What will be the Maintenance Costs for Ruby on Rails Web Application?

For a business coming up with software solution is an important decision. This solution can be something that defines your core business or is something that works additionally. Whatever be the purpose of the software; developing and launching it is only the half work. With time, the software users will find new bugs which they did not notice in the first place. Users have their own way of using the software and it will be at this point that the bugs will start popping up. Again, with time, your system will become outdated and new security issues will surface and will come to a situation where the client information is at risk.

This is very common for a large number of web applications present in the digital world.

So, here in this post, we are going to discuss about the need for maintenance for web applications built on RoR, different maintenance services as well as the Ruby on Rails maintenance costs related to it.

Why choose RoR for Web App Development?

Ruby is a dynamic programming language which is used in projects targeting productivity. It is quite easy to write and the small and simple syntax makes things natural for programmers. With Ruby, the developers can complete their project on time without having to compromise on the quality. Some of the top reasons to choose Ruby on Rails for your web app development are:

Cost-effective

Ruby on Rails is an open-source technology which means that you will not have to pay any license cost. This means the clients are not charged much and the development process and code updates take place faster.

Suitable for all businesses

RoR is much of a flexible programming language which can be used to build software solution for any business.

Faster development time

Here the components present within the framework can be reused. This means the development time gets reduced by 40% due to the presence of modular designs and fewer codes.

Robust framework

It comes with different testing tools, ensures data security and follows the MVC design pattern.

Developers who use Ruby on Rails can build applications 40% faster than teams using other stacks. – source

Why go for RoR web apps while thing about long term maintenance?

• Reduced costs: In order to reduce the mandatory spending and per-user support costs.
• Quality of service: Higher quality of service is delivered to reach higher customer satisfaction.
• Flexibility: Easily caters to the changing demands of the business through a dynamic cost structure.
• Scalability: In order to support enhancements, it allows temporary expansion using scalable model.
• Reduces risk for business: Take care of risks related to the business and balance cost reduction efficiently.
• Can predict costs: Can predict costs for future expenses and thus work towards reducing it.

Factors that effect Ruby on Rails Maintenance Cost

App performance monitoring

In order to confirm that your web application is offering excellent user experience and is running smoothly, it is important to carry out app performance monitoring. To track the performance of the app regularly, a number of APM tools are available in the market. You can use it regularly in order to find the issues in the web application and reach to its roots. Right, RoR developer will make use of best and latest APM tools in order to check the RoR web application and eventually optimize its performance. Such tools can be used easily for small to large businesses just like snapping fingers. The developers will monitor the web application regularly and look for issues which are possible to arise in there. Again, based on the business requirements, the app performance monitoring also looks for hardware utilization monitoring, application up-time monitoring and monitoring & tracking of real-time server health.

Security patching and monitoring

There has been a tremendous increase in security vulnerabilities and so it becomes really important to take care of your RoR web applications. You need to do this by carrying out security updates. If there is an issue in your web application, then attackers or hackers may easily get into it and exploit it. You need to hire skilled and dedicated RoR for your project, who has the efficiency to work on almost all kinds of project complexities. Such RoR developers will upgrade your application to the latest version and go ahead for updating security patches. Once everything has been kept in place, they will keep monitoring your web application so as to ensure it runs smoothly and safely. Some of the common issues that the RoR web application developers take care are SQL Injection, Cross-Site Request Forgery, and Script Injection

Automated backups

For any business, all the information and data that runs is critically important. RoR developers with good years of experience can take care of the process of taking data backups for you in an automated manner. Apart from that, developers can also take care of data recovery and file replication. The skilled developers can easily save lots of time lost in carrying out repetitive tasks or the ones which have more risk of data loss by making use of a well-defined process and the latest automated backup tool.

RoR version upgrades

In case you are still using Ruby on Rails 3 version or the older ones, then it is time you make the upgrade. You need to upgrade to the latest version to enjoy all its benefits. When you make an upgrade to the latest version, you will be able to prevent security vulnerability, improve the performance of the application and gain the trust of customers. The RoR developers have the experience and expertise to upgrade RoR application to its latest version irrespective of its complexity.

Also Check our Article : “Why Updating Your Ruby on Rails Website Matters Million for Business?“

Source code audit

One of the best ways to check for security vulnerability or undiscovered bugs which you must have overlooked before is by carrying out a source code audit. For the same, you need to have the assistance of RoR experts who are skilled enough to follow the source code control system for any of the web application developed using RoR. Suck RoR professionals make use of the manual review and latest tools to find source code issues like poor cryptography, injection flaws, insecure third-party resources, cross-site scripting flaws, poor coding practices, and others.

