Everyone within the eCommerce space knows of Ruby On Rails. This framework is used by approximately 3,866,870 websites right now, showing just how efficient it can be for creating efficient yet beautiful web applications. Now, this unique Ruby-based framework comes with its fair share of add-ons and extra features to discover as well. One of the most important ones is the gems in Ruby On Rails. These small bits of perfectly packaged Ruby code can better your site in no time. That’s why today we’re sharing with you all you need to know about the best Ruby On Rails gems for eCommerce applications!
What is Ruby On Rails?
Ruby On Rails is a server-side web application framework written in Ruby and distributed with the MIT License. This full-stack framework provides developers with all the tools needed to build fantastic eCommerce stores on both the front and back end of the designs. Ruby On Rails for eCommerce will help you build whichever platform you have in mind, all through responsive styling on a Rails app, high stability, and ease of use.
What are Ruby On Rails gems?
Now, while Ruby On Rails is a full-stack framework written in the Ruby programming language, Ruby on Rails gems are a little bit different. These are plugin-like libraries that allow all eCommerce developers to add new functionalities to an online store without having to write any additional code into the site. Ruby On Rails gems are available for almost every feature one would need to improve an existing eCommerce site or build a store from scratch with all functionalities it could ever need. From shipping to debugging, gems in Ruby On Rails have it all. At the end of the day, these little snippets of condensed Ruby code grant you access to almost custom functions that can take your eCommerce store to the next level.
The 8 Best Ruby On Rails gems for eCommerce
ActiveShipping is part of Shopify, another amazing platform for eCommerce store owners to try, and consists of an open-source shipping abstraction library. This is one of the Ruby On Rails gems for eCommerce that can help you track and register shipments as well as find shipping rates from different carriers across the world. All of this is possible because ActiveShipping interfaces with the web services of different shipping carriers to abstract the features more commonly used by eCommerce merchants. You can also purchase shipping labels through this gem in Ruby On Rails, which makes it the all-in-one stop for anything related to eCommerce shipping.
This gem was the first stage of the bigger Trailblazer Project, which now consists of 40 different Ruby On Rails gems for eCommerce. Nevertheless, this is still the star product of the organization and remains an umbrella gem that allows you to pick and choose what you need ro perfect your eCommerce sites. Trailblazer provides different high-level abstractions for Ruby On Rails frameworks, providing optimized architecture and site logic to any Ruby-based site. It allows developers to build eCommerce applications using an intuitive code structure and enforces encapsulation for better performance.
This is another one of the Shopify extraction gems in Ruby On Rails for eCommerce. ActiveMerchant will simplify your business procedures when it comes to everything related to online payments. This payment abstraction library allows you to access dozens of different payment gateways with very different internal APIs through a single unified API to make the checking-out process easier both from a server-side and customer-side standpoint. It was specifically developed for Ruby On Rails frameworks in 2006, which makes its integration with any Ruby-based eCommerce store a seamless experience.
If your eCommerce business is looking into an international expansion, Globalize is one of the Ruby On Rails gems that can offer the most value during this process. What this gem does consists of adding model translations to ActiveRecord models, allowing for automated storage of any translation of user-generated content. Because Globalize helps to dynamically translate content, your eCommerce store could now show its contents in the local language of any country you wish to expand your business operations to.
The use of this gem in Ruby On Rails for eCommerce is quite simple, but still incredibly helpful if you have an online store. Simple Form provides eCommerce businesses with powerful components to create and integrate all sorts of forms into their site. This enables you to use forms in your store, which vary from user-focused ones, such as contact or information forms to the ones needed, from a server-side perspective, like bullet point lists. It aims to offer the utmost flexibility to allow for a customized design of any form your site might need.
Not so many gems in Ruby On Rails focus on automated pagination for web applications, but Kaminari does. This gem is a Simple Scope and Engine-based Ruby On Rails paginator that allows eCommerce developers to divide various documents into discrete and smaller pages to optimize the performance of your online store. Pagination is not only important from a server-side perspective but it can also support your Rails search engine optimization efforts if done well. Kaminari is perfect for the task thanks to its clean and modern nature as well as the possibility of engine-based customization.
The name of this gem says it all. This is one of the Ruby On Rails gems that focus on helping developers do a better job and build cleaner eCommerce applications. Rails_best_practices does this through its code metric tool that analyzes the quality of any piece of Rails code. Through its metrics and advice, it allows developers to avoid a range of Rails coding mistakes, preventing any inadequate updates to be made to your eCommerce site in the process.
There’s no question regarding why Stripe is one of the best Ruby On Rails gems for eCommerce. Stripe for Rails allows developers to include several Stripe Elements in any eCommerce application without the need to spend hours on additional code. This is done through granted access to the Stripe API from applications written in Ruby and within the Ruby On Rails framework. The gem also includes a pre-defined set of classes for API resources with a dynamic initiation from API responses.
Ready to improve your eCommerce site with Ruby On Rails gems?
Now that you’ve learned what are the best gems of Ruby On Rails for eCommerce, it’s time to consider which ones you’ll start implementing to improve the efficiency and user experience of your online store. At Resolve Digital, we understand that improving an existing eCommerce site can sometimes be a challenge for many online businesses. This process involves a lot of work and technical efforts, which not all companies are sufficiently equipped to do. That’s why we offer custom software development services specialized in eCommerce to help organizations like yours improve their operations through an efficient and beautifully designed online store. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you add the best Ruby On Rails gems for eCommerce applications!