We have prepared best Ruby on rails examples in 2017. A lot of people are looking for best website apps to create one for own business. One of biggest challenges is — How much does it cost to build a website on ruby on rails? Web development with Ruby on Rails could be much easier. Let us focus our article about best web app examples with costs.
It has just one way to go, the shortest way, so you will get to your destination much faster. Most of the ruby on rails developers admit they have got a great boost in productivity. Since they’ve started using this framework.
There is a great amount of ready to use elements. You are able to use less code to get what you want.
Less code — shorter development time. Less time — less costs to build a website on ruby on rails. Lower expenses — more profit!
You know already that Rails is a good simple framework. Why use Ruby on Rails :
- Economical. What should you pay for to use Ruby on Rails? You need a free operating system (Linux). Most of the databases and web servers are free too. You’ll get the same performance, speed and security without paying for the required resources.
- Fast. As we’ve already found out, Ruby development tools save our time. Just because of leaving the unnecessary pieces of code aside. Besides, they let us move fast from modeling to app development. This is really useful for large products.
- Flexible. There’s a large amount of official Ruby libraries, called RubyGems. This is a package management system. It helps you to integrate your application with other services easily.
- Scalable. If your need to enlarge your website due to its popularity growth or add some new features, you may have problems with another framework. Ruby developers are able to help you scale any application in a short time.
- Contemporary. You need to be in trend if you want to be successful. A lot of new well-known services have started with Ruby on Rails consulting. Read about them in Ruby on Rails Examples: Best Websites and Apps.
The Quick Ruby StartHave no idea how to start building your app? Initiate it with the list of the right questions you should ask yourself to avoid wasting time and money.
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How much money are you really able to spend?Start repairing your apartment and you’ll wonder how much expenses you’ll have over budget. The same is about web-building. One should take not only development and design into account. Some maintenance, debugging and adding new functions will get required some time later. Be ready and you’ll avoid a lot of problems in the future.
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Do you want to control the site on your own?All the popular content management systems like WordPress or Joomla give you the opportunity to manage the content with no help of IT specialists. But if you have some experience in managing sites, you must expect some bugs emerging time by time. Embedding a new plugin, you may get a design conflict. And sometimes the help of a programmer becomes inevitable.
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Do you need all the desired features right now?You must wish you have an outstanding resource to impress your customers. But if some functions might be delayed, do it and you’ll save some part of your budget. We’ll get back to this question later.
One more thing
If you’re in touch with a development team, first you should fill the brief. So you will give the required information to the Ruby developer or company.
Fill it carefully, so the estimation of the price and the required time will be the most accurate. Take more work into account and you will have fewer problems in the future.What information should you provide? There are two estimation methods: rough and accurate. An accurate estimation needs more time because there’s more information to work at. The form may be different for different companies, but it’s common in general.
For example, THINKMOBILES will request the following details:
- the project idea and the task it’s designed for.
- design, if should be created.
- languages (localization) to embed.
- responsive design, if necessary.
- which browsers to test in.
- which devices to design for.
- back-end architecture.
If you are able to attach some sketches, illustrations or any additional information — do it. The more you will help the developers, the more accurately they will realize your ideas.
Let’s leave the boring technical information behind and talk about more interesting things.
So, you’ve got a brilliant idea for a web application. You must see yourself bathing in a pool, filled with golden coins. But now you need to find some wizard to make your dreams come true. How many coins will you have to pay a Ruby on Rails company?
It depends on what you need to do the first step to turning into a billionaire. It may be a:
- prototype.
- minimum viable product.
- polished final product.
What’s the difference? A final product isn’t always better than a prototype. They solve different problems. So you should first decide what you need from Ruby developer at the moment.
You need a prototype for:
- financing the MVP development.
- demonstration of your genius idea to investors.
- testing the dev team’s expertise before it’s too late.
- delegating some blocks to another team if time is running out.
- calculating your future expenses.
A prototype is not just an image. It’s an interactive layout, which contains hyperlinks, buttons, forms and other elements. RoR developers can test it in a browser to see how everything works, but not how it will look like. It’s much more comfortable and easy to adjust a prototype than an HTML template.
