Most Common Mistakes in Ruby on Rails Development (And How to Avoid Making Them)

Preface: Ruby On Rails is the best choice for web app development. Entrepreneurs and developers across the globe feel proud to have chosen such an alluring framework, which enables faster MVP development for their project. However, being precautious is always better than getting cured. This blog is a safety-manual for the entrepreneurs out there who choose ROR as their armor. Get an insight into Ruby on Rails programming mistakes to avoid along with the entrepreneurial mistakes to be aware and hence escape them.

Ruby On Rails Right Choice

Mr. Amari Blue has recently developed his business web app, which is a huge success, using Ruby on Rails. He struggled a lot during the making, planning, and execution of his Ruby on Rails application development, and finally, he is now reaping the sweet fruits of his efforts.

Mr. Blue is glad that he chose Ruby on Rails for his project because Rails is a comparatively simple framework. Of all the other advantages, he was benefited by RoR’s high-speed MVP development, open-source availability, free plugins, and multiple platform-compatibility. His development team was grateful for the RubyGems because their development time was reduced without writing excess code. Ruby on Rails is, beyond any doubts, the best framework for your project.

This experienced entrepreneur got more time-to-market for his product because his developers found Ruby on Rails for MVP as a speedy development option and followed the standard practices. He wanted to share his experience developing a web project and demystifying common mistakes in Ruby on Rails development that young entrepreneurs face. He wants to share Ruby on Rails programming mistakes to avoid so that he can appraise other businessmen to learn from them.

We came up with this blog so that Mr. Blue’s ideas reach other entrepreneurs out there, and they can leverage from his experience while developing their Ruby on Rails project.

05 Common Mistakes in Ruby On Rails Development by RoR Developers

Every successful project has undergone its pitfalls and experiences. During Mr. Blue’s observations, there were several incidents where he was like, “What is going on? Everything seems like a mess.” Thankfully, he was following the Agile software development approach that he was always able to track his Ruby on Rails project work and get regular updates from his development team.

At each successive stage of his project, he made sure that he asked the Ruby On Rails development team-lead, to sum up, their experience and take notes. At the end of the project, he reviewed what technical mistakes could arise in a project and how his Ruby on Rails developers can overcome them.

Here, we have gathered the top 5 common mistakes RoR developers make while developing a Ruby on Rails web development project.

1. Stuffing Excess Coding in Model, View, and Controller

⦿ Model

Mr. Blue mentions that developers tend to put too much complex coding functionality into the Model layer of MVC architecture. He explains that the Model layer is meant for your entire business logic, so you should not make the mistake that most developers do.

To build better Rails applications, you must not include logic for email notifications, data conversions, etc. in the Model. Spare it for configurations like relations and validations, simple mutation methods, access wrappers, and sophisticated queries.

⦿ View

The View layer of your application is purely for the HTML files and tags. Many developers make the mistake of writing database queries in the View, which takes a lot of time to load your application. Such practice should be avoided and instead create view files that have partials to get rid of duplication.

⦿ Controller

Ideally, the Controller should contain session/cookies handling, management of parameters requested, redirecting, and rendering views. For other tasks, developers should not keep other codes in the controller, which increases your app load time.

2. Keep Your Configurations Safe

Most of your Rails applications will be using external services like Facebook, Google Maps, AWS, etc. The credentials of such external resources and their APIs are stored in the credentials.yml or secrets.yml files in your configurations. Now, Mr. Blue says that the developers need to create a separate account to provide security. Otherwise, anyone who has access to your repository can access all your users’ accounts.

RoR developers need to create a developer account that keeps your configurations safe against all the intruders.

3. Excessive Use of Ruby Gems

RoR developers feel blessed because they get an abundant number of gems for their ease. However, Mr. Amari Blue mentions that too much is not suitable for anything. Some developers make excessive use of gems in their applications to the extent that gems’ usage is more than the app’s functionality.

The first problem that arises from Gems’ excessive use is that your web app’s size increases, which lowers the app performance. Additionally, it needs larger memory configurations and increased optimization costs. Your Rails application takes a long time to start, which also reduces your development time.

