Are you looking to build B2B web applications in this time when more and more businesses are moving online? We must agree that building a web application has become an important part of business growth in this modern era. Whether a startup or a well-established enterprise, a scalable web application is crucial for your business's success.

Ruby on Rails is a popular web app development framework that can help you build a robust, scalable application. It is used by some of the world's biggest companies, including Airbnb, Shopify, and GitHub. Even Twitter's initial framework was created using this framework.

In this article, we'll discuss What is Ruby on Rails? , Why Ruby on Rails is better?, What are the key features of Ruby on Rails?, What are the cons of Ruby on Rails?, best practices for scaling B2B web applications with Ruby on Rails and the advantages of building a B2B web application with Ruby on Rails.

What is Ruby on Rails?

Ruby on Rails, also known as Rails, is an open-source web development framework written in the Ruby programming language.

It follows the Model-View-Controller (MVC) architectural pattern, which separates the application into three interconnected components, i.e., the model, view, and controller.

Rails is popular because it provides developers with many pre-built features and modules, speeding up the development process and allowing them to focus on building custom features specific to their applications.

It is a highly scalable framework, making it ideal for building complex web applications that can handle high traffic and large volumes of data.

Did you know?

As per SimilarTech, there are over 400,000 websites that use Ruby on Rails.

6 Major Advantages of Building B2B Web Applications with Ruby on Rails

Here are some notable benefits Ruby on Rails provides to B2B web applications:

1. Modular code

The modular code approach in Ruby on Rails allows developers to break down complex applications into smaller, more manageable modules, making the code more organized, readable, and maintainable.

Therefore, developers can easily add or change new features without affecting the entire application.

2. Faster time-to-market

Ruby on Rails allows for rapid application development thanks to its easy-to-use syntax and an extensive library of pre-built modules. This means that you can launch your product faster, which can help you can stay ahead of your competitors and capture market share before they do.

According to a study by RubyGarage, companies that use Rails were able to bring their products to market 30-40% faster than those that used other frameworks.

3. Cost-effectiveness

As an open-source framework, Rails is free to use, which means that you can save on development costs.

Additionally, since Rails is so easy to use, you can save money on training and development costs since your developers will require less time to get up to speed. This makes it an excellent option for startups and small businesses looking to keep their costs down.

4. Scalability

To build a scalable web application, you need a framework that can handle large traffic volumes without slowing down. Rails is built to handle multiple requests simultaneously, making it an ideal choice for B2B web applications that need to support large numbers of users.

For example, Basecamp has handled over 524.8k monthly visitors, and Airbnb received approximately 3.2 million visitors daily, thanks to the scalability of Ruby on Rails.

5. Flexibility

Ruby on Rails is a highly flexible framework that can be customized to suit your specific business needs. This means you can create a bespoke application tailored to your specific requirements rather than being limited by off-the-shelf solutions.

This is particularly useful for B2B web applications, which often require complex and highly customized functionality.

6. Community support

Rails has a large and active community of developers, so you can get help and support when needed. This can be especially important for debugging and troubleshooting, as you can turn to the community for advice and guidance.

Additionally, the community constantly creates new plugins and modules, so you can take advantage of the latest and most excellent tools to improve your application.

Checkout here Why Ruby on Rails is Ideal for Enterprise Applications .


Strategies for Building a Scalable B2B Web Application with Ruby on Rails

Planning and design

Building a scalable B2B web application is daunting, but with proper planning and design, you can make the foundation of a successful application. A well-planned and designed application can improve performance, reduce development time, and minimize the risk of scalability issues down the road.

So what should you factor in during this process? The answer is: user experience, data storage, security, and performance.

By identifying potential bottlenecks early on, you can build your application to be more scalable from the beginning. This will not only save time and money in the long run but also ensure that your application is robust and able to meet the needs of your growing user base.

Building the application

Building a web application with Rails involves creating models, controllers, and views. Models represent the data that will be used in the application, including user data, product data, and transaction data. Controllers handle the application's logic and ensure the views are correctly rendered. Views, on the other hand, are responsible for generating the interface that users interact with.

The code should be well-organized, maintainable, and scalable. This means using best practices such as modular code, avoiding global variables, and minimizing dependencies. These practices will help ensure the code can be easily modified, updated, and scaled as the business grows and evolves.

Features that improve scalability

One of the strategies for building a scalable B2B web application with Ruby On Rails includes implementing robust features that solve the purpose. One such feature is caching, which can improve the speed and responsiveness of your application, especially if it involves a large amount of data.

Another feature is load balancing, ensuring no single server is overloaded with requests. By distributing the load across multiple servers, you can ensure that your application remains responsive even during periods of high traffic. Finally, Sharding can help improve scalability. By dividing your data into smaller, more manageable pieces, you can ensure that your application can handle a more considerable amount of traffic and data without becoming overwhelmed.

Deployment

To begin with, Ruby on Rails provides an easy deployment process. You can deploy your application to a server using a simple command, which makes the deployment process quick and easy. This saves time and reduces the chances of errors during deployment.

Next, to test and debug your web application, you can use various tools such as RSpec, Capybara, and Cucumber. These tools help test the application's functionality and identify errors or bugs. You can also use monitoring tools such as New Relic, Scout, and Nagios to monitor the performance of your application and identify bottlenecks.

It's clear that Ruby on Rails is a popular framework that has even helped companies like Airbnb, Shopify, and GitHub to build robust and scalable web applications. It is the 16th most popular programming language as per TIOBE Index.

With Rails, you can build a bespoke application tailored to your specific business needs, which can help you stay ahead of your competitors and capture market share. So, if you're looking to build a scalable B2B web application, Ruby on Rails is definitely worth considering.

Explore 5 Best Practices for Building B2B Software with Ruby on Rails