Do you want to get started in Web3 development? 2023 is an excellent time to do so as each year brings us closer to mainstream adoption of Web3! Now, if you’d like to learn Web3 development, there are a few core elements you must familiarize yourself with, including the tech behind it and fundamental concepts. In this article, we’re going to explore all of this. As we do so, we will answer questions such as “what is Web3 development?” and “how can you learn Web3 development in 2023?”.
Moving forward, you’ll first learn what Web3 development is. Then, we’ll also explain what a Web3 programmer is and whether becoming such a programmer is a good career choice. Next, we’ll focus on how you can learn the required skills to qualify for a career in Web3. This is where you’ll learn about the leading educational platforms to become a Web3 developer. Furthermore, we’ll explain what we believe is the ultimate approach to Web3 programming with a proven track record. Last but not least, we’ll take a look at the future of Web3 development!
What is Web3 Development?
Web3 development involves establishing the new iteration of the world wide web. In this process, programmers, coders, engineers, and visionaries are involved, as they all contribute in one way or another to Web3. Web3 is all about ownership, meaning that it brings control into the hands of internet users and eliminates centralized behemoths imposing censorship, data manipulation, and privacy exploitation.
This natural evolution of the internet was initiated by the birth of blockchain technology. While Bitcoin was the “All-father” of blockchain, the deployment of Ethereum – the first programmable blockchain network – marks the beginning of Web3. The latter utilizes the power of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), which is a Turing-complete virtual machine that serves as the environment in which all Ethereum accounts and smart contracts live.
The Ethereum blockchain remains the leading Web3 network to this day. However, in the last couple of years, other EVM-compatible and non-EVM-compatible blockchains emerged. Accordingly, there are now several reputable blockchains at our disposal. This fact also makes us believe that we can expect Web3 to take its mature state in a multi-chain form. Of course, the greater number of networks makes Web3 development slightly more complicated as devs sometimes need to decide which chain to focus on. On the other hand, this offers more opportunities. Plus, there are already some excellent Web3 development tools at your disposal that focus on cross-chain interoperability.
A Wide Range of Web3 Development
The above image shows the five layers of the current blockchain infrastructure. Each of these layers is evolving and expanding quickly. This means that Web3 development has an extensive, ever-expanding scope. Breaking things down according to the above layers is just one of the various approaches. For instance, a more financially-oriented view was established by CoinDesk via its DACS (“Digital Asset Classification Standard“). The latter compartmentalizes Web3 development into sectors, industry groups, and industries (see the image below). According to DACS, the six primary sectors include computing, currency, DeFi, culture and entertainment, smart contract platforms, and digitalization.
Whichever of the above two divisions you focus on, you can see that Web3 development entails all sorts of programming and engineering tasks. At the most foundational level, it refers to the development of blockchain networks. On the other side of the spectrum, we find the development of decentralized applications (dapps).
While the top layer cannot exist without all the other four layers, it would be misleading to say that any layer is more important than the other. After all, if we have flawless first four layers but no user-friendly dapps, there will be no Web3 users. Hence, all the other layers lose their meaning. In fact, we believe that the top layer, dapps, is the key to bringing Web3 to the masses.
What is a Web3 Programmer?
A Web3 programmer is a person involved in Web3 development. The most strict definition of a “programmer” states that a programmer is a person who creates computer programs – a software developer or engineer. Accordingly, the most technically-correct definition would mean that a Web3 programmer is a person that creates or writes smart contracts or decentralized applications. However, we believe in a more “loose” definition of this profession. Anyone who knows how to use a programming language that can contribute to any of the above-presented sectors or layers is a Web3 programmer.
Is It a Good Career Choice?
If you’ve covered the above sections, you already understand that Web3 offers countless opportunities. As many companies have already realized that Web3 is the future, Web3 programmers are already extremely valued and in high demand. In fact, this is already one of the best-paying skills. According to “web3.career“, Web3 devs are earning between $50,000 and $200,000 per year. Not to mention that you can create your own dapps with financial benefits. After all, with a high level of creativity, your dapps can have proper financial incentives for users as well as for you and your team. So, when it comes to opportunities and financial compensation, becoming a Web3 programmer is undoubtedly a good career choice.
However, you need to consider your purpose as well. How would this kind of work make you feel at your core? Are you passionate about a decentralized future? Are you interested in creating a future where there are no shady middlemen? Do you believe in peer-to-peer networks? Would you like to live in a world where trust and transparency are incorporated automatically via applications? If you can also find a meaningful why behind your decision to become a Web3 programmer, then it is, without a doubt, an excellent career choice.
Nonetheless, make sure to keep in mind that the entire crypto realm is still kind of a “wild wild west”. There are some untrustworthy players involved, and many projects are in it only for instant gains. So, unless you are starting your own thing in the Web3 arena, make sure to do your due diligence and perform your own research.
How to Learn Web3 Development in 2023?
Unlike in the earliest years of programmable blockchains, you now have quite a lot of resources at your disposal. There are various types of reliable educational media content on the subject. As such, there is no “one-size-fits-all” approach to learning Web3 development. For one, it all depends on your existing skills and goals.
For instance, if you want to learn how to create blockchain networks, you need to dive a lot deeper into cryptography than if you want to become a dapp developer. In fact, you can create all sorts of dapps without creating smart contracts. In that case, you could get relatively far with a basic understanding of Web3 and proficiency in one of the leading legacy programming languages (e.g., JavaScript). On the other hand, if you would decide to create unique dapps utilizing impressive smart contracts, you’d need to learn one or more smart contract programming languages.
All in all, it’s important to know the whats before you focus on the hows. The whats of learning Web3 development can be summed up with these steps:
- Learn the basics of Web3 and blockchain tech.
