “under the hood”. Here, apart from a programming language, particular web frameworks should be chosen. Those useful tools help developers with the implementations of common features, freeing the coders from recreating the wheel. Below are some of the most high-usage languages and their frameworks:

• Ruby: Ruby on Rails, Sinatra, Padrino
• Python: Flask, Pylons, Django, Pyramid, Tornado
• PHP: Phalcon, Slim, Laravel, Symfony
• JavaScript: Angular.js, React.js, Express.js, Ember.js, Backbone.js

Popular Tech Stacks Used For Application Development

Below, we will touch upon three frontmost tech stacks utilized for building web pages. Those are RoR, MEAN and LAMP stacks.

• RoR (Ruby on Rails) stack. RoR prominently facilitates the development experience, and, to a great degree, it is the merit of its goldmine of “gems”. Gems represent various software packages, libraries and utilities. They contain information about code and documentation. Their application remarkably reduces the time spent on the product’s creation. RoR development framework is distributed under the MIT license that prescribes developers to use and modify it without any restrictions. It is highly scalable and can be integrated with MySQL. It has its own built-in database that facilitates the process of handling database-specific queries.
• MEAN stack. MEAN is JavaScript-based software bundle for creating websites and apps. It is an open-source stack, distributed for free. The abbreviation MEAN consists of the initial letters of technologies involved, namely, MongoDB, Express.js, Angular.js and Node.js. MongoDB acts as a NoSQL database, Express.js and Node.js run on back-end, and Angular.js renders the interface. Just like in the case of LAMP, MEAN’s framework components are replaceable. Since all its components are written in JavaScript, the application created with MEAN can be created in one language for both front-end and back-end environments.
• LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack. In this abbreviation, L stands for Linux (an operating system), A stands for Apache (a web server), M stands for MySQL (a database management system), and P stands for PHP (a programming language). All these components are hugely interchangeable and can be substituted by other relevant components. For instance, Perl or Python languages can be used instead of PHP. While each of these components is self-sufficient on a standalone basis, they perfectly work together, and such a synergy is actually called a stack.

Which Tech Stack Do I Need?

There are certain criteria you should acknowledge while picking a technology stack for your future application.

1) Project type.

Will it be a small or a large-scale project? Will you primarily focus on the web or mobile? Will your site precondition heavy loads’ processing? Is fast launching crucial for you? Your answers directly influence your choice.

Thus, a simple and urgent project may be implemented via almost any CMS. This concerns the creation of landing pages or simple e-shops. On the other hand, complex projects may require the combinations of several programming languages and a wide spectrum of technologies. This may be true for social networks, large-scale e-commerce marketplaces, or financial technology software.

2) Preferences (yours and developers’)

You can reckon upon your personal preferences only in case you have a substantial background in web development. Otherwise, entrust it to people who have a relevant experience.

Also, do not unconditionally rely on any developer’s opinion about choosing the “right” stack. Their considerations may be tendentious; if they get used to some particular technology, they may recommend it just because they are comfortable to work with it or they just think it is trendy or cool. However, the tech stack needs to meet your business needs rather than just be cool.

3) Team’s expertise and skills

In case your project requires a specific skill set that your team lacks, don’t stint for engaging additional professionals. If your team’s experience may be successfully applied to a particular project so that you don’t need to search for other people, that would be just awesome.

4) The community

Don’t forget to consider the potential support you may receive from the developer community that goes into the same solutions. Checking records on GitHub and StackOverflow will help you comprehend the scales of developer communities that are associated with this or that language.

5) Popularity and availability

Generally, today’s sought-after technologies are mastered by many developers. The more popular the language or framework is, the more chances you have to find a specialist. Also, the availability of documentation should be considered. With ready solutions at hand, your team will cope with the assignments much faster than in the case when they are pioneering with this or that task.

6) Development costs

• Programmers’ salaries. Although they may depend on many factors, generally, the more advanced and the rarer the technology is, the more high-priced is the developers’ labor.
• Maintenance costs. The expenses are not limited to the development of the app, but using free open-source solutions, you can economize on maintenance dramatically.

You may download some project cost estimation tool in order to capture your future expenses - for example, EstimateMyApp.

Are you eager to know which technology stack will be a top choice for building your future application? Contact us today, and together we will find the best options for you. We will be glad to offer you custom solutions and a personalized approach.