Which programming language should I pick for my SaaS web app?
So you have an idea for a web app. You know what it should do and who the target audience is. Now it is time to start building it.
But you feel confused on what to do next.
“I don’t know which programming language to pick”
Picking a programming language for a new app is hard, especially if you’re not a programmer yourself.
Backend: The trusted four
- Ruby / Ruby on Rails
- Python / Django
- PHP
- Java
If you know nothing about web development yourself you will probably be happy with any of the four choices above. My personal choice is Ruby on Rails - but I’ve worked with the others and they will work for most web apps.
The big benefit is that you will be able to find developers. If you pick something new and cool, you will probably be having a hard time finding people that can build your app – and if you do they’re most likely newbies.
Some languages I would avoid for web development if this is your first try, and you’re trying to bootstrap your web app:
- C (Not intended for web development)
- Windows-only languages/frameworks (.Net - licensing and server costs)
- Perl (works, but is a bit dated)
- Go (community is still to young)
You want stable and trusted
Unless you really want to be known for trying out the latest tech you should probably go with trusted technology for your startup. The programmers you pick should have written at least one production ready web app with the technology already.
It may be a bit boring, but I would rather have a working/boring tech setup and put all my energy in building an exciting product than having an exciting tech setup and a boring/unstable product.