You need an MVP for:
- financing further Ruby development.
- testing the product in practice.
- getting user feedback.
- getting initial revenue.
- presenting the product as soon as possible.
- correcting the direction.
A minimum viable product contains only vital functions. The functions, the application has no sense without. MVP is usually being built for 1–2 months by Ruby on Rails developers to present its beta-version and test its viability.
As a rule, after the MVP launch, they find out some functions are not necessary. But some are missing otherwise.
Usually, the final product is a result of a prototype or an MVP building. If your app is rather complicated, better start with simple. So you will get the advantages we talked before.
So, what about the cost?
From $1,000 to $1,000,000? How is it possible? Not so fast, functionality is not the only factor to calculate RoR development cost.
Try our E-commerce website cost calculator.
Now, as you’ve already learned a project may be a prototype or an MVP, you’ll be surprised. Two MVPs will not have the same cost. The price also depends on how many features you want for your app. Let’s assume, you are already conscious you need an MVP. Here are 4 levels of Ruby development difficulty. It’s an approximate rate, but you’ll understand what you may sacrifice to save your budget.
Basic solution
This is the choice for small e-commerce and some goods or services presentation. It could be a landing page, a site of 5–7 pages or a component of an existing site. It includes:
- The website creation, using Ruby development tools.
- A template layout.
- PSD to HTML conversion.
- CMS installation and setup, widgets and plugins installation.
- Location of user logos or photos.
Professional solution
This kind of website is usually for mid-sized companies or early-stage startups. E-commerce with up to $10 million revenue.
- The unique concept and design.
- A custom CMS.
- Automated processes.
- Payment systems integration and setup.
- Interactive elements.
- More pages and content.
Corporative solution
Ruby companies usually build it for corporations or well-funded startups. Deep integration of business processes.
- CRM systems development.
- Customer support service.
- Order tracking systems integration.
- Sales analytics system.
- Corporative mail system.
Exclusive solution
Exclusive projects are usually for global corporations, the government or VC-funded startups. Clients like The US Ministry of Defence, Apple or BP.
- Complicated web software.
- Various databases integration (both internal and external).
- Unexampled security requirements.
Let’s sum up
By using Ruby app, you will spend on:
- building a website — $5,000 — $10,000
- making a blog or a social network — $6,000 — $15,000
- creating an eCommerce app — $9,000 — $11,000
- getting the maintenance service — $500 — $1,000 per Month
- porting or migrating a database — $2,000 — $5,000
- integrating a custom CMS — $2,000 — $10,000
- automating the testing by using Cucumber or RSpec — $1,000 — $6,000
It’s very important to include the post-production maintenance to your budget. Bugs emerge spontaneously, so they may cause a lot of problems in the first period. And a lot of unwelcome expenses too.
The maintenance service depends on the developer you have selected. It may include:
- hosting service.
- regular data backup.
- fixing defects if they get revealed.
- adding new features.
- code optimization.
Adding any new functions or changing the existing ones is equated to a new project. So it should be paid according to the hourly rate.
You’ve already found out what affects to Ruby on Rails development cost. Let’s think it over how to invest your money more efficiently.
Decrease the number of pages
Every next page to develop consumes more time and makes you pay more. Maybe you need 5 pages instead of 10, or it would be better to order a one-page app?
A one-page app is often called a “landing page”. Its main aim is to make the customer to complete some target action. It’s a good choice if your site is designed for selling some product or service, subscribing to newsletters or selling some educational materials.
Lower the complexity
Spend 20–30 minutes, sitting in silence, and try to understand if all the features are really necessary. Do you really need a dynamic page or a static one fits your task too? Will your customers leave comments and will they be useful for you? Do you need your own mail service?
Simplify the designing style
Will your customers appreciate your website looks like a masterpiece? Maybe, it’s quite rational to focus on usability and avoid the excessive graphic elements. This lets one find the necessary information much faster and not get tired of scrolling the page. Besides, simple pages will download much faster too. According to research, if a user waits for the page to finish downloading more than 7 seconds, he will be sure to leave it.
But, what if you are a web-designer yourself or you own another kind of creative studio? In such case, the unique design could emphasize your own style and distinctive features. Think it over.
