Best Technology Stack For Ecommerce Website Development
The key to success in today’s times is eCommerce. Slowly and steadily, we can see every business is willing to strengthen its online presence via eCommerce. And do you know what’s the best part, you will find a plethora of eCommerce software development tools and technologies to choose from. All you have to do is make the right choice or else you might have a lot to lose. Fret not, the following post can guide you pretty well in choosing the best technology stack for your upcoming ecommerce website development project.
Introduction
First and foremost, you must understand what exactly is an eCommerce technology stack. As you all know, more and more companies irrespective of their industry vertical, whether they are large, small or medium-scale tend to focus on the eCommerce realm just to gain a competitive advantage. A technology stack is said to be a comprehensive suite of different programming languages, frameworks, tools, platforms, etc used in the development of a particular eCommerce store.
What exactly does a tech stack consist of?
- Front-end or client-side – Everything from front-end languages to frameworks, basically the creation of something that can be easily interpreted by the end users. It’s the look and feel of the website.
- Back-end or Server side – The server side or backend is what all happens behind the scenes. This stage ensures that the developed website or application comprises full-fledged functions.
Come on! You have decided to come up with a path-breaking product. So you definitely need a kickass tech stack. Simply having a nerve-wracking idea is not just enough. Choosing the right technology stack is very important to grow and work efficiently.
Now I don’t want to scare you by saying this but it’s quite the truth, new-age businesses are evolving at a fanatic pace. It doesn’t matter whether you are choosing a tech stack for your eCommerce store or web app or startup app, all it matters is making the right choice or else you are doomed. One mistake can cost you an arm and a leg.
Now, what happens when you don’t end up choosing the right tech stack? Well, your entire product design, functionality and scalability can get affected. Not to mention, the overall quality of the product can be compromised. Your technology stack must comprise of the following ingredients:
- Operating systems
- Programming languages
- Servers
- Cloud services
- BI (Business Intelligence) Tools
- Execution of the query
- API services
- Storing relevant data
- Front-end techs such as JavaScript, CSS, HTML, user interface libraries, and frameworks like VueJS, React or Angular.
- Backend techs such as programming languages, servers, operating systems, web frameworks, and databases
- Documentation
- Monitoring and reporting tools
- Analytics
Types of Tech Stacks
#1 Marketing tech stack
- Email automation softwares or apps
- Chatbot or live chats program
- Analytics software
- CMS (Content Management System)
- SEO tools
- Tools for generating leads
#2 Service Tech Stack
- Software for managing bookings
- Help desks
- Live chat
- Surveys and feedbacks
- Call centers
#3 eCommerce Tech Stack
- Content Management System (CMS)
- Shipping and logistics
- Automation tools such as Zapier or buffer
- eCommerce store hosting platforms
- Web development tools
- Shopify/Bigcommerce/Magento
- Marketing tools
- Google Analytics
- Social media aspects
- Customer relationship management tools
- Sales tools
- Shopping cart tools
- Payment gateways – Paypal, Square
- Zendesk, Scout
- Chatbot and live programs
- Returns and shipment tracking tools
- Reviews and feedbacks
How To Choose The Best Technology Stack?
Choosing the right technology stack can be quite daunting and overwhelming. You see there are too many options to choose from. However, there is no cookie-cutter option because what might work for your competitors doesn’t mean will work well for your online store as well. And while deciding or making such decisions, business owners might get lost in the herd of old and new programming languages, frameworks and tools.
Further, I would like to mention certain tech-stack-related aspects to take into account before making a choice.
#1 Choose The Popular Ones
You can never go wrong if you end up choosing the popular ones. Technology advancements keep on happening every now and then. Still, there are certain go-to options which are pretty robust, secure, scalable, and have proven their worth time and again. In other words, you don’t have to create a tech stack from scratch. Some of the popular tech stacks to focus on:
- LAMP – Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP
- MEAN – MongoDB, Express, Angular, and Node.js
- Python and Django
- .NET
Choosing these aforementioned ones can be pretty easy also it turns out to be a great solution if you want to give your ecommerce project a quick start. In addition, all these eCommerce trends offer an insane amount of security. Apart from these, there are many others such as AMP, Bamp, NAMP, OPAL, Samp, Wisa, Xampp, JOLT and so forth.
#2 Personalize As Much As You Can
Another interesting aspect to take into account when choosing a technology stack for your eCommerce project is to see whether you can personalize it well. Startups are most of the time budget-sensitive, but that doesn’t mean you can make random choices. You must figure out what exactly you are looking for, and will your target audience like it? Do you keep your developer’s skills and experience in mind while choosing the tech stack? Will they be able to handle it and that too in the right way?
So the next aspect to take into account is to understand what you are truly good at.
#3 Choosing The Right Programming Technologies
Here, I would like to emphasize some of the core languages and frameworks that must be considered for any eCommerce website development project. So let’s get started!
- Java – One of the best and pretty known programming languages across the globe is Java. The programming language is highly based on classes and objects and that’s the reason why it turns out to be favourable for everyone, be it a newbie or an experienced software developer. Developing a full-fledged application is not rocket science especially when using Javascript. In addition to this, It may quite interest you to know that Javascript is highly renowned for developing eCommerce sites as well due to its immense scalability and robustness.
- Python – The next useful technology to take into consideration is Python. Developing web applications is highly recommendable, especially with this popular programming language. And speaking for an eCommerce site, being highly flexible and efficient is what makes Python worth taking into account for your eCommerce development project. Did you know that famous social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram are developed using Python?
- PHP – The next interesting technology that shouldn’t be ignored at any rate is PHP. PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor is another preferred programming language to take into account for conducting any website development project. And since it turns out to be highly functional, developing eCommerce stores using PHP turns out to be no big deal. Here is the key, try using the Laravel framework with PHP and you will end up creating one of the best websites.
- Ruby -Another interesting technology that must be taken into consideration is Ruby. When used with the Rails framework, your ecommerce website can seamlessly take care of your business even when the traffic is high. Apart from high traffic, Ruby turns out to be a great option for personalizing or customizing your store.
- JavaScript – Last but certainly not the least technology to take into account is Javascript. Both Javascript and Java are worth considering for the development of your eCommerce store but Javascript simply runs on browsers. In addition, it is easily embedded in the code in HTML.
#4 Focus On The Project Specifics
You see each project conducted by your business will be different and so will be their needs and requirements. So before you begin the journey, just check it well, that’s all that’s needed here. Is everything present ranging from resources to demands to needs, etc? There are times when you may require certain embedded features for your particular business niche. So take them into account before commencing any eCommerce development project.
Features such as, would you like the invoices to be generated automatically for your partners or do you want to provide any notifications regarding offers and discounts, offering a mobile version of your eCommerce store?
#5 Budget
Of course, budget turns out to be one of the core factors to take into account. Since the project requirements and the technology used is different how can one expect the budget to be the same? So the answer is, it depends on all the aforementioned factors. Do not get intimidated by the latest tools and technologies or you might end up spending extravagantly. It is always great to become budget-sensitive whether you are conducting an eCommerce development project for the first time or the fifth time.
Conclusion
And that’s all for now! These are some of the best aspects to take into account especially when choosing a tech stack for your eCommerce development project. I hope you really find this blog insightful and worth sharing among your tech buddies. In case, if you have any questions or doubts regarding the topic, feel free to get in touch in the comment section below. We will reply as soon as we can! All the very best for your upcoming eCommerce venture. Keep watching the space for more information and updates regarding the same.