- Decide what layer/sector of Web3 you want to focus on. Learn a programming language (or more of them) that is required if you don’t know it yet.
- Practice with feedback from Web3 experts.
Whichever area of Web3 development you want to focus on, it’s essential that you start with the basics. Understanding what blockchain is, what smart contracts are, what on-chain transactions are, what Web3 authentication is, what Web3 wallets are, etc. Fortunately, you have many outlets to choose from to learn all these basics.
How to Learn Web3 Basics?
A great place to start is reputable crypto articles. However, make sure to stick to blockchain development blogs, such as the Moralis blog. After all, many other “crypto” blogs tend to write on the subject without really understanding it. As a result, while flipping the content, the proper meaning can be lost. Aside from blogs, you may also learn from YouTube videos from reliable creators. Again, make sure to rely on channels that understand Web3 development (e.g., Moralis’ YouTube channel). So, one of the legit ways is to subscribe to crypto newsletters and YouTube channels. You can also learn a lot just by following reputable blockchain and crypto experts and influencers on Twitter. In addition, joining the right kinds of Discord channels can also teach you a lot.
Also, you can start exploring official websites, documentation pages, and white papers of leading blockchain projects. However, in many cases, this will already take you a bit deeper into the vast universe of Web3 development. Of course, there are also educational platforms that can help you learn Web3 programming in a more structured, professional way. The best ones also cover the basics in a concise and clear way.
Educational Platforms to Become a Web3 Developer
With the growing popularity of Web3 skills, there are more and more courses online that can teach the right stuff. Even established platforms, such as Coursera, now have courses on the Web3 development subject. Some universities are even offering free blockchain classes. That said, while there are, without a doubt, many reputable options out there, we cannot vouch for them. However, we can put our reputation on the line for our online academy.
Moralis Academy offers a ton of high-quality Web3 and blockchain development courses, ranging from beginner to advanced-level classes. Accordingly, you can learn new skills or build on your existing ones, and even complete beginners can become Web3-ready. In fact, we recommend that everyone start with blockchain and Bitcoin fundamentals. That way, you’ll re-learn the basics and, if needed, even rewrite any misinformation gathered from unreputable sources.
Aside from unrestricted access to a wide range of top-tier Web3 courses, Moralis Academy provides you with a personalized study path and expert mentorship. However, the greatest value is probably becoming a member of one of the most advancing communities in the crypto space. Moreover, by becoming blockchain certified, you significantly improve your chances of landing your dream crypto job. Who knows, maybe you even join the Moralis core development team. After all, we’ve already employed several of our students!
Practice Makes Perfect – Tutorials and Hackathons
Once you know the basics, you can determine which areas of development interest you. Then, you know whether or not you need to learn a new programming language. For instance, if you want to dive into smart contract programming, you probably want to master Solidity, Vyper, or Rust. However, you can use other Web3 programming languages for that purpose as well. On the other hand, you may dive into dapp development with your Web2 programming skills. The latter is possible thanks to the best Ethereum API in 2023 by Moralis – the ultimate Web3 API provider.
Once you have Web3 fundamentals under your belt, you can dive into Moralis’ docs. Aside from clear explanations of all APIs, this is the place where you can test all Web3 API endpoints and find countless beginner-friendly tutorials. After all, practice is the most important part of learning, especially when it comes to programming. So, make sure to start with an easy Web3 programming tutorial. Then, you’ll be able to progress to creating an ethers.js dapp and even a Web3 wallet tracker. If you are JavaScript proficient, you can already use Moralis’ Web3 JS call contract function; all you need is a free Moralis account! Of course, you can also combine Python and Web3 or use any other leading programming language to create killer dapps the easy way.
For those of you with the required skills, we also recommend hackathons. Hackathons are one of the best ways to take your Web3 development skills to the next level! These organized events for developers usually provide additional motivation, guidance, and even rewards. In fact, in collaboration with other development platforms, we’ve already run several hackathons with prize pools of more than $200,000!
The Future of Web3 Development
We are in the beginning stages of Web3, and the future of Web3 development has much more to offer. The lightning speed of change and talent moving into the crypto realm makes it difficult to imagine all the technological advances in store for us in the next decade or two.
We can expect most businesses to make the necessary shift to adopt Web3 instead of risking being left behind. DAOs could be the most common business structures. Decentralization and transparency will become the new norm, and so will the automatization of all sorts of transactions that now require intermediaries and a high level of trust. With money built into this evolved web, we can expect physical money and most other traditional financial aspects to perish.
Furthermore, Web3, in combination with AI and AR tech, will also bring a full-on metaverse to life. We can also expect multiple blockchain networks with seamless transitions between them to be the base layer of Web3. Tools like Moralis will perfect the backend tasks so that creating dapps will be as simple as creating a Web2 website today. The only question is whether or not you will be on the user side of this future or if you’ll join the BUIDLer side. If you plan on joining the latter, the sooner you do so, the more opportunities you can take!
Your Guide to Web3 Development and How to Learn It in 2023 – Summary
Today’s guide to Web3 development taught you all you need to know to join the Web3 revolution. You learned that there are many options for Web3 programmers. On paper, it is one of the best career choices of this century already. You also learned that there are three steps you need to take if you are interested in becoming a Web3 programmer. These are the following:
- Learn the basics of Web3 and blockchain tech.
- Decide what layer/sector of Web3 you want to focus on. Learn a programming language (or more of them) that is required if you don’t know it yet.
- Practice with feedback from Web3 experts.
Last but not least, you also learned that Moralis is the ultimate tool that can help you use your legacy dev skills to start building killer dapps today. The Moralis documentation, the Moralis YouTube channel, and the Moralis blog are invaluable resources – they can help you learn Web3 development for free. Nonetheless, you also learned that you could become blockchain certified by enrolling in Moralis Academy.
