The Database Decision Shapes Your Entire Application
Your choice of database affects application performance, development speed, hosting costs, and long-term maintainability. For Caribbean developers building web applications, this decision must account for factors like hosting availability in the region, team expertise, and the nature of the data being stored. There is no universally correct choice — each option involves trade-offs that depend on your specific use case.
Relational databases like PostgreSQL and MySQL remain the workhorses of web development. They excel when your data has clear relationships — customers have orders, orders contain products, products belong to categories. SQL, the query language for relational databases, is one of the most widely known skills among Caribbean developers, making these databases a safe choice from a staffing perspective.
PostgreSQL: The Versatile Choice
PostgreSQL has emerged as the preferred relational database for modern web applications, and for good reason. It offers robust JSON support, which provides document-database flexibility when you need it, alongside full relational capabilities. Extensions like PostGIS add geospatial functionality useful for location-based services in Jamaica. PostgreSQL's support for full-text search can eliminate the need for a separate search engine for many applications. Managed PostgreSQL services from providers like Neon, Supabase, and Railway offer generous free tiers that make it accessible for Caribbean startups.
MongoDB and Document Databases
MongoDB stores data as flexible JSON-like documents rather than rows in tables. This flexibility is valuable when your data structure varies between records or evolves frequently — for example, a product catalog where different product types have different attributes. MongoDB Atlas, the managed service, is straightforward to set up and includes a free tier. However, the lack of enforced schema can lead to data quality issues if your team is not disciplined, and complex queries involving multiple collections can be less efficient than SQL joins.
Managed Database Services for Caribbean Teams
Self-hosting a database on a VPS requires ongoing maintenance — security patches, backup management, performance tuning, and disaster recovery planning. Managed database services handle these operational tasks, allowing Caribbean development teams to focus on building features. PlanetScale offers managed MySQL with a branching workflow similar to Git. Supabase provides managed PostgreSQL with built-in authentication and real-time subscriptions. The monthly cost of a managed service is almost always less than the effective cost of the developer time required to maintain a self-hosted database.
Data Residency and Latency Considerations
Caribbean businesses handling sensitive data should consider where their database is physically hosted. Most managed database services default to US East regions, which provides reasonable latency for Caribbean applications. However, businesses subject to data protection regulations may need to ensure their data remains in specific jurisdictions. Evaluate each provider's available regions and data processing agreements. For latency-sensitive applications, consider using a read replica or caching layer to reduce the impact of geographic distance from the primary database.
