Two traits define e-commerce businesses in the 21st century – High throughput and application scalability. Not so long ago, PHP was the server side scripting language of choice for web developers and e-commerce entrepreneurs.
Soon, web developers, programmers and entrepreneurs realized that developing scalable web applications in PHP is easier said than done. Moreover, PHP follows client-server model which is no longer in vogue. Such frailties paved the way for the emergence of Node js.
The importance of Node js in ecommerce cannot be overlooked. The whole time, let’s study the merits of investing in a Node js shopping cart for your online business.
#1: Same Programming Language across the Application Development Stack
Modern browsers are programmed in Java Script. There are many popular client side frameworks such as React, Ember and Angular. It’s no secret that such client side frameworks are written in Java Script. Node js is used to run Java Script on the server.
And this means the same scripting language is used on the front-end and back-end. It’s easy for back-end and front-end teams to work on data structures, language conventions, syntax and semantics of Java Script. This results in excellent team coordination between your team members. Fixing of bugs is also easy.
Maintainability of your Node js shopping cart is another added advantage.
#2: Superior Performance
Let’s discuss the runtime performance of Node js on discount days.
Can a Node js shopping cart handle large requests? Yes!In 2013, Walmart took the decision of a lifetime. The busiest shopping time in the US is Black Friday. Thanks to Node js, the retail giant was able to handle its whopping 200,000,000 client requests effectively.
Node js processes the requests asynchronously. In other words, the operations are non-blocking. And this means, in the context of e-commerce, you can move on to a different client request before the ongoing request finishes.
Asynchronous programming and handling multiple client requests are two complicated areas. And yet, astonishingly, Node js makes them look easy for online businesses.
#3: Ease of Implementation
It’s no secret that an estimated 20% of top e-commerce sites use Magento. Magento is written in PHP. It’s an open-source e-commerce platform. When it comes to the ease of implementation and configuration, Node js shopping carts have an edge over Magento platform.Without question, the way customers interact with the software has changed in the last decade. Right from browsing shopping sites to selecting payment options and placing orders, Node js shopping carts assist customers throughout their journey.
#4: Scalability
Let me explain the term ‘Scalability’.
Scalability is the ability to make an architecture optimized for your work. It’s obvious that scalability and performance are interrelated. Scalability is of two types – Horizontal scalability and Vertical scalability
Horizontal scalability is all about adding multiple machines or task managers to your existing pool of resources. Vertical scalability is nothing but scaling up your existing machine or resource by adding more CPU or power / RAM capacity.
Can we develop, configure and implement horizontally scalable Node js ecommerce solutions? Yes Can we develop, configure and implement vertically scalable shopping carts in Node js? Yes Ask any experienced programmer. He wouldn’t deny that PHP applications often buckle down under heavy workloads. This is one area where Node.js wins hands-down.More often than not, adaptable and powerful e-commerce shopping solutions are not only horizontally scalable but also vertically scalable.
#5: Cost-effectiveness
Node js applications are cost-effective. Node js is flexible. There’s a lot of repetition of codes. Thanks to code reusability, application updates can be released without any hassles. More importantly, deadlines can be met, thereby reducing the labor cost.
As Java Script is used on the front-end and back-end, it’s effortlessly easy to develop isomorphic applications. There’s hardly any necessity of hiring technologically diverse people. The same team of programmers can work on client and server-side codebase.
Vocabulary re-implementation is missing in other software languages such as ASP.NET. For all intents and purposes, ASP.NET programmers are expected to have good knowledge of Java, VB.NET and C#.
Thanks to Node js, it’s become easy to streamline processes within an affordable budget.
#6: Great Community Support
Node js shopping cart solutions evolve with time. This can be attributed to the ever energetic and spirited community of developers. Node js framework is neatly written and documented diligently. The community of developers is cooperative, well-read, experienced and friendly. There are several thousands of lines of code in GitHub.
Every entrepreneur is continuously supported and kept up-to-date. There are tons of plugins, scores of modules and loads of solutions to problems.
#7: Popularity
The futuristic and steadily rising Node js technology is ideal for high volume backend operations. It’s best suited for developing modern API oriented applications.
Giant organizations like Walmart, eBay, Uber, PayPal, Dow Jones, etc., are using Node js for their products. Other reputed names such as Medium, Yahoo, HP, etc., are planning their next generation products on Node.js platform.
#8: Dependency Management
Node js uses NPM. NPM stands for Node Package Manager. NPM is a huge software registry and online repository of packages and plugins. Node js shopping carts are power-packed with libraries and connectors. This necessarily means that developers need not write everything from scratch. They can use open source solutions.
Undoubtedly, Node Package Manager reduces the burden on developers and enhances the speed of performance.
The package manager for Java Script runtime environment makes it easy for all the installed packages to have their own dependencies. And this means that there’s excellent management of dependencies.
#9: Responsiveness
By all means, Node js shopping carts are responsive and portable. Node js is more than a framework. It’s a robust technology that lets you build media streaming applications and other real time server diagnosing applications that can efficiently handle multiple I/O operations.
Node js algorithms can be used to develop rich APIs and top notch ecommerce websites that are user-intuitive, instinctive and responsive
#10: MEAN Stack Advantage
MEAN stands for Mongo DB, ExpressJS, AngularJS and Node js.
PHP works well with SQL databases such as MySQL. It’s doesn’t cope well with NoSQL databases. Node js is often buckled up with NoSQL databases such as MongoDB. For your information, MongoDB is a document oriented database. It’s open-source.
ExpressJS is used to manage the middleware of node applications. AngularJS is used in the frontend. AngularJS helps programmers in developing lightweight applications.
Node js shopping carts have this MEAN stack advantage. Thanks to MEAN technology stack, user experience is enhanced and shopping-cart abandonment rate is minimized.It’s time we understood and acknowledged the importance of Node js in e-commerce.
