How To Break Into Web3 Development - A Complete Guide
No bs. An Ultimate Step-By-Step Guide To Start Your Journey Into Web3 & Blockchain development
I promised in one of my tweets that if I hit 200+ followers, I'd write another web3 post. I greatly appreciate your support on Twitter and Hashnode.
So I'm writing this post to celebrate this milestone. 🎉🎉🎉.
Starting right now, you'll get a step-by-step guide to getting started with web3 and creating blockchain apps! This article is intended for beginners. If you're an expert, though, you'll uncover some new technologies you probably didn't know existed until the conclusion of this post, which will save you hours of research and make your web3 development job easier.
Introduction
In this article, I'll show you how I got into web3, and maybe, with this guide, you can get started on your web3 adventure as well.
Okay so let's break the ice. It's not that difficult to learn Web3. Don't worry if the terms and concepts are a little confusing. The 'Web3 Shinobi' is here to save the day 😝
The main difference between web3 and web2 applications is that web3 apps interact with the blockchain and have a blockchain-based backend.
Frontends for Web3 apps can also be written in React, Vue, or Angular. And with libraries like Web3.js and Ethers.js your frontend can connect to the ethereum blockchain, then BOOM! you're now officially a blockchain developer! haha just kidding. You'll need to put in a little more effort.
'Learn Web2 before learning Web3 is the best advice I can give you in 2022'
Why you should be a blockchain developer
- Earn Big . Blockchain developers earn between $120k-$200k every year. That's insane! Its 10-20% more than the average developer's income.
- High demand . As of now, there's a high demand for web3/blockchain developers worldwide so finding a job won't be that difficult
- Collaboration in other cutting-edge technologies . If you get into blockchain development, you have the chance to work with other technologies
Breakdown
- Understand The Basics
- Watch tutorials
- Start Coding
- Build a fullstack Dapp
- You're ready!
What does a web3 developer do?
In simple terms, a web3 developer creates decentralized full-stack apps that live on the blockchain and interact with it.
Web3 provides a new platform for developers to experiment with new concepts. It is easier to rise to the top by developing fresh app ideas since there is not much competition in the web3 space. You can create clones of today's huge internet platforms like Facebook, Reddit, Youtube, and others, but they won't collect user data since they'll be running on a decentralized internet.
Terms used in the web3 community
When you're just getting started with blockchain development, you'll hear a lot of these nerdy terms.
Web3: it's the connection between the Ethereum blockchain and your smart contract.
Ethereum : A decentralized, open-source blockchain that allows users to interact with the network by creating smart contracts. Its native cryptocurrency is Ether. In terms of market capitalization, Ether is the second most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin. It was created by Vitalik Buterin in 2013.
Smart Contracts: They are computer programs stored on a blockchain that runs when predetermined conditions are met. Smart contracts are written in the Solidity language.
Decentralized: A state where data isn't collected by a central entity, platform, or individual
Blockchain: A blockchain network is a peer-to-peer connection where information is shared across multiple devices making it almost impossible to hack. It is a system of recording information in a way that makes it difficult or impossible to change information saved on the network.
Solidity: An object-oriented programming language for writing smart contracts. It is used for implementing smart contracts on various blockchain platforms, most notably, Ethereum. Solidity's syntax is similar to javascript. To understand solidity, it's best you have a background in a programming language like javascript. Jumping straight into solidity is a bad idea
Dapp: Stands for Decentralized App. They are apps that have their backend code (smart contracts mostly written in Solidity) running on decentralized networks or blockchain. Dapps can be built with frontend frameworks like react, vue, or angular.
Types of Blockchain Developers
Core Blockchain Developers: The core blockchain engineers are in charge of the blockchain system's architecture and security protocols.
Blockchain Software Developers: These blockchain developers create Dapps by leveraging the design architecture given by Core Blockchain Developers.
1. Understand The Basics - Learn How Blockchain Works 🏗
It's always a good idea to know the fundamentals of a new technology before diving in.
In the context of Web3, you need to understand the basics of decentralization, how smart contracts, the blockchain & ethereum networks work.
