5 Most Necessary Criteria for Choosing a Tech Stack

The most crucial component of developing a top-notch web application that can assure client success is the technology stack used to build the app.

But choosing the right stack can prove to be tricky. Selecting an appropriate stack becomes even more challenging for small businesses because of limited budgets and resources. Such enterprises require a tech stack that provides potent capabilities to get their products into their market without being viewed as a “me too” or just another “up and comer.”

Therefore, an aligned tech stack is crucial to your development initiative’s success, while wrong choices can lead to a loss.

Since deciding on a tech stack is such a risky endeavor, we have extended a helping hand and reveal the 5 necessary criteria for choosing the most aligned tech stack for your development initiative

1. Type of Web Application

The first criterion for choosing your tech stack is the type of application you wish to develop. A tech stack is a toolset, and you need to know what you want to build and then choose the most appropriate tools.

When it comes to complexity, development initiatives have three separate categories.

• Simple-

Such development initiatives do not require custom development. Out-of-the-box solutions like CMS or CRM systems are capable of building such applications.

E.g., Landing pages, simplistic online stores.

• Mid-level-

Mid-level applications sport greater functionality than simple ones and are built upon development frameworks.

E.g., Large e-commerce portals and enterprise-grade applications.

• Complex-

Complex applications have multiple functions and integrations. These applications are built with a number of web development technologies, and their code may be composed of more than one and sometimes even several programming languages

E.g., social networks and fintech software.

Your business objectives also play a vital role in choosing a tech stack when you start your business with a website. E.g., you wish to develop a tech asset that can process heavy loads. The choice of the programming language to be used and the framework that the application will be built upon should allow for load processing.

If you wish to create a tech asset that exhibits low latency, the tech stack you choose should make the application highly responsive.

2. Time to Market

A clear understanding of time to market is imperative when choosing a tech stack. The faster the application is developed and released, the greater your competitive advantage. Also, the shorter the development time, the cheaper the cost.

TTM is dependent on the tech stack being used, and therefore, you as an enterprise must consider the following issues before choosing a stack-

• Off-the-shelf solutions-

It is necessary to research whether an off-the-shelf solution can cater to your enterprise’s functionality needs. E.g., Ruby on Rails provides developers with extensive open-source libraries that ease and speed up development while significantly reducing TTM. 

• Third-party Integration-

Third-party integrations are a pre-requisite for customer success as they enhance functionality and features without you having to develop each component from the ground up.

• Developer availability-

Choosing the optimum tech stack also means that you will have to consider developer availability. Selecting an obscure tech stack just because it looks flashy can prove a significant issue if no developers are adept at working on it. Every development project needs maintenance, and for that, a development team well-versed in the stack is a definite requirement.

• Documentation and developer community–

Writing good clean code is not easy, and during the process, many tricky issues might arise. It is imperative to choose technologies with large developer communes and detailed documentation for issue resolution so that you never miss a project release deadline.

• Testability-

In coding, bugs are inevitable. However, if software built with your tech stack is not easy to test, bugs can significantly slow down development. Today, many web application development technologies are based on a test-driven approach that guarantees code quality, and subsequently, product quality.

3. Web App Development Cost

Rendering your application vision comes with its share of charges and investments. The stack you choose has a direct impact on your web application development costs, and therefore the following points need to be considered-

• Salaries-

The salaries of the developers you hire are dependent on the technologies they work on, which means that your expenses will differ based on the tech stack you have chosen. If you hire dedicated developers who proficient in advanced technology, the higher his salary.

• Maintenance cost-

Just creating an application is only half the journey: Maintaining it is the other half. A choice of free, open-source technologies can help you reduce maintenance costs significantly.

4. Security

The world has witnessed a digital revolution over the past few years, and this digitization has just opened another stomping ground for criminals. Data breach losses reached a massive 2.1 trillion USD in 2019.

This figure has seen governments and corporations alike scrambling to acquire high-power cyber-security assets. As an enterprise, you want your application to be robust and secure, and therefore you must pick technologies that enable the creation of the most secure application.

To ease this process, almost every web application development technology available today has security guidelines to prevent threats and minimize vulnerabilities. Make it a point to integrate the appropriate security guidelines into your development process. 

5. Scalability

Project scalability is yet another prime feature that needs to be taken into consideration when developing software. It goes without saying that you want your software initiative to grow and gain widespread appeal. In business terms, scalability is of two types-

• Horizontal scalability-

Horizontal scalability is the measure of your application’s ability to accommodate a dramatic increase in user volumes.

• Vertical scalability-

Vertical scalability is measured by the software’s capability to integrate new components, features, and functionalities to an existing application without hampering performance.

Scalability is a matter that should be thought about in advance as your choice of technology stacks will describe the scalability of your initiative. We suggest making your choice based on tangible, measurable examples of scalable software.

In summation-

You can condense the takeaway from this article into one simple line- Choose a Technology Stack According to Your Project.

Choosing the right tech stack can prove quite the hurdle, and therefore a pragmatic and realistic approach is recommended. While following industry best practices is a pre-requisite, relying entirely on proven technologies might not be perfect. Your decision should be a combination of knowledge acquired by case studies, in-depth research of the options available, and finally, of what you wish to accomplish with your application development initiative.