Choose the right developer
Different developers do the same job for different prices. Approaches are different, skills are different, needs are different, locations are different too. Now let’s try and grasp what types of companies you can deal with and how to hire Ruby on Rails developer that will show you really brilliant work.
Mass Producing Companies
These developers produce mass, template, cheap and typical applications. This is not always bad — sometimes they may have some advantages for you.
The first and major benefit — their price. You will have to pay $10–20 per hour. Later you will find out this is quite profitable. Especially, if compared with high level of Ruby on Rails development.
To finish the project quickly, such companies often use pieces of code, borrowed somewhere else.
Freelance Ruby Specialists
As you entrust your application to a single person, his personal qualities will be crucial more than ever. The cost will depend on his business experience, place of residence and financial needs.
Usually, it’s about $15–150 per hour.
The result you must expect depends on the number of his years in business, experience in developing and personal ethical vision. The lack is his workload, as the Ruby developer may manage several projects.
You will hedge your risks if hire a developer with at least 3 years of experience. Even if you’re not sure to entrust development to the freelancer, you may get a good Ruby on Rails consultor.
Small Teams
Such teams consist of 3–7 partners, who are good at different web branches.
Their hourly rate is $20–180.
Small Ruby companies are not charged with wide scale projects. Your result is dependent on the staff’s experience, personal qualities and specialty. For example, the crew may have a star backend developer and a SEO specialist, but missing a good designer.
So, you should learn what each member of the team is able to do. If they fit your requirements, congratulations — you’ve found what you’d been searching for.
Mid-sized Companies
In this case, you must have really moderate and reasonable expenses.
The rate is $70–150 per hour.
The operation is well-organized if the management is qualified. Thus, the RoR development process is much faster.
And if you hit the bull’s eye once, this company would be the best choice for your long-term projects or for maintenance.
As a rule, such companies care enough about their reputation. So, they tend to demonstrate high ethical qualities (or at list their semblance). Also, they are quite experienced too.
Superstars
Their first attribute is working in grand style. Well-known Ruby developers with six figure salaries and the most famous projects accomplished.
The hourly rate is up to $200–400 per hour.
Their feature is custom Ruby on Rails development. The unique CMS, the unique design, the unique software.
A good choice for huge companies, which aim at being leaders in all the rates. The average development cost is up to $500,000.
Pay attention to the location
Don’t forget, standards of living are various all over the world. Developing in the US is more expensive than in, let’s say in China. You should pay attention to Eastern Europe, it’s a great mix of European mentality and slightly lower prices. You will be satisfied with their value/cost proportion. They are 3–5 times cheaper than the US or Canadian RoR developers. Besides, the time zone is quite comfortable. The cost for Ukrainian Ruby on Rales developer would vary from $15 to $45 per hour.
We spoke a lot about why ruby development is great and where to find such developers. So now it’s time for the figures. Let’s take a look at some great startups, built by Ruby on Rails developers. We will now make rough estimates of how much such a project would cost. It will help you to understand how much would it cost to build your project using Ruby on Rails.
Have you heard anything about Ask.fm? AirBnB or SoundCloud? Basecamp? Crunchbase? GitHub or Bloomberg? They all had been built with Ruby development tools. This framework gets more and more popular, as it’s really fast and cost-saving.
For example, Henrik Werdelin, the Managing Partner of Prehype, built a Twitter clone in a one-day Ruby on Rails course.
“A good developer could make it quicker”, says Werdelin.
So, let’s go ahead. You’ll know about the most popular Ruby websites, the stories of their foundation, their development time and budget. And the distinctive features, which affect the cost the most.
Imgur
The service, where you are able to view and share popular images and memes. It was created in 2009 by Alan Schaaf in his dorm room as a platform to share images online.
One of the top 50 largest ruby on rails examples worldwide. The number of active users is over 150 million per month. Awarded as the best social media and best community website in 2015.
The estimated time and cost: 136 hours, $4080**.**
SoundCloud
The well-known social sound platform. Here you are able to create music and share it with anyone all over the world. By several clicks, one can upload a media file and publish it to Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare**.** You can share it to your own blog or site too.
