Ruby on Rails, also known simply as “Rails,” is a development framework for apps and websites. It is not the same as the programming language “Ruby”, but instead offers a streamlined, modular code-base with a wide variety of plug-ins for any application. Though relatively new, there are a number of advantages to Rails development.

Faster To Implement

Because of the modularity of the framework, it is much simpler for developers to pull together the pieces you need, and fit them together. There is little repeating of code across files, and every element has its own spot, meaning that the site can be brought to basic functionality quickly and then adjusted from there. The time required to implement an RoR site is 50% less than that of traditional, Java-based sites.

Faster To Update

Again with the lean design, Ruby on Rails was initially developed for large scale start-up development, so it emphasized the ability to easily tweak and adjust issues as they occurred. RoR also makes use of plug-ins which can solve problems near-instantly, compared to direct hand-coding.

Cost Effective

Although Rails developers don’t come cheap, the framework and many of the components are open-source, reducing initial costs. When combined with how much faster projects can come together (and be maintained) RoR is a clear win.

However, if you have your own developers and they do not use Rails, it’s not necessarily a good idea to outsource. Here are the best types of websites to develop on Rails:

• E-Commerce: Rails’ user friendly features, modular approach and enormous scalability make it a good choice for e-commerce.

• Content Management: RoR is a good option if your website will be a hub of hefty audio or video files. The site will be easily navigable by users, and management on the back end is simplified.

• Custom Database Solutions: Since it was initially developed for bleeding-edge start-ups, Rails is a great choice for any project that requires a novel database structure.

• Membership Sites:  A wide array of plug-ins and built-in features in RoR make dealing with social networking and members-only sites easy to manage and maintain.

Ruby on Rails has many advantages for any size of business and is useful in any number of applications. It has not got as steep a learning curve as you might think. Try it for your next project and you might just become an evangelist.