How to create an auction marketplace website like eBay
Tags: ruby, rails, tutorial, webdev
Published: 2020-02-20 09:18:25

---
title: How to create an auction marketplace website like eBay
published: true
description: Looking to build a website like eBay? Read a detailed guide from our experts to prepare for all the steps of building a similar auction marketplace website.
tags: ruby, rails, tutorial, webdev
canonical_url: https://www.codica.com/blog/how-to-build-an-auction-marketplace-website-like-ebay/
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/7kwyv58lyppee242gluz.jpg
---

We know eBay as a global e-commerce leader offering its customers millions of items in practically all product categories.

What does it take to build a similar platform? 

At Codica, we have published a step-by-step guide on [how to create a website like eBay](https://www.codica.com/blog/how-to-build-an-auction-marketplace-website-like-ebay/).

In this post, we will take a closer look at the core functionality for a similar website and discuss the technology stack required for its implementation.

## What is eBay about?

eBay is an online multi-vendor marketplace connecting buyers and sellers within the [B2C](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/btoc.asp) and [C2C](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/ctoc.asp) sectors. In other words, it is a medium where vendors place their goods and shoppers purchase them online.

Below you can see the [research by Statista](http://Statista) showing how the annual net revenue of eBay has been changing over the past six years.

![](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/heh40aqcgrme2mx4rbad.png)

## The history of eBay

In 1995 a computer scientist Pierre Omidyar wrote code for a page AutionWeb on his personal website. It allowed users to list various items for auction.

That is how the pilot version of eBay looked like:


![](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/87ux5cazvjxlb0r28stt.png)

By the end of 1998, [eBay had 2.1 million users and generated $750 million in revenue](https://www.biography.com/business-figure/pierre-omidyar).

## The key functionality for a website like eBay

It would be a big mistake to implement all functionality at once. Instead, you need to focus on the very basic features that help you gain first users. These primary options include sign-in/up, product listing and page, search feature, checkout process, and admin panel.

As your online marketplace grows, you can improve the user experience for both parties by adding such features as:

* Authorization process
* Inventory management
* Admin panel
* Product search
* Product page
* Shopping cart
* Chat
* Multiple payment gateways
* Reviews and ratings
* Analytics.

![](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/gvwq24mthgsxyb1z02s0.jpg)

## What technologies required to build a website like eBay?

eBay is a website with diverse functionality. You will need lots of different tools and technologies to implement it.

Let’s define what programming languages, frameworks, and integrations can come in especially handy.

* **Back-end**

When it comes to server-side, choose the most advanced and modern tools since they allow building a scalable, maintainable, and sustainable product. For example, we prefer using Ruby, [Ruby on Rails](https://www.codica.com/blog/why-build-startup-with-ruby-on-rails/), [ElasticSearch](https://www.codica.com/blog/developing-rails-web-app-with-elasticsearch/), Redis, i18n gem, MySQL, Sidekiq.

* **Front-end**

As for the client-side, your main task is to offer customers a brilliant web application by providing both high performance and stability. We are sure that such technologies for front-end development as HTML5, CSS3, JS, React, Vue.js, Angular will be a good help.

* **Tools and integrations**

You should create an efficient development process and pick a suitable hosting service. To succeed, take a look at the next tools: AWS S3, GitLab, GitHub, Slack, Digital Ocean.

![](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/i6v5z0rk2amlhcobts06.jpg)

## Conclusion

Online marketplace development can be a tall order, especially if you are building a platform with diverse functionality similar to eBay. However, we are sure that our guide will help you grasp the basics of creating a similar auction website.

*For further reading on the subject, please check our full article: [How to create an auction marketplace website like eBay](https://www.codica.com/blog/how-to-build-an-auction-marketplace-website-like-ebay/).*