What is the best tech stack for Telegram mini apps development?

As you probably already know, Telegram mini apps are bots or web apps integrated within the platform that allow users to interact with your company or product inside Telegram. 

They let you do things like play games, use tools, or get services without leaving the platform. To make a Mini App, you need to know how to build websites and how to use Telegram's special tools.

In our previous guide, we explained, step-by-step, the entire roadmap for creating your own mini app. In this one, we'll show you the best tools for that. 

We'll explain what each tool does, how to set it up, and why it's helpful for building top telegram mini apps.

What are Telegram mini apps for exactly?

Telegram Mini Apps are for you if you want to bring your services directly to your user's fingertips within one of the messaging platforms currently on the market. Here’s why you should give them a chance if you haven’t already:

• They are very convenient. They will help eliminate the need to switch between apps for different services.
• They will drive your engagement. How about increasing user interaction through interactive content and features?
• They are also quite efficient. Improve essential internal processes for your company like customer support, transactions, and information distribution.
• They are good at accessibility, too. Make sure to provide services to users regardless of their device or operating system as long as they have Telegram.

Web app or bot?

So, first of all, you can go two ways when getting yourself a Telegram mini app:

1. Bots. These are text-based interactions that work entirely within Telegram. They can handle queries, send content, and integrate with your services.
2. Web apps. Telegram also supports web apps, and they are more interactive and graphical. Users will access your website or app directly within Telegram, almost like opening a mini-browser.

Your developer (we can advise you to consider Merge as your design and development partner, of course) can use either, depending on your needs.

Telegram bot API

The Telegram Bot API is the foundation of your mini app. With it’s help, you get functionalities like message handling, user authentication, and media sharing.

Tools you need:

BotFather. The official Telegram bot to create and manage bots. It gives you an authentication token (Bot Token) to integrate your app with Telegram.

Telegraf.js. A framework for building Telegram bots and mini-apps using Node.js with quite an extensive feature set and intuitive syntax that greatly simplifies mini app development.

Here's the basic process:

1. Create a Telegram bot

Basically, you go to Telegram, open the BotFather, and then just follow the instructions to set up a bot. You’ll get a bot token. It will be your key that helps your bot to communicate with Telegram servers.

2. Use the API

Developers use this token to interact with Telegram servers, send/receive messages, and connect your mini-app to users.

Additional very useful resources:

• Telegram bot API documentation - a detailed guide that your developers will use to connect your app to Telegram's infrastructure
• Telegram web apps guide
• Stack Overflow Telegram API questions

Tech involved:

- HTTP requests (API calls)

- Webhooks or long polling (methods to receive messages)

Payment and wallet integration

Do you wnat to make money from your Telegram mini app? If yes, add a payment system. Your options are selling premium features, offering subscriptions, or showing ads. 

First of all, pick a reliable payment gateway that works with Telegram, such as Stripe or PayPal. You can also use Apple Pay and Google Pay, which are already available in Telegram. If you want your users to make cryptocurrency transactions, be sure to add Telegram's Wallet SDK. 

To set up payments, create a developer account with your chosen payment gateway and link your bank account. Then, connect the payment gateway to your app's backend to securely process those payments.

1. Protect user data with HTTPS connections and encryption. 

2. Test your payment system to see if it works smoothly and fix any issues.

Once payments are set up, use analytics tools to track your earnings and see how users are interacting with your payment system.

Development tools

When you’re building a Telegram Mini App, think of it as a web app with Telegram’s capabilities baked right in. For the most part, you don’t even need to stray that far from the usual web development tech stack. 

First of all, your mini app will need to be written in a programming language with specific frameworks to make the process smoother. 

If you're planning to create a Telegram Web App (an interactive interface inside Telegram), you’ll need to build a small website that users access within Telegram, so start with frontend in this case:

Frontend (for web apps), starring:

• HTML/CSS/JavaScript as core languages for building web interfaces.
• React.js, Vue.js, or Svelte as JavaScript frameworks that are there for building highly interactive front-end apps. With React, for example, you’ll get reusable components.
• Bootstrap or TailwindCSS as a little bit of help for easy and responsive web designs.

Then, the essentials include:

Python

In Telegram mini apps, Python is used because it’s simple and quite popular.

Libraries: `python-telegram-bot`, `aiogram` (asynchronous)

Node.js

Popular for real-time, scalable applications.

Libraries: `node-telegram-bot-api`, `telegraf`

PHP

Common for web apps and popular among developers.

Libraries: `telegram-bot-sdk`

Go

Great for performance and scalability.

Libraries: `tgbotapi`

Frameworks:

• Flask or Django (for Python) will help with building the server-side logic.
• Express.js (for Node.js) will implifies building the back-end services of your mini app.

Database:

If your app needs to remember user information or store data (like user profiles, settings, logs, purchases, quiz results, etc.), you’ll need a database. There are relational databases (SQL) that are great for structured data - here, MySQL and PostgreSQL are quite reliable. 

NoSQL databases are more flexible with unstructured data. Examples are MongoDB, which works well with flexible schemas, or Firebase - it’s a managed NoSQL database by Google and is useful for data syncing.

Example tech stack

Here's a quick example tech stack for building your Telegram mini app:

1. Frontend with JavaScript and React.js
2. Backend with Node.js and Telegraf.js
3. Payment gateway with Stripe
4. Wallet integration with Wallet SDK
5. Analytics with Google Analytics
6. Server with Node.js and Express.js

Key considerations in Telegram mini apps development

Based on our experience building Telegram mini apps, there are also some factors to keep in mind:

1. Integrations. You can get seamless functionality by better studying and executing each integration aspect.

2. Authorization protocol. Be certain that you understand and adhere to Telegram's guidelines and protocols for user authentication and access control.

3. Server configuration and architecture. You also need strong server configurations and architectures to efficiently manage the user traffic you anticipate.

4. Solution version. Based on your project's objectives and target audience, choose either a mobile or web-based solution.

Summary

If you still hesitate, look at this guide as a sign to tap into Telegram Mini Apps. They're evolving fast with new multimedia features, augmented reality, and tighter integration with other platforms.

Performance is improving across the board - even on slow devices or limited internet. This means a wider audience can smoothly use your apps. It’s definitely wise to take advantage of expanded customization options like themes and layouts to enhance user engagement.

Don't hesitate to also integrate emerging technologies like blockchain, AI, and IoT to offer innovative solutions. With Telegram's massive global user base, there's huge potential for adoption. Seize this opportunity and contact Merge.