Building a Trading App: A Step-by-Step Guide for Developers

Active participants of the stock market, including investors and brokers, have already adopted the latest web and mobile technologies in their practices. E-Trade is an excellent example of a well-developed stock market app, but it’s not the only one available.

If you’re up for the challenge, my article provides detailed guidelines on how to build a trading platform like E-Trade, or even better. I have compartmentalized the issue thoroughly and sorted out all the essential details to help you succeed.

What is a trading app?

In essence, a trading app is designed to simplify the life of a modern person, regardless of their current activity. Smart entrepreneurs have recognized the benefits of this trend and leveraged it to increase their business efficiency. Brokerage companies have joined in and sought to build automated trading systems that provide useful notifications, and many have succeeded.

The decision to develop a trading platform was a wise one, as it allows traders and investors to maintain control over their transactions in the stock market at all times. These new opportunities have also sparked increased interest in the stock market area, which is an added advantage.

To put it simply, a web application designed for the stock market (as well as its mobile counterpart) caters to both those who seek attractive companies for long-term investment and those who are looking to make short-term deals.

Platform types

While there are various ways to categorize trading platforms, we have chosen to provide the simplest option by dividing them into two main groups.

Forex-oriented type

A forex trading platform is a software application that enables traders to access the foreign exchange market and manage their trades. These platforms provide tools and resources for analyzing the market, executing trades, and managing risk. Forex trading platforms can be web-based, mobile-based, or desktop-based and can be offered by brokers or other financial institutions.

Cryptocurrency-oriented type

It’s safe to assume that most people have heard of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and others. This type of trading platform is specifically designed to manage these assets, including buying and selling, as well as conducting various transactions.

It’s important to note that there are two options for exchanging cryptocurrency assets: centralized, which involves brokers, and decentralized, which operates on a peer-to-peer (P2P) model.

Must-have Features

Easy Registration: Registration should be a hassle-free and secure process, especially when it comes to financial data. Ideally, the trading app should provide multiple registration options, such as social media accounts, phone numbers, and email addresses. Moreover, modern trading apps must support biometric authentication methods like Touch ID (similar to E-Trade) to ensure robust security measures.

User Page: It is necessary to have a user page to manage personal information, which should be easily updatable and editable.

Interact With Stocks: One of the most critical features of a trading app is the ability to trade stocks or mutual funds while having access to necessary information to view and modify as required. This feature should be given utmost attention when developing a customized trading platform.

Payments And Transactions: The payments and transactions feature is essential for executing orders and enables monitoring and managing insights about the flow of funds. The selection of the best payment gateways depends entirely on your business model.

Easy Monitoring: Users must have access to real-time quote updates and monitoring. Also, providing various performance charts and reports is a wise choice as it enables stock market participants to analyze transaction results and trading statistics.

How to develop your platform?

To simplify the complex process of developing a stock market application, we recommend focusing on these factors.

Application design

Designing interfaces for the stock market is crucial, as even a minor mistake can result in failure. Therefore, it’s important to consider the following factors:

• UI/UX should be considered from the early stage of idea formulation and product requirements.
• Conducting usability testing is crucial to ensure that the product aligns with the original plan.
• UI/UX should simplify the stock market app development process. Prototyping and similar tools can provide technical support and aid developers in understanding how users will interact with the app.

Safety first

Security is crucial in finance, but it can be a delicate matter that may lead to user dissatisfaction. Some users find the authentication process tedious and inconvenient. It’s important to strike a balance between security and convenience, with security being a top priority. As a developer, you cannot compromise the security of the app to cater to user preferences. Users would not appreciate it if their assets are compromised due to lax security measures in the stock market application.

The development process

Backend Development: Backend development is a crucial aspect of building a trading platform, and it involves hiring a backend developer who specializes in server technologies such as databases, software logic, and architecture. The developer uses server programming languages and frameworks like Ruby, NodeJS, Python, Java, and .Net, as well as databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle, and MSSQL, or even distributed databases like SingleStore (formerly known as MemSQL) and DolphinDB, to store and manage linear and transactional data. With these tools, the developer can create features such as sign-in, transactions, alerts, and more.

Frontend Development: To create a stock market web application, front-end development is required for designing and developing web interfaces. Front-end developers are responsible for the “client-side” of the site, which includes everything the user interacts with. They need to be proficient in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and have experience building complex systems with tools such as Angular or React, as well as using libraries like Bootstrap and jQuery. In addition, they must have a good understanding of Ajax technology, which enables communication with the server without requiring a page refresh.

To conclude

You are now ready to search for skilled software developers specializing in the stock market and with sufficient experience in building a trading platform, or you can simply contact me and my team.