How to become a developer in web3

As web3 evolves, it opens the door to a lot of employment opportunities in the space. One of the most sought-after professions amongst web3 professionals is web3 development. The scarcity of web3 developers has caused an immense growth in salary for web3 professionals. The question is: Do you have what it takes to walk the unconventional journey?

If you are starting from scratch, there are high possibilities that you might not have the exact answer. In this post, we will share a list of guides for you to get started with your web3 developer journey.

What do you need to know to become a web3 developer?

Know the basics of blockchain

A blockchain is an immutable distributed ledger that stores every transaction ever made on the network. It is decentralized, meaning that there is no central authority that controls it or administers it – it is managed by everyone who uses it. And because of this, blockchains are incredibly secure: they are virtually impossible to hack into and tamper with because they use cryptography to keep transactions secure. If you want to become a developer in web3, then you need to understand the basics of blockchain technology.

Knowledge of Decentralized Apps (DApps)

If you want to become a web3 developer, your best bet is to learn about decentralized apps. Decentralized apps are apps that are built on blockchain technology. They are different from traditional apps in that they do not rely on centralized servers—instead, they store information in a distributed network of computers called nodes. This means that there is no one person or company in charge of the data or content. Decentralized apps are also referred to as DApps (short for "decentralized applications").

Aspiring web developers should know about DApps and the technologies associated with them. Technologies used for frontend development in dApps are Javascript frameworks such as Vue, React, and Angular. For backend development would be Rust and Solana or Solidity and Ethereum.

One of the main uses of dApps is payments using cryptocurrency which provides an easy and secure transfer. Other than that, it is also used to manage records with integrity as data added on the blockchain cannot be edited or removed.

Fundamentals of Frontend Web Development

The fundamentals of frontend web development are crucial, as they help you build the foundation of your code base and make sure it is stable. You will need to learn about HTML, CSS, CSS frameworks, Javascript, and Javascript frameworks.

The first thing you will want to do is learn how to write HTML and CSS—this is where the bulk of your code will be written. Once you have got that down, move on to learning some CSS frameworks. There are lots of different frameworks out there that can help speed up your development time and make your code easier to read by other developers. You should also learn about Javascript — it is an important part of front-end development because it allows users to interact with the site in new ways like making forms or interacting with scroll events on web pages.

Once you have got those basics down, move on to learning about specific JavaScript frameworks like React or VueJS which are used by many developers today because they can provide functionality like routing between pages in an application (something that was not possible before this technology came out).

Ethereum Fundamentals

If you are not familiar with Ethereum, it is a platform where developers can build decentralized applications (DApps) on top of it using smart contracts. A smart contract is an agreement between two or more parties that are stored digitally on the blockchain and executed automatically when certain conditions are met.

There are many ways to learn how to program in Solidity but one of the best ways to start learning is via online courses such as those offered by Udemy or Coursera. You can also find some tutorials on Youtube and Google search for them easily so you do not have trouble finding them!

Smart contracts

Learning smart contracts is a great way to start your journey as a developer in web3. By learning how to write smart contracts, you will be able to build decentralized applications with ease. You will also be able to create your decentralized applications, which can be used by other developers or businesses.

Smart contracts are like traditional contracts in that they establish obligations between two parties, but they are digital and do not require third-party verification. They contain code that executes automatically when certain conditions are met. There are many ways to learn how to write smart contracts, but one of the best ways is by using Solidity (the Ethereum programming language), which is what most people use when coding in Ethereum's blockchain.

You can learn Solidity for free from FreeCodeCamp

Connecting Smart Contracts to Frontend

Two main libraries help you connect smart contracts to the front end: Web3.js and Ethers.js. Both of these are Javascript libraries that allow you to call your smart contract functions and use them on your website or application front.

Ethers.js shows better benefits when compared to web3.js. Ethers.js is much smaller in size (which means it loads faster than web3.js), has fewer bugs, and has better documentation. In addition, having extra features makes it a popular choice among web3 developers and also easy to use for beginners.

Here are a few tutorials for you to get started in web3.js and ethers.js

Development Tools: Alchemy, Remix, Hardhat

If you want to be a web3 developer, it’s a good idea to learn some basic web development tools. Here is an overview of three tools that are commonly used by web developers: Alchemy, Remix, and Hardhat. Alchemy is a developer tool that makes it easy to prototype, debug and ship new products. Alchemy works with Ethereum, Polygon, and Starknet blockchains, and it offers NFT API that allows you to launch your digital collectibles or project easily. Other perks of Alchemy are the supercharged blockchain API and also web3.0 push notifications. Remix, a browser-based IDE to build Ethereum smart contracts through Solidity, eliminates the need for any setup. You can start writing your code immediately and it compiles it for you. It also helps you test your code easily and deploy it once you’re ready. Repetitive testing and possible changes before deploying a contract could be quite a hassle and tough for web3 developers. Here is where having skills in Hardhat would help. Hardhat offers a local Ethereum environment that enables developers to use the local network for deploying contracts and employing different tests. Other than that, it also helps you to debug Solidity code. Another alternative for Hardhat would be Truffle. Truffle allows you to compile your smart contracts and use them in your front-end code.

Development Tools: Alchemy, Remix, Hardhat

Hopefully, the list above will be an excellent kickstart if you are starting to learn this new field. It is important to stay curious and motivated as you dive into this field. Contribute to a project, join an online community forum and ask questions, and let people know what you are building. Develop your portfolio so that you can show your future employer what you can do for them. It is through this that you gain the expertise which makes you stand out among all other potential web3 developers. Let us know how your journey goes!