Troubleshooting and bug fixing

In order to ensure the RoR application is running efficiently and smoothly, it is important to get bug fixing and debugging services. It becomes important to run different testing and debugging cycles by the RoR developers. They need to troubleshoot the issues in the web application at regular intervals of time. This will ensure all the bugs and errors in the web application are completely resolved to carry out regular operations.

Implementation of new features

With time requirements change and so it is important to implement the latest RoR features into your web application. For the same, you need dedicated and skilled RoR developers who can plan and implement solutions that are completely customized to meet the needs of your existing web application. Whether it is about making major or minor upgrades or even a small API change, it is important that you update the web application to the latest Rails version. The RoR developers go ahead and make use of the newest features and the latest version of Rails so as to improve the usability and performance of the web application.

Ruby on Rails Ongoing Development Costs

Routine maintenance is yet another cost that will continue to knock your door even after your app is up and running in production. However, the post-development cost or on going Ruby on Rails maintenance cost is significantly cheaper after the core features and functionalities are released. Things will change over time and requirement, such as adding new features or customizing the app as the business goal shifts. You can save some handsome bucks by following the tips here;

• Let your development team or outsource IT specialists spend shorter time more frequently after every minor update.
• Let your outsource IT specialists spend some quality time after every major update or release.

Domain registration and hosting costs

Whether your app is under sub-domain on an existing website or have own one, annual domain registration will re-occur to keep your website accessible for your audience.

The cost of domain registration depends on the popularity of your domain. The unique one will cost you less than that of the known or popular one. You may need to spend $10-15 annually or even more, depending on the domain popularity. Whereas the hosting cost will depend entirely on the security level, you are having from the hosting company.

Code Repository Hosting Cost

You would need to host your code repository and for that, you need to spend some handsome bucks behind. However, you can save choosing the right options. First is GitHub for hosting the large portion of your code and you need to pay a little amount which is $9/user per month while if you are looking for business plans, then you need to pay $25/user per month.

Similarly, there is another code repository hosting site which can help you host your code repository right at cost-effective rates. Bitbucket is comparable to GitHub. However, if you have outsourced your projects, you can talk the outsource partner, if you are responsible for paying the hosting cost (for the initial months).

Asset Storage

When you have a website built on Ruby on Rails, you have contents like images, videos and other important files which you need to store somewhere. Means you need to partner with third-party hosting sites. The cloud-based storage solution is very common today and most companies prefer to do so. Amazon Web Services S3 is the popular one and you will be charged minimally. Importantly, the more you use the storage, the less charge you have to pay. Starting charge is $0.023 per GB.

3rd-Party Integrations

Any third-party integration such as payment gateway or others will be chargeable and you will be responsible to pay the charge monthly or annually, depending on the plug-ins norms. Some of the third party plug-ins and themes are chargeable also. Better calculate these costs when you plan your budget.

Performance Monitoring

You need a post-development team to monitor your website performance regularly. The team will ensure that you don’t have any issue and get flawless services. The developers will find out the issue much before your customers do and it is important for your website to keep up with the pace of business. Developers use performance monitoring tools which can inform any possible issue which might occur with the site sometime very soon. These tools will also send a live notification, emails and information to the concern people through dedicated means if website goes down or faces any performance-related issue.

Apart from notifying the owner, the monitoring tool will also provide analysis regarding the website performance, speed, etc. in different areas, regions and countries.

How much does it Cost To Maintain a Ruby on Rails Web App?

For maintaining your web application built on Ruby on Rails, you can either have an in-house team at work or outsource the work from outside. When outsourcing, you can hire a full-time developer for the work or have a freelancer working for you. Based on your selection, the rates may vary as it entirely depends on skills, knowledge, and experience in the field as well as the location of the developer.

In reality its not possible to predict the exact estimation of a maintenance cost due to the uncertainty of the factors mentioned above. How ever it is observed that On an average, the cost of web app maintenance can be around 20% of the development costs. This means if you are spending $10,000 on developing the web application, then its maintenance can cost around $2000.

It would be advisable that you get into a contract with an app service company to carry out the maintenance work regularly. This will also ensure that there is someone who is interested in keeping your app alive and happening. This will let you work on the more important areas of your business rather than worrying about the status of the web app. You can pay the developer on a monthly basis or yearly basis based on the model of payment both parties agreed upon. This will ensure the app performs well and you will even get constant feedback for improvements.