Your best ally is documentation.
The majority of us despise reading documentation. However, in order to advance as a developer, you must become familiar with the documentation for each technology. It's the best approach to learn about the technology because the documentation tries to make it as simple as possible even for beginners.
To further understand web3, you'll need to be familiar with the Ethereum docs. The Solidity docs is also one great way to start.
2. Watch Tutorials - Learn Smart contracts & Solidity 📺
Watch tutorials videos on the blockchain, Solidity, and how to write smart contracts. If you're looking for free tutorials, I recommend YouTube. There are some excellent web3 courses available on Udemy too.
My advice is to not rely mostly on tutorial videos. Practice what you've learned to get out of tutorial hell. You may create simple projects to put yourself to the test.
Top YouTube channels for learning Blockchain & Web3 development:
- Dapp University
- WhatTheFunc
- Ethereum foundation
- What’s Solidity
- Blockgeeks
- Code Expert
- Eat The Blocks
- FineMatics
- Solana
- Austin Griffith
3. Start Coding 👨💻
Practice makes perfect.
Using web3.js and the Ethers.js libraries, you can develop decentralized applications that reside and interact with the blockchain.
🛠 Tools you need:
- Truffle
- Remix IDE
- MetaMask
- Ganache
- Ethers.js or Web3.js
Truffle
These two libraries provide a development environment compiling and testing smart contracts using the Ethereum Virtual Machine
With over 1.5 million downloads, Truffle is the most popular tool for developing blockchain applications.
The Remix IDE
You may use the Remix IDE to make things easier, especially if you're a newbie. You can use this to create, modify, and execute smart contracts right from your browser. The Remix IDE is a perfect environment for writing, and playing around with smart contracts
MetaMask
A Chrome extension that allows you to connect to the Ethereum blockchain network from your browser
Ganache
Ganache gives you a local blockchain environment for testing your smart contracts. Whatever you do on this local blockchain stays on your PC. In my next article, we're gonna write a full-stack React dapp and deploy it to the public blockchain. If you go with the Remix IDE, there's no need to install Ganache and Truffle.
Ethers.js & Web3.js
Web3. js and ethers. js are JavaScript libraries that allow your web app to interact with the Ethereum blockchain from the client-side (frontend)x
Truffle vs Remix IDE
They both allow you to test and deploy contracts, but truffle can be used as a build dependency in projects, whereas remix is more of an editor.
When it comes to building Dapps, I prefer truffle, and when it comes to testing and debugging, I go with Remix.
4. Build a fullstack Dapp🎖
You can now begin working on your own project. If you want to add a user interface to your project, react.js, vue.js, or angular.js are good javascript frontend frameworks since they can easily integrate with the blockchain network using ethers.js or web3.js.
No-Code Dapp platforms⚡
There are various platforms that allow you to create a complete Dapp without writing code such as:
Dapp Ideas💡
- No-code ethereum app platforms to make it easier for a dev to build dapps
- Blockchain-based voting system
- Crowdfunding Platform
- Fake Product Identification System
- Decentralized video/music sharing platform
- Blockchain-based social media platform
- Peer To Peer Ridesharing
You're ready!
At this stage, Congratulations! 🥳🍾🎉 You are now a blockchain developer. You can become a:
- Smart Contract Engineer
- Indie Blockchain Engineer
- Fullstack Engineer
- Front-End Web3 Engineer
- Solidity Developer
- Web Developer (Web3/React)
Salary
- Solidity developer in Asia $100k - $150k/yr
- Solidity developer in the U.S $80k - $180k/yr
- Remote Solidity developer $100k - $200k/yr
- Smart Contract Engineer $100k - $120k/yr
- Indie Blockchain Engineer $120 - $200/hr
- Fullstack Engineer $80k - $175k/yr
Platforms for finding a job as a web3 developer
Conclusion
Basically, that's how I got into web3 development. Do you want to learn how to build a Dapp with React & Solidity? Watch out for my next post
I hope you liked this article 🔥. If you have any questions Let's have a chat 💬
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