The Art of Developing a Blockchain Application

Do you want to build a successful blockchain application? Turn your idea into reality with our expert guide right here!

How Do We Develop Blockchain Applications?

Are you considering developing a blockchain application and need help figuring out where to start? You’re at the right place; read on.
Blockchain apps, starting around 2010, had completely transformed the digital world by providing more security and decentralized transactions. They power cryptocurrencies and provide solutions for various uses, like smart contracts and supply chain management. Let’s cover briefly:
⦁ Blockchain Development
⦁ Blockchain Application
⦁ Developing a blockchain application

So when I look at my fashion icons from the ’60s and ’70s, they’re all men, but it’s the idea of women who are dressing like those men who are wearing their girlfriends’ clothes

What is Blockchain Development?

Blockchain development is the process of developing a decentralized app known as dApps which is not only concerned with the coding of a decentralized app (dApp) or a crypto wallet, etc., on a blockchain framework. It includes the strategic approach of defining, designing, building, and launching effective and successful blockchain solutions.
Blockchain developers are responsible for handling the entire cycle of the blockchain application development, which includes the architecture of a system, smart contracts, and all the research for the execution of the dApps.

What is Blockchain Application?

These are the apps built on blockchain technology that uses a digital ledger or database containing the records of transactions. It stores the record on multiple nodes instead of a single node. All nodes contain a copy of the ledger and work together to validate and record transactions.
 
The dApps are used for various purposes. Some for payments, data logs, financial markets, smart contracts, supply chain management, etc.

How to Develop a Blockchain Application?

Let us start and help you to understand how to develop a blockchain application from scratch.

Step 1: Strategize/ Planning

Strategizing or planning is the most important step in development.
 
⦁ Identify the problem.
⦁ Define the scope of the project.
⦁ Come up with a blockchain app idea.
⦁ Identify the use case for your application and prioritize the features.
⦁ Make a plan and set all the timelines and milestones.
⦁ Considering the profit and the price of developing the dApp, make a budget.
⦁ Set up the project managers, stakeholders, and all the plans.
It’s a very important and crucial step because it holds all the planning to initiate the development process and to handle the risk management to make it successful.

Step 2: Perform Competitor’s Research

After planning and identifying the problem and the idea to solve that problem, here comes the step where you need to do the competitor research. Competitor research includes determining what the rivals are up to. 
 
The simplest way to do competitor research is to access the social media handles of your rivals/competitors, such as LinkedIn or Facebook.

Step 3: Select the Blockchain Platform for your Application:

Regarding the blockchain platform selection, it’s the most crucial decision we need to make. Numerous options are available in the industry, like Ethereum, Hyperledger, Corda, etc.
 
There are two approaches available:

1. Develop a new blockchain: 

This option lets us develop our blockchain framework, where we have all control, including the algorithm and transaction validation. Developing a new blockchain from scratch is the most extensive way to develop it.
In simpler terms, you can create your version of Bitcoin or Ethereum, but it can be costly despite the profit potential. This option is only available if we’re creating our cryptocurrency.

2. Clone the existing popular blockchains: 

Cloning the existing blockchain platform is the most effective method for developing a blockchain application. These blockchain platforms are open source, and it’s easy to deploy the code on your servers. The effectiveness of this depends upon the number of nodes that can verify transactions. Some popular examples are Ethereum, Hyperledger, R3 Corda, Ripple, etc.
 
The choice of platform depends upon the skillset you require for the development of these applications. You can discuss it with the project management team and conclude. Several projects also allow the programmer to craft an existing blockchain into other programming languages, i.e., Javascript, C++, etc.

Step 4: Blockchain Application Design:

It’s important to choose whether your application requires a permissible or permissionless network, the language used, and any other factors that will surely affect development. First, decide whether the blockchain nodes will run on the cloud, on-premises, or both. You must also choose the OS (Operating System) for your dApp, like Windows, Ubuntu, Linux, etc.
This step holds many factors and needs extensive research to meet your goals and objectives, and also to maintain the budget. 
 
The design aspect is expected to consume up to 20% of the budget while monitoring the project’s complexity. All the rules and instructions are set at this stage for the app’s structure and components.

Step 5: Strategize your Blockchain Configuration: 

Multiple elements are considered to deploy the configuration process effectively.

For a smooth development process, it is advisable to pre-plan everything.

Step 6: Development and Testing Process:

The development of a dApp can be completely different depending upon the various factors:
 
⦁ What system will you employ for your project?
⦁ What’s your method of consensus?
⦁ The methodology guiding all nodes’ interaction and transactions? 
To validate whether the transition is running smoothly, and clarify various things before the coding starts, QA Engineers perform their task by completing the regression testing before deploying to ensure that everything works perfectly.
 
For developing a successful application, it is necessary to cross-check the application’s performance after deployment, too, and also keep an eye on the terms and conditions of the app store or Google Play. 

Step 7: Support and Maintenance

Almost the final step related to the development is the maintenance and support of your developed application. This process includes updating the dApp to enhance it, for example, updating the operating system, libraries, and framework, and adding new features according to the new technology or ideas for your business requirements.

Step 8: Marketing and Promotion

Now that you know how to develop a blockchain application, now is the time to make your application successful. For this purpose, you need to know about the marketing and promotion of your dApp.
As we know, as important as the development process is, it’s of no use if no one is noticing your application. Most organizations start their marketing during their development process to speed up the awareness of the application. 
Some marketing strategies include:
⦁ Content Marketing and SEO
⦁ Paid Ads
⦁ Email Marketing
⦁ Social Media Marketing
⦁ Influencer Marketing
The main goal is to make the customer or target audience aware of your application. The most important thing is to pay attention to the client’s feedback to get to know what the audience wants and to customize the application accordingly.

Conclusion:

To sum up, from research to development and supporting activities, developing a blockchain application is a really comprehensive process. Additionally, what marketing adds to your efforts is that your app will gain tremendous visibility. To take the maximum out of the opportunities offered by the blockchain world, staying agile to the feedback provided by the users can be a pioneering addition to the digital landscape of our dApp. Ready to develop your own blockchain application? Let’s embark on the journey!

Read more