App Development Best Practices

Contentstack provides an App Framework that makes it easy to build mobile apps for Contentstack Marketplace. This document explores some best practices to help app developers quickly build high-performing apps.

Developers can follow these guidelines and simplify the app developing, managing, reviewing and the approval process for their apps.

Here are the some recommended methods:

1. Use Venus Component Library
2. Define Project Structure
3. Follow Naming Conventions
4. Thorough Code Testing
5. Logging and Monitoring
6. App Security
7. Incidence Response
8. App Documentation

Use Venus Component Library

We highly recommend you to use the Venus React Component Library to build Contentstack-based applications. The Venus framework offers a comprehensive collection of Contentstack's UI components, helping you keep consistency
throughout the app development process.

Define Project Structure

• While building a project, defining a scalable project structure is essential. The project architecture and folder structure depends on the complexity of your project. Here are some factors to consider while creating a good project structure.
• The folder layout should be designed according to the requirements of the project. You can use the component-centric file structure, the file grouping method or any other structure method of your choice.
• Developers can add CSS to style and theme large projects easily.
• Transform a component into a higher order by reusing the component logic in the render method.

Follow Naming Conventions

Throughout the project, follow standard naming conventions. Developers can use the Pascal case to name components and Camel case to name the functions/ methods inside the components.

Thorough Code Testing

• Avoid potential errors in your code by automating the testing process. You can also use the linter process to analyze the code and fix language code style related errors automatically.
• To ensure your application provides a quality experience to the end users, you can add end to end test cases to try and verify the flow of the app.
• Automated testing allows you to run thousands of automated test cases simultaneously which will help you achieve an extensive test coverage. In addition, you can conduct automated testing on a regular basis to ensure high quality and performance of apps.

Logging and Monitoring

• Writing logs can help you to analyze the app, monitor the performance, find bugs and troubleshoot errors in your app.
• Follow some best logging practices like using the suitable logging library, including structured logging, writing detailed log event messages, and avoid logging sensitive information of your app.
• Furthermore, logs can also be used to audit the performance of your system and generate useful behavioral statistics of your app.
• Frequent app monitoring is essential to provide uninterrupted service to the users. This can be achieved with periodic health checks and monitoring downtime.
• Monitor the speed and wait-time of your app’s API Latency, to ensure low wait time on the loading speed.

App Security

• The app should be scanned for potential vulnerability at regular intervals on production infrastructure. The vulnerability scan results should be triaged and a timeline to remediate the vulnerability should be provided.
• Apps should have the capability to encrypt data exchanged over the internet using HTTPS. A valid TLS certificate, or SSH, should also be present.
• Store client ID and client secret keys securely. We suggest you store them as environmental variables.
• Apps should be able to delete all user data within 30 days when such request is received from the user.
• Tokens, client IDs, and client secrets should be encrypted by the app.
• It is mandatory for OAuth Apps to authenticate using an OAuth token.

Incidence Response

• Before listing the app on Contentstack Marketplace, provide a clear incident response plan to the users. It is best if the incident response team works within the organization to work on the issues.
• Inform the Contentstack Marketplace team within 24 hours of any confirmed incident. Provide users with instructions on what to do when an incident occurs.

App Documentation

• The app should have supported documents to guide the users through the app installation, set up and usage process.
• Support your documentation with Screenshots and Videos wherever possible to help users understand the app features and process in detail.
• Lastly, you must try out, verify and review the content before publishing it on your website.