A Comprehensive Guide to Hiring Ruby Development Teams

Few technologies from the early 2000s have stood the test of time as well as Ruby. Despite the rapid evolution of the tech world, Ruby has continued to thrive, becoming a cornerstone of modern web development. Known for its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, flexibility, and scalability, Ruby, especially when paired with Rails, has been a reliable choice for building critical web applications.

With its strong track record and active community, many businesses still seek Ruby developers to bring their apps and services to life. But how do you find the right Ruby development team for your business? We’re here to help. Just tell us what you need, and within 72 hours, we can connect you with up to five companies that match your requirements—completely free of charge.

Finding, hiring, and managing Ruby and Rails developers can be challenging, especially if you’re new to the technology. That’s why we’ve created a Comprehensive Guide to Hiring Ruby Development Teams. This guide covers everything you need to know, from understanding the pros and cons of Ruby to choosing the right tools and frameworks, and finally, hiring and onboarding Ruby developers into your team.

Follow along with our guide to gain a thorough understanding of Ruby and start creating powerful web applications today.

Pros and Cons of Ruby Development

Combined with Rails, Ruby has become a de-facto standard for web applications at scale over the last decade or so. But what is it about Ruby that makes the technology so highly valued by developers?

Amongst the advantages of Ruby development are the sheer number of libraries and extensions available to assist with projects. These libraries, along with smart language design and excellent framework tools, make Ruby application development one of the fastest and most efficient processes in application engineering.

Some of the drawbacks of the language, on the other hand, include outright deficiencies in performance compared to competing tools. Add to that, gaps in documentation, and you begin to see where the language can create new issues as it solves others.

How these pros and cons stack up within your firm will depend on the features and functionality you prioritise within your apps. Indeed, it will depend on the makeup of your development team too.

Weighing up Ruby against other competing options and figuring out if it’s the right fit for your next project takes careful examination of the language and its many uses.

Our guide on The Pros and Cons of Ruby Development breaks down the advantages and drawbacks of Ruby Development for you. Taking a deep dive into its greatest features—and the things to watch out for—it’s a perfect introduction to get started with the language.

The Ultimate Guide to Ruby Development Frameworks

When developers think of Ruby frameworks, the go-to option is inevitably rails. It’s a web application framework that delivers a huge amount of value to developers and one that many are already intimately familiar with.

Speed, reliability, and familiarity make Rails exceptionally hard to pass up. But Rails exists as just one of the many frameworks available to support Ruby Development.

Included alongside fully-fledged frameworks such as Rails, Hanami, and Padrino are micro-frameworks such as Sinatra and Grape. These offer options for control and customisation that larger solutions can’t compete with. Microframeworks, either in combination with each other, with fully-fledged frameworks, or entirely on their own—add extensions and features to the Ruby language that make it an increasingly powerful asset.

Yet, conventional frameworks offer functionality and ease of use that heads-off future issues and incompatibility problems before they arise. Full frameworks offer a platform more often thought of as a stable application base.

Each of the options available for application development comes with advantages and drawbacks. Some favour certain kinds of development projects or ways to approach a problem over others.

Taking a deep dive into some of the most popular and productive frameworks available today, The Ultimate Guide to Ruby Development Frameworks takes a look at the features and benefits your teams may want to consider for your next application or service.

Should You Hire Ruby Development Freelancers, or an Outsourced Ruby Team?

Unlocking the full advantages of Ruby means incorporating it into your teams and practices in a way that makes sense, maximises efficiency and delivers results. This means making a choice in how you onboard Ruby developers into your teams and how you manage them into the future.

The two primary options are between hiring Ruby freelance developers and outsourced Ruby development teams, and both come with advantages and drawbacks that should be carefully considered.

While freelancers come as a comparably low-cost, low-risk, and quick-to-deploy option, they also add future management, maintenance, and communication complications. Far from an easy fix, it can be more prudent to take a long term view instead.

On the other hand, outsourced teams add a professional finish and approach to development projects; at additional cost considerations for the firm.

Neither option fits every approach and neither solves every problem. Both have a place in your firm, and each can be used for different types of projects. Knowing when to use one and not the other is an invaluable management skill to have.

Should You Hire Ruby Developer Freelancers, or an Outsourced Ruby Development Team? takes a deep dive into both options and weighs up the pros and cons of each to take a position on when you should consider either one over the other.

How to Interview a Ruby Developer and What to Look For?

When it comes to finding application developers, the hiring process is one of the most significant challenges of the software industry. It’s a decision you have to make that has far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for both your firm and the candidates you interview.

Future success in both technical and business endeavors depends on finding a candidate that both knows the right technologies, languages, tools and if the candidate in question has obtained any Ruby certifications; while also having the soft skills required to fit into the teams and processes already in place within your company. Adding to the challenge: you’ve only got a couple of hours on a midweek day to find out all this and more.

Our Ruby interview guide will help you make the most of the time you have available. Looking at the soft and hard skill questions to ask, and what to look for in their answers, we can aim to get the most out of the process to find that one ideal candidate who is the perfect fit for the job.

Included in our article, "How to Interview a Ruby Developer and What to Look For?” is the ideal technical test to evaluate a candidate’s expertise and give the best possible predictor to their future job success.

If you are struggling to get through the hiring process, we are here to help: tell us what you need. We can do the work for you and connect you with up to 5 companies within 72h that match your need- all for free.

The Do’s & Don’ts of Managing an Outsourced Ruby on Rails Development Team

Managing a remote technical team, even today, is still a tough topic for many business owners. Despite the modern technologies and tools available, the process is one that still feels like a major departure from having a team that sits right next door.

It doesn’t help, of course, that the wider web is littered with misconceptions, myths, and mistakes that muddy the waters of remote team management.

The reality of having a remote team that is more successful and more productive than even an in-house one is closer than you think. The secret isn’t in the tools or technologies you use—although they do help—but in the way you deploy and use them effectively.

Just a few steadfast rules and a select few guidelines are all it takes to transform in-house management skills into remote management wizardry.

The Do’s & Don’ts of Managing an Outsourced Ruby on Rails Development Team Will set you up on the right path to effective remote teams in ways that will keep both its members and their production stats very happy indeed.

A Glimpse Into the Future of Ruby Development

A large part of the challenges involved in the software industry is that it’s, understandably, one of the fastest moving industries out there.

Both Ruby and Rails are each well over a decade old now. Nevertheless, both technologies have enjoyed so much permanence precisely because they have insisted on continually evolving and changing to keep up with modern standards and tools.

This evolution provides developers with both large challenges and great opportunities for continued professional development.

With such a strong user base, some 3 million apps strong, Ruby isn’t likely to be a technology going away anytime soon. In fact, that user base and the strong community around it is at the heart of Ruby’s future growth.

From the unique package management solution of Ruby to its automated systems and potential for strong security, the features of Ruby being actively developed today will ensure the platform remains invaluable for some time to come.

A Glimpse into the Future of Ruby Development takes a close-up look at the features of Ruby and how they’re likely to change in months and years to come.

Ruby Development Teams

Ruby, when combined with rails in particular, is an exceptionally powerful toolset that can achieve a great deal in the world of web development. From robust reliability to the scalable, cost-effective, and flexible credentials of the language—Ruby and Rails can make almost all things possible on the web.

For these reasons, many of the world's biggest apps and services still depend on the technology into today. Now, with our guide in hand, you can put it to work for you too! From the pros and cons of the language to its management and future, the articles and guides presented here give you everything you need to get started with the topics, challenges, and benefits of Ruby development.