Interest in Ethereum development is surging, as companies increasingly begin to adopt blockchain technology. It’s no secret that Ethereum developers are in high demand, and supply simply cannot keep up with the demand. One reason for this could be that programmers might think that Ethereum development is too much of a challenge. However, Ethereum development is not as difficult as it might seem, especially if you utilize Moralis. In this “Ethereum Development for Beginners” article, we’ll go over everything you need to know to start your Ethereum development journey.

Throughout the sections below, we’ll cover all you’ll need to know to enable you to set up the essential tools for Ethereum development with Moralis. This will help you start working on simple Ethereum-based projects right away. Furthermore, while there may be quite a few reputable blockchains available, Ethereum remains the leading one for dApp development. As such, learning Ethereum programming is the way to go. 

We will cover four main tools that are simple and easy to use, which will be helpful in your development process. However, the most important tool that will dramatically accelerate your Web3 development is, of course, Moralis. Moralis is the leading Web3 development platform on the market. As such, it enables developers to focus on the frontend part of their applications as Moralis takes care of the backend. Therefore, Moralis makes Ethereum development for beginners an uncomplicated and straightforward process. If you already have decent JavaScript skills, this article will provide you with additional knowledge to advance your Ethereum development process. The best part about Moralis is that it’s free. So, make sure to sign up with Moralis today!

Basic Tools for Ethereum Development

As mentioned, we will help you get acquainted with four basic tools that’ll make Ethereum development for both beginners and experienced programmers as simple as possible when combining these tools with Moralis. However, you can consider this article as a beginner’s guide for Ethereum development. It covers four tools that can help you when building with Moralis. These include MetaMask, Visual Studio Code, Node.js, and Ganache. However, do not worry if you’re not already familiar with these tools. Throughout this article, we will briefly introduce and explain each of them and instruct where to obtain them.

Instead of diving deep into the theory of Ethereum development, it’s better to start learning Ethereum programming by taking action. Thus, all of the tools presented herein will enable you to start working on simple projects right away and, as such, gradually master Ethereum development for beginners. Then, you can move on to more advanced projects and tasks and level up your skills. A great place to get some ideas and follow-along tutorials for practice is Moralis’ YouTube channel. Without any further ado, let’s take a look at the first tool.

1. MetaMask

If you’ve got experience buying cryptocurrencies from Uniswap or any other decentralized exchange (DEX), you most likely already know of MetaMask. However, to ensure that we are all on the same page, let’s start with the basics. MetaMask is one of the most popular cryptocurrency wallets. It supports a wide range of coins and tokens, which you can send, receive, and even exchange right inside the wallet interface. Moreover, MetaMask may also be used as an authentication tool for Web3 apps. As an Ethereum developer, you should know how to implement MetaMask for your dApp. That way, users can sign in, sign transactions, and more. With Moralis, you can implement MetaMask and authenticate users with just one line of code.

To obtain MetaMask, you have two options: download their mobile app, or install the browser extension. However, we will be using MetaMask’s browser extension throughout this article. So, we strongly recommend you to use it as well.

To start using MetaMask, enter their URL address (https://metamask.io) into the URL bar. That way, you’ll be directed to their official website and stay on the safe side instead of using a search engine that can provide untrustworthy results. 

On the official MetaMask website, click the “Download” option in the top-right corner. Then, select between Chrome, iOS, and Android, and finally, click the “Install MetaMask for Chrome” button.

For a more in-depth overview of what MetaMask is and how to use it, we recommend reading the following article from Moralis: “MetaMask Explained – What is MetaMask”. 

Now, let’s move on to the second tool that we need on our “Ethereum Development for Beginners” journey. 

2. Visual Studio Code

To learn Ethereum development, the next tool you need to obtain and practice with is a code editor. As you can probably imagine, there are many reputable code editors available online for free. However, we will focus on Visual Studio Code. The simplest and the safest way to access this tool is to type or copy and paste their official URL (https://code.visualstudio.com) directly into the URL address bar. 

Once you’ve landed on their official website, click the “Download” button (make sure to select your operating system). Then install the application on your computer and launch it right away. Now, we need to help you set up some basics. 

To make sure that you learn Ethereum programming properly, you need to install a couple of extensions within Visual Studio Code. You may not need those extensions right away; however, they will be essential for your Ethereum programming down the line. The extensions that we are about to cover will greatly help you with coding and debugging. 

To add extensions in Visual Studio Code, use the top navigation bar, click on “View”, and then “Extensions” in the drop-down menu. You can also use the bottom icon in the sidebar (as seen in the image below) to add extensions.

The three extensions that we recommend installing (use the search bar to find them) are:

• ES7 React/Redux/GraphQL/React-Native snippets.
• Live Server.
• Solidity.

We also recommend you to go to “View > Terminal” (you can see that option at the bottom of the drop-down menu in the above image), which will enable you to interact with your application directly from the command line. 

