Make your mark on the NFT marketplace with the help of Invatechs
Cryptocurrency continues to gain international traction and influence. There’s nothing stopping it and its impact on the world of finance, economics and tech. This year, El Salvador become the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal currency.
Even though crypto continues to grow in popularity, its NFT markets that are up-and-coming.
NFT marketplaces represent a well of opportunity for developers, investors and start-ups