“How to Learn Web3 development for beginners”

Web3 is the next generation of the Web2 internet. It embraces decentralization and your data lives on the blockchain. It’s more “freeing” than the restrictive security measures of Web2 and doesn’t center around large companies. Therefore, a Web3 developer builds decentralized online applications on the Ethereum blockchain.

And it’s all the rage. 

A Web3 Developer can earn up to $130K per year! This industry is booming and has become all the talk in developer communities. So, if you’re ready to take some time to learn Web3 Development, we’ve made a great beginner-friendly roadmap for you!

Table Of Content

• Learn Blockchain Fundamentals
• DApps and Frontend Development
• Smart Contracts
• Solidity
• Wallets
• Follow the Right People
• Build Your Portfolio
• Conclusion

Learn Blockchain Fundamentals

Blockchain, in simple terms, is kind of like a decentralized public ledger that records every transaction through multiple computers. This makes it impossible to hack or cheat the system. Information is stored in blocks connected by hashes: each block has its hash and the hash of the previous block – much like a chain! And that’s where the term “Blockchain” comes from!

If somebody decides to tamper with the chain, the hash changes and the next block becomes invalid, forcing the hacker to try again. These copies of blockchains are stored in computers called nodes all over the world, so to hack the system you’d have to have access to all these computers. So it’s impossible for a computer to not notice the tampering and kick the hacker out. 

Blockchain is a fundamental aspect to focus on when you learn Web3 development. Some courses of interest are Blockchain: Foundations and Use Cases by Coursera, Blockchain A-Z by Udemy, and Blockchain Fundamentals by Pluralsight.

DApps and Frontend Development

Now, this is what you’ll be focused on most when you learn Web3 Development! Decentralized Applications, or DApps, are apps that are built upon the blockchain. The leading technologies used are React, Vue, and Angular (for Frontend) or Rust, Solana, Ethereum, or Solidity (for Backend). 

Some ways in which DApps are useful are keeping records secure, ensuring timely money transfers, and cryptocurrencies, which are known to be incredibly safe and convenient to work with. You’ll discover more interesting aspects of crypto as you continue to learn Web3 development!

Frontend development requires practice within three web design languages – HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. As previously mentioned, the Backend is laid on top of the blockchain, which causes developers to prioritize the Frontend. You can utilize the best blockchain SDKs to build your websites and speed up development time.

As mentioned before, some programming languages frameworks to use are:

• Angular/Vue/React – JavaScript frameworks
• Bootstrap, Semantic UI, Tailwind, etc – CSS frameworks

Some frameworks to focus on as you learn Web3 development are:

• Truffle Framework
• Hardhat Framework
• OpenZeppelin SDK
• Chainlink SDK

Smart Contracts

These are used to power DApps. They’re contracts that are executed by strong irreversible code on the blockchain – so basically they’re just like any computer program. Smart Contracts are the foundation of DApps. Understanding and utilizing these are essential when you learn Web3 development, as you’ll be making Smart Contracts of your own. It would definitely take some time to learn as it’s very similar to Java and C++. 

Solidity

This is where you’d start to use Solidity, which is the most popular programming language when it comes to developing any kind of Smart Contacts. When it comes to learning Web3 Development, the market for Solidity developers is by far the biggest because Ethereum is something many businesses are interested in. And it seems like Ethereum is going to last for a while. Some important things from Solidity you must focus on are:

• Variables and functions
• Enumerated lists
• Arrays
• Mappings
• Conditionals and Loops
• Simple Smart Contract examples

Smart Contracts are run on the Ethereum Virtual Machine, which is where DApps are deployed. The gas fee is a blockchain transaction fee and helps keep the Ethereum network secure. It depends on the complexity of the Smart Contract. This process ensures that there aren’t numerous, incredibly complex Smart Contracts in the Virtual Machine, so the system doesn’t overload. 

Wallets

A wallet in Web3 Development is simply a digital wallet or “crypto wallet” that holds digital assets. Those digital assets consist of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens). They’re non-custodial, so there’s no third party involved in storing these digital assets, thus maintaining privacy and anonymity. And since the Web3 platform is still very new, there are many new developments made that would prove to be exceptionally useful! You should always keep an eye out for these as you learn Web3 development!

Every Web3 Developer would need these wallets to interact with DApps as most DApps require crypto assets. It’s the first thing anyone should focus on when dealing with cryptocurrencies. 

Follow the Right People

In the age of the Internet, access to information is incredibly easy. You can learn things from social media, streaming channels, and such websites. When you take the time to learn Web3 development, you’ll also require some facts and tidbits about Web3 in your dashboard as well! Practices like these would be especially useful in your journey to learn Web3 development! Some people you could follow are Vitalik Buterin (co-founder of Ethereum) on Twitter, Ty Smith, CEO of Coinbound on YouTube, and Aftab Hussain, an Advisor, and NFT curator, also on Twitter. 

Build Your Portfolio

Building a portfolio is crucial after you learn Web3 Development. You’d definitely want to show off your programming skills and creativity – it’s what’s gonna attract potential clients right to your doorstep! The secret to winning is to continuously keep building and practicing your work. Some important things to add to your portfolio are:

• A frontend
• A smart contract
• Some (Solidity) code optimizations with comments explaining why
• Unit tests for everything
• A local test network setup

Your portfolio would also contain things such as appraisals, testimonies, and your overall resume.

Conclusion

These are simply the basic pointers to guide you when you learn Web3 development – the rest is up to you! As mentioned before, Web3 Development is still an up-and-coming field, rising incredibly fast, which gives it lots of potentials. There are still lots of things to understand and discover, so remember to do your research as well! You wouldn’t want to miss out on some new and useful developments!

Also, learn how to become a front end developer and how to become a back end developer.