Building in the digital realms of Web2 and Web3
No matter what they say, there’s no ‘easy’ way to build in Web2 or in Web3. Sure, with Web2, you have various automation tools, CMS platforms and design tools like Canva, but you still need to know your way around setting it all up.
On top of that, there is maintenance, branding, images and content you need to take care of, along with any e-commerce or localisation needs you might have.
Web3 is a whole other kettle of fish. Need a minting site? You’re going to need a developer for that, or figure it out on your own. But you need to know your stuff. There is almost always gaps missing in the tutorials, or information that is left out, especially when the platform advertises, quick setup of minting site in 15 minutes. Yeah, it’s never going to take you only 15 minutes.
Or, if it does, you’ll be paying an arm and a leg for the privilege. Just like all those app development sites, where now, they tell you it is possible to setup a complete (slightly shitty) app with the click of a button. It’s the same thing here. It’s never a click of the button and they are expensive to host and also launch onto the various app stores.
App development and Web3 are quite similar in how they tout ease of use and future cases for development. They both have a complex code base, they both generally need humans to create the code and contracts, which can lead to irrevocable human error, and the apps are not generally available in a Web2 based browser. You need to download it on whichever device you are using.
Although, Web 3 differs on that last point with apps, as you can mirror a Web3 based application in a Web2 Browser, such as Google. You can also connect up the minting functionality, at least on the front-end, to enable people to mint on your un-mirrored site, while all the token economics and smart contracts do all the work on the Blockchain.
Perhaps it’s a simplified view and there’s probably someone out there who will people-slain this all to me, but the fact of the matter is, Web3 isn’t easy.
It’s not as integrated into our natural flow of tools we use everyday. Discord doesn’t count on this one. You pretty much always need a Web3 skilled (and it must be verifiable, smart contracts can be tricky) developer to help you set it all up, make sure it’s working as expected and to check all the smart contracts.
More on how to setup a mirrored site, or connect minting functionality to a pre-existing site in a following post. When I get around to it. For starters, you’ll need a domain name, but more on that later.
