Ruby on Rails for Online Ecommerce Marketplace: Proven Case Study
Ruby on Rails powers over 2 million websites. They are both static and dynamic. The framework ensures scalability, reliability, and simplicity. Ruby on Rails app development is highly popular for building an online ecommerce marketplace. The features and RubyGems make the framework perfect for online shopping websites.
The demand for developing an online marketplace platform is booming. The e-commerce sales in 2020 were around $4 billion. The pandemic drives more interest in online e-commerce marketplace than ever before. While Amazon is the industry leader, niche online marketplace ecommerce companies are emerging to serve their audiences.
This article will focus on understanding the business case of Ruby on Rails development for B2C and B2B online ecommerce marketplace. We will highlight –
- Why Rails is perfect for Ecommerce
- Best ecommerce platforms in Rails
- Proven case study of Gasido
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If you are thinking of a marketplace website, the following information will convince you of the effectiveness of Ruby on Rails. Let’s have a look at it.
Why Rails is Perfect for Ecommerce
You need a simple and quick ecommerce website. Now, you can either get it from Shopify or any other platform. However, customization could be an easy problem. Any ecommerce website development company would suggest you to opt for a framework.
Testing and validating your online marketplace platform is crucial before launch. Ruby on Rails is perfect for rapid prototyping of ecommerce websites. You can identify issues in payment gateway authorization, shipping & vendor integration, and much more.
The Fifth Collection is one best online marketplace ecommerce in Ruby on Rails. Another one is Gasido, developed by BoTree Technologies. We will have a look at the upcoming sections. But let’s first understand why companies trust Ruby on Rails for their online marketplace ecommerce store.
Affordable stores
- Ruby on Rails is a cost-effective platform for online marketplace ecommerce companies. If you don’t wish to invest heavily, Rails is your friend. The open-source platform is free to download and build.
- Ruby on Rails developers are easily available. Within a decent price, your ecommerce store can be up & running in no time. Since the framework is swift, fewer expenses are involved in hiring a software development company.
Faster development
- If you want to sell products before your competition, Ruby on Rails is perfect. The framework reduces the development time by 25% to 40%. It involves writing fewer lines of code for achieving more. This makes the framework highly productive.
- Rapid prototyping occurs in combination with agile project management. Regular iterations enable you to adjust your online marketplace in India as per the customer’s requirements. You can achieve efficiency and make improvements as you go.
Feature-rich apps
- Ruby on Rails web development services offer feature-rich ecommerce stores. The RubyGems are one of the most desired plugins in the programmer community. They reduce the development time and save developers from writing the code from scratch.
- There’s a RubyGem for almost everything. Ruby on Rails programmers integrate these plugins to add more features to your global or local online marketplace. You can use RubyGems for payment gateway authorization, login credentials, cart checkout, and much more.
But how does Ruby on Rails achieve all of this? With the best platform for building online marketplace platforms — Spree Commerce.
Checkout Why Ruby on Rails is Perfect for eCommerce Web Development
Best E-commerce Platform in Rails
There are multiple ecommerce platforms for building a store. Shopify, BigCommerce, and Magento are three popular ones. However, nothing compares to Spree Commerce for integrating online sales channels into your business.
Spree is perfect for building scalable ecommerce marketplace websites. It is an open-source framework that works in Rails. It offers multiple third-party integrations and plugins. Spree supports features like omnichannel marketing, international sales, payments, analytics, and much more.
Spree Commerce is a stable platform for developing an online ecommerce marketplace. It also offers personalization features like product recommendations, push notifications. wishlists and more to improve customer engagement.
On the other hand, Shopify is also written in Ruby on Rails. It is a subscription-based model for building an online e-commerce marketplace. The platform offers integrations for all the features. You can build your store from pre-defined templates, but they offer limited customization.
With our expertise in Spree and Ruby on Rails, we develop apps in multiple industries. One of our case studies — Gasido, showcases a perfect example of Rails is perfectly utilized for ecommerce stores.
Ruby on Rails: A Proven Case Study of Gasido
Gasido is an online marketplace for the distribution of industrial gases in Germany. It connects buyers and suppliers over the internet. The marketplace facilitates easy management of exchange, ensuring that b2b buyers have the right gases at the right time.
As a b2b online ecommerce marketplace, Gasido is an enterprise-grade portal. Founded in Munich by Dr. Cornelia Klaubert and Thomas Obkircher, the aim is to simplify buying and selling industrial gases.
The process starts when gas providers list their offers on Gasido. After that, the platform creates offers, markets them, and makes them searchable on the internet. When an industrial company searches for gas supplies, they can review offers on Gasido.
The process became simple, as the b2b buyer didn’t have to search a lot for finding the right supplier. The suppliers receive the order over Gasido and fulfill it by taking care of the shipping and payments.
We developed Gasido to ensure that buyers and suppliers can connect easily. While this was a challenge, we had a team of 30+ Ruby on Rails web developers ready to build the platform.
Challenges
The product development phase didn’t come without challenges. Since it was a b2b online ecommerce marketplace, there were high enterprise-grade complexities involved. These were –
- Complex product optioning and categorization
- Integration of geographical search intent
- Complex tax & pricing calculation
- Process of reordering & refilling
- Internationalization (german)
How did we tackle all these challenges and problems? We provided Spree Commerce development services for building one of the most useful industrial ecommerce solutions.
Solution
Our solution was a 360-degree approach to building the platform. The online marketplace ecommerce store was built from scratch. While we had the flexibility, we needed to be focused while building the platform.
Our technologies were primarily Ruby on Rails, Spree Commerce, PostgreSQL, Jquery, Amazon AWS, and Refinery CMS. These technologies were perfect for the client’s requirements. More so, because we already built a hundred apps with the combination of them — and it works perfectly well.
- We built the solution entirely in Spree Commerce, enabling the delivery of a connected marketplace.
- We integrated narrow search options and product filters. Customers could easily locate various product options based on their characteristics like weight and quality. We also inculcated faceted and free text search.
- We also added internationalization support in German, enabling customers and vendors to fulfill the orders with local language support.
Core Features
Gasido is not just another web application — it is an excellent Ruby on Rails case study for ecommerce solution development. The app has multiple features, made possible only through Rails and Spree Commerce. Some of its core features are:
- Better cart customization
- Simple checkout process
- Hassle-free returns
- Customized checkout
- Supplier management
- Inventory management
- Quick reordering
- Internationalization support
- Warning signs display
As an online marketplace ecommerce store, Gasido has all the features of the perfect portal. It facilitates proper transaction and order management. The web application is highly dynamic and simplifies a common problem that industrial and commercial companies frequently face.
Conclusion
We understood Ruby on Rails capabilities in building an online ecommerce marketplace. Gasido is a perfect example of integrating various technologies in Rails and Spree Commerce to achieve a b2b online ecommerce marketplace. We also looked at the challenges that Ruby on Rails could solve while building a marketplace website.
At BoTree Technologies, we build rapid ecommerce marketplace solutions at an affordable price. Consult for free with our technical experts and get a quote for your ecommerce store now!
Originally published at BoTree Technologies
