How to Choose The Right Tech Stack for Web Application Development in Startup Environments

When it comes to a startup, every decision you make will play a crucial role in determining the success and failure of your project. Choosing the right tech stack is one such decision that can make or break a business. So, what exactly is tech stack, and how does it affect your business operations?

Think of it as a multi-storied building with different floors, each designed uniquely. These floors serve unique purposes and reflect varying architectural styles. Likewise, the tech stack supports web and mobile app development. It’s a set of software systems and technical tools that serve different purposes when completing your web design and maintenance projects. Let’s discuss the best tech stack for startups in detail.

Tech Stack in Web Development

Many factors affect the quality of a website, but the most important is the tech stack you choose. The right tech stack helps you build a top-notch website that not only meets your customers’ expectations but also requires less maintenance and represents your brand efficiently. Web development involves two main tech stacks, i.e., client-side and back-end.

Front-End Tech Stack

As the name implies, this involves the user interface—the primary point of interaction between a client and your website. Everything that goes on the front end will be visible to the client and affect their experience with you. It includes visual content, text-based information, videos, audio, and nearly every element that’s displayed on the website for the end-user. Here, HTML is used to ensure the delivery of the website content to the user. The visuals can be modified using CSS.

A report by Statista shows that a majority of software developers (around 63%) used JavaScript for front-end development, followed by HTML (53%) and Python (49.28%). JavaScript's growing popularity is due to its ability to help designers design interactive websites that can be personalized to the user’s experience.

Back-End Tech Stack

The back end is where the data processing happens. It’s called the server-side part of the web development. Everything happens on the back end, from processing user requests to processing their information. It covers programming language, database storage, and tools that support database interaction.

Simply put, it involves working on the parts of the software or web application that can’t be seen on the interface. While your users can’t see it, the backend is the most crucial part of your web development project, as it ensures the proper function of your website. The main components of the backend web application development are servers, databases, and programming languages.

Tips for Finding the Best Tech Stack for a Startup

The technical cofounder is responsible for selecting the best tech stack for your business. They will consider multiple factors, including your project requirements and budget when deciding on the most viable option. Here’s how you can decide on the most suitable tech stack for web application development for your startup.

Size of Your Project

A simple blog that aims to educate readers about your services is different from a full-featured eCommerce platform. The tools used in these projects also differ greatly. If it’s a simple web development project, HTML or JavaScript might be enough to launch your website. However, if you are building an eCommerce platform or another complex web application from scratch, a set of software applications, different frameworks, and database management tools will be needed.

A common mistake startups make when choosing a tech stack for their web development is following the trend. What’s latest in the industry may not always be your best choice. Besides, it might cost you a fortune, especially if the tech stack doesn’t align with your requirements. So, understand your project requirements and choose a tech stack accordingly.

Scalability

Trends in the tech stack never remain constant. Cloud solutions, for example, have become mainstream today. These work for nearly every startup that plans on scaling in the future. It’s a sure way to ensure that your web application is equipped to handle increased traffic when it scales.

Integration Capabilities

A flexible framework or database solution has the best integration capabilities. These systems are designed to work with other tools and software applications to deliver the best performance. As your project scales or you make modifications to your web development, you will need to integrate third-party applications into your existing systems. If your existing framework doesn’t support these apps, you will have to build the website from scratch or switch to another tech stack to launch a modified version. So, it’s important to check the integration capability of your tech stack before using it.

Deployment Platforms

When developing a mobile application, you must decide the operating system on which it will be launched. A native mobile app runs on your target OS, either Android or iOS, while a cross-platform app uses the same code to run on different platforms. While the cross-platform apps cover a wider audience and give you a better reach, these are not suitable for all startups. Some are better off launching their application for the web. So, your tech stack should support the environment where you plan on deploying your web application.

Time to Market

Once you have met the funding requirements, the next big step in deploying a web application is time to market. The tech stack plays a part in helping you get the web app on your target platforms within a short timeframe. Time to market matters in today’s competitive business environment. A startup trying to scale its business should focus on technology that comes with built-in functionalities, massive libraries, and tools that automate most parts of the development process. These factors will help you achieve faster app development.

Conclusion

Choosing the best tech stack for startups can be overwhelming without the right IT team. Your technical cofounder will list the factors that should determine the best tech stack for your project. Choose a system that has excellent community support and is scalable. You must also factor in the licensing cost of the technology

This Blog post is written by Codeventures, the best technical cofounder for startup businesses. We help you turn your idea into a successful startup. Meet your interim tech cofounder or Cto & develop Mvp, web & mobile apps for equity.