Moreover, with each gem you include, you invite a dependency on another gem, and so on. You multiply the number of dependencies in your application, which creates lags in your application. This is the compounding effect. For example, using a gem rails_admin will create dependencies for 11 more gems.

Hence, you should consider the overhead before you use a gem.

4. Accustomed Database Migrations

Mr. Blue was amazed to know ROR’s database migration characteristics, where developers can manage the minutest changes when their application gets stuck with a problem. This functionality worked well with his application development in the initial stages.

However, soon he realized that in the longer run, such database migrations are challenging to handle. At that time, his Ruby on Rails developers showed him the right way to dump the old migrations because they could no longer manage the project database.

Hence, the entrepreneur advises that developers should not get accustomed to the lenient database migrations.

5. Correct Rails Application

Mr. Blue suggests that before developers start to develop their Ruby on Rails project, they should be clear with what type of Rails application they are going to create. For instance, whether it is a rails API, rails service, or rails application.

Such standard practices of the developers will ensure that the RoR project will have a sound base. Setting up the basics initially and then changing those mid-way affects the development time and code quality.

Mr. Blue, our generous entrepreneur, learned the above five common mistakes to avoid from his Ruby on Rails project development team. He is grateful that he got such experienced Rails developers and wishes that his learnings can help other developers out there.

Additionally, here is a link of a video showing the best practices to follow for Ruby on Rails Developers. Watch to overcome the common mistakes in Ruby on Rails Development.

07 Common Mistakes by Entrepreneurs While Building Ruby on Rails Project

Apart from the technicality, Mr. Amari Blue has also learned a tremendous entrepreneurial lesson after this project’s success. He wants all the aspiring entrepreneurs and his friends should know what to do and not do while building a Ruby On Rails project.

𝟙. Over-enthusiasm and high-expectancy

Mr. Amari Blue used to be very excited about his Rails project. Since the beginning, he used to interact with his development team and ask for updates. He realized that he is impatient. Thanks to his RoR developers, they made him understand that development is an intensive process.

He shares that he was expecting a lot in a little amount of time. He tells fellow-entrepreneurs that enthusiasm is good but not to the extent that it starts bothering and hampering your progress.

𝟚. Ignorance for QA testing

Mr. Blue admits that he is an optimist who always looks at the brighter side of any situation. While his Ruby On Rails development team was busy developing his project, he couldn’t wait to check out the end-results. He never even thought that anything could go wrong, which is ideally impossible.

Sometimes, he would get disappointed when the outcome displays errors. This experience made him realize the importance of testing an application. Hence, Mr. Blue strongly suggests not to ignore the QA tests in your RoR project.

𝟛. Lack of specific RoR developer

Mr. Amari Blue had outsourced his Rails project to a dedicated development team, and hence communication was the only bridge that kept him linked to his team and his project. He says that when you hire a dedicated development team, you get the profile description of the company. Instead, what you need is a personal encounter with your development team.

Mr. Blue made sure that he organized virtual meetings and sessions with his Ruby on Rails development team and addressed them with their first names. His mantra for finding the right candidate for your technical team is knowing your team and communicating without any barriers.

𝟜. But trial first

Mr. Blue advises that before you hire your onshore or offshore Ruby on Rails development company, make sure that you first take a trial period. It saves your time and effort because once the project development begins, it is a long process. And later, when you realize that it is not meeting your expectations, it is already quite late.

𝟝. Hesitant with sharing business goals

Mr. Amari Blue was very friendly with his development team. He kept no secrets, which helped him notify the team of his goals. He says that some entrepreneurs treat their developers like their employees and hence raise a wall between them. This strategy may keep you in a reputable position, but it doesn’t help you meet your goals.

Once you are close to your team, they understand your expectations, and it motivates them to fulfill those goals as if they are their personal attainments. Our grounded entrepreneur, Mr. Blue, was never hesitant to share his future aspirations with his team. This action kept the team strong and motivated towards their goals.

Hence, Mr. Blue suggests that business people should not keep their goals unsaid. Instead, they should speak them out loud so that the universe knows and helps them achieve the same goals with positive energy.