The estimated time and cost: 199 hours, $5970.
We Heart It
One more popular social service for “inspiring photos”. The place “to share what you love”. Customers are able share the photos they like.
The network was created by Fabio Giolito in 2008. It was designed as an entertainment for Fabio and his friends but soon was turned into the successful business.
The estimated time and cost: 180 hours, $5400.
Podomatic
2 million podcasts from all over the world for any taste. A convenient tool to create and share various podcasts.
It’s easy to follow the trends, based on category, city and top overall. You can also find your facebook friends and listen to the same music at the same time!
The estimated time and cost: 186 hours, $5580.
Ask.fm
The social questions & answers network with the slogan “Where the world wants to know about you”. A signed up user may put various questions or answer the others’.
The service is deeply integrated with Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, which has helped its promotion very much.
Ask.fm was founded in Latvia in 2010. The number of active users has grown up to 80 million by 2015. 30 million of questions and answers are generated every day.
The estimated time and cost: 143 hours, $4290.
Storlet car
Car rental service in Russia. Having started in Saint Petersburg, they are determined to export their service to Europe and the US. By 2017 the company is going to have rental stations in 9 cities in Russia, 25 cities in Europe and 7 cities throughout the USA!
The loyalty system is really unique. It lets you accumulate your passed miles to use than a car for free! Wherever you are!
The estimated time and cost: 121 hours, $3630.
Irish Central
Something new in our chart. This digital media company was created in 2009 by Niall O’Dowd (from Irish to Irish, as you might guess). “The IrishCentral team is dedicated to connecting the Irish throughout the world and creating an online platform where all Irish can feel at home.” A good example of patriotism, so inherent for the Irish people.
The resource brings all kinds of news to 34 million Irish Americans and 70 million Irish diaspora and has 3.5 million unique users monthly.
The estimated time and cost: 90 hours, $2700.
Guffmart
**“**Affordable fun for everyone.” This online shop provides you different products to have fun with your friends. If it’s raining outside and you’re boring, here you will always find something to cheer up.
A remote control flying shark to terrify your colleagues? Get it! A motion-activated LED toilet lamp? Please! Here you can find pet seatbelts, solar powered cockroaches, skull shot glasses and other interesting things.
The estimated time and cost: 58 hours, $1740.
Papersource
The gift retailer, based in Chicago. At their stores, you will find personalized stationery, wedding invitations, calendars and planners, distinctive gifts, gift wrap, greeting cards, crafting supplies and other paper production.
“Our goal is to inspire you to do Something creative every day. We want to join in as you to celebrate all of your life’s moments (the big and the small). Paper Source has that quirky card, chic personalized stationery, elegant invitations, or a beautifully wrapped gift that you are looking for.”
The company has got a YouTube channel too, where one can find a variety of different demonstrations of crafting techniques.
The estimated time and cost: 105 hours, $3150.
Chowhound
Put your cook cap and apron on. If you’ve got no idea what to cook for tomorrow dinner, visit Chowhound.
It’s a location of hundreds of the most delicious recipes from all over the world. Have your ever tasted Olive and Mushroom-Smothered Pork Tenderloin or Roasted Pear and Cranberry Brussels Sprouts?
Have something to eat before visiting this site. You’ll probably stay here for a long time, so don’t make your stomach to suffer.
The estimated time and cost: 130 hours, $3900.
Goodreads
The world’s largest site for readers and book recommendations. People often wonder what interesting books are to read. Here they find what they want and share the best books with others. Goodreads launched in January 2007.
You are able to:
- check which books are read by your friends.
- track and count the books you’ve read and want to read
- read the community’s reviews and select the best to read
A very comfortable tool for reading lovers.
The estimated time and cost: 118 hours, $3540.
Conclusion
Finally, we finished reviewing the most popular Ruby on Rails websites. Now you can make sure what a popularity boost some of them completed just in several years. Look forward to getting the same success!
The most important thing you should extract from this post — no one is able to tell you exactly how much your Ruby on rails website will cost. There are too many factors to take into account.
Thank you for reading. If you like leave some 👏.
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Originally published at thinkmobiles.com