3. Node.js

The third tool that you’ll need to install is Node.js. By now, you know the drill – type the tool’s official website URL address (https://nodejs.org) into the URL bar. At this point, we also want to tell you that by using Moralis, you won’t be needing Node.js that often. However, there may be instances that require executing tasks outside the browser. Moreover, Node.js will also play a significant role in situations that will require you to install additional JS packages (such as NPM packages). 

In case you might think you already have Node.js installed but are not sure, use the terminal inside Visual Studio Code by typing “node”. The result will tell you if you have it installed or not. In case you actually already have it, the terminal will tell you which version you have (see the image below).

If you don’t have Node.js installed yet, the above step will return some sort of error. If so, you want to visit the official Node.js website (as explained above), click the “Downloads” option in the top menu bar, and then download the version that matches your operating system. Once downloaded, install Node.js to your computer. Then you will be able to interact with Node.js via the terminal command line inside Visual Studio Code.

We are now ready to move on to the fourth and final tool of this “Ethereum Development for Beginners” article. Remember, the main purpose of this article is to ensure that you equip yourself with the recommended tools to learn Ethereum programming properly.

4. Ganache

The process of downloading and installing Ganache follows the same steps as for the previous three tools. Simply use the tool’s official website URL address (https://www.trufflesuite.com/ganache) and enter it into the URL bar. Once there, download and install it on your computer. 

Ganache is useful for creating a local blockchain environment on your computer. This is extremely practical as it helps you create a “sandbox” environment where you can practice and test your dApps for free (not paying for the transaction fees). If you know a thing or two about Ethereum, then you are aware of the high gas fees related to that blockchain. As such, it makes sense to avoid spending a ton of ETH while developing dApps, especially when you’re just starting out with Ethereum programming. 

Once you have Ganache installed and running, it will give you two main options: “QUICKSTART” and “NEW WORKSPACE”, as shown in the image below. Select the one best suited for your needs.

When you’re inside your Ganache workspace, it will provide you with multiple ETH addresses that include funds to play with, which you can use for testing (see the image below).

That’s all the four tools that we’ve marked as essential when it comes to Ethereum development for beginners. You can also watch the following video that will help you with the steps presented above.

 Furthermore, as mentioned previously, Moralis is the premier tool that you can’t afford to go on without as it will enable you to deliver end results with impressive speed and ease. Moreover, we highly recommend checking out the Moralis documentation that has a section showing how we can use the power of Moralis to build a simple dApp in 3 minutes. 

Learn Ethereum Programming – The Ultimate Shortcut

We strongly recommend the above four tools for everyone looking to learn Ethereum programming. Moreover, as you advance your Ethereum development skills, you will surely use all of them and will also add many other tools to your arsenal. However, since we are strong believers in effectiveness and efficiency, we’d like to make things as simple as possible for you. As such, Ethereum development for beginners can be further simplified by utilizing Moralis. You can create phenomenal dApps fast and easily by using Moralis in combination with MetaMask and many other tools. 

Moralis enables you to use your JavaScript skills and devote your maximum attention to frontend development. That way, you’ll ensure a spectacular user experience, which is the main purpose of most projects. If you have a great user experience, people will use your dApps; there is no question about that. Moreover, you can save vast amounts of time that would otherwise be wasted on dealing with rather complicated backend blockchain-related programming.

Furthermore, we know that some of you may not know JavaScript yet. If that’s the case, we also have a solution for you. At Ivan on Tech Academy, there’s a great course called “JavaScript Programming for Blockchain Developers” that teaches you JavaScript and prepares you to use it in blockchain development. Just click the link above and sign up for this course that will advance your career and help you go full-time crypto in no time! 

Ethereum Development for Beginners – Summary

We’ve covered a lot of ground in this article. At this stage, you know that there are four basic tools that you’ll need sooner or later as you learn Ethereum programming. These four tools are MetaMask, Visual Studio Code, Node.js, and Ganache. Furthermore, throughout the article, we’ve provided you with instructions on how to obtain each of these tools and set up the basics. 

Moreover, you’ve also been introduced to the ultimate Web3 development platform, Moralis. You now know that Moralis is free and powerful, which makes Moralis the leading platform on the market. It’s also easy to use, greatly thanks to its neat documentation. The documentation is designed to help you speed up your learning curve and the actual process of delivering dApps. Furthermore, to get started with Moralis and build dApps, you only need one of the four tools presented herein – MetaMask. However, you do need to know JavaScript. 

Fortunately, MetaMask is basically one of the simplest tools to use, and JavaScript is an easy programming language to master. However, even if you don’t know anything about the latter, there’s a nice course available at the Academy that will take you from the “Ethereum Development for Beginners” stage to pro-level in no time.

Now you have all the information you need to learn Ethereum programming at your disposal. As such, make sure to take action – start working on some example projects, learn more details about Moralis, expand your JavaScript skills, etc. Go full-time crypto today!