𝟞. No agreement or contract

The prime reason for Mr. Amari Blue’s project success was his discipline and standard procedures. Since the beginning, he had made a significant contract with his development company which mentioned:

• Dedicated working hours of a developer per day or per week.
• Replacement developer in case of absence or leave.
• Bug-fixing costs.
• Management and handling of bugs in the future post-project-completion.
• Notification duration in case of a developer’s short-term or long-term vacation.

Mr. Blue suggests that having such a clear contract before signing your deal is a must-have.

𝟟. Expecting developer to understand the entrepreneur’s point of view without giving feedback

Communication is vital during your project development process. Ideally, your development team works as you say, and you pay them for their work. However, keeping them well-informed throughout the entire project development phase is essential, and not just at the beginning.

Mr. Amari Blue says that telepathy is astounding; mostly, it works magically between friends and loved ones. But, you should not expect your developers to understand your perspective magically. You have to coordinate with them, guide them, and take regular updates and follow-ups to be on the same page with their development process.

With these seven pieces of advice, Mr. Amari Blue feels proud that his experience can acknowledge several other businessmen on how to begin their startup application development. And be prepared to tackle the common mistakes in Ruby on Rails development to meet aspired success.

How Bacancy Technology Is Different From Other Ruby On Rails Development Companies

Now that you are aware of Ruby on Rails programming mistakes to avoid, and know how to tackle those pitfalls, it is time to find the right Ruby on Rails development company. As per the knowledge shared by Mr. Amari Blue, we have summarized that a perfect Ruby on Rails development company-

• Should have skilled and experienced RoR developers
• Follow the Agile methodology for software development
• Provide excellent outsourcing services with regular updates
• Sign a non-disclosure agreement to keep your privacy intact

Bacancy Technology is a reputable Ruby on Rails development company that provides all the following mandatory factors that you must look out to:

𝟙. Robust Development code

The Ruby on Rails developers at Bacancy Technology has expertise in JSON standards, MVC architecture, HTML, CSS, OOP concepts, and JQuery. These full stack Ruby On Rails developers are the ones that you are looking for to develop a successful project in minimal time duration.

An essential part of your project is your development code. With our skilled developers, you are assured of getting a powerful development code.

𝟚. Best Testing team

As we follow Agile development practices, our developers continuously keep testing your application after each development phase and update you with the latest results. This protects you from the sudden jerk of project failure if something goes wrong. Our Ruby On Rails developers makes up the best testing team that you can have for your RoR project.

𝟛. Developer Interview

As you approach us for your project development, Bacancy Technology offers you an interview with our developers before signing the deal. Choose for yourself if you are pleased. Get satisfied with the technical proficiency of our developers and hand-pick your development team.

𝟜. Trial period

Bacancy Technology offers a 15 days risk-free trial, which saves 40% of your project’s development, support, and maintenance costs. Experience how we function from offshore locations and yet provide hassle-free services. You do not need to pay for the trial period as our team starts to work on your project.

Sign the deal only if you are satisfied with our work.

𝟝. NDA policy

We respect your privacy and crucial data protection, and hence we sign a Non-disclosure Agreement NDA that affirms our integrity and keeps your confidentiality protected.

𝟞. Flawless Client Communication

As you start working with Bacancy Technology, we assign you a Project Manager, who supervises your dedicated Ruby on Rails developers and the entire team. At any point in time, the project management tools like Jira and Slack are available to communicate with you because we understand communication value.

Let’s Escape Common Ruby On Rails Mistakes Together

I hope this blog stood true to its value by providing you with the precautions before you put on your entrepreneurial shoes. It is rightly said that a smart person will learn from other’s mistakes rather than face themselves.

Bacancy Technology is here to swing you across the ocean full of mistakes. Our ROR developers follow standard practices and are aware of these common mistakes in Ruby on Rails development. Hence, providing you error-free and fast development. Hop-on the ladder of our experience, and let’s swing together fighting the race of project development.

Final Note

What are you waiting for? Take the first step, and we promise to take care of the rest 99 steps to achieve your goal and fulfill our commitment. Hire Ruby on Rails developer to get the right talent work on your project to build a high quality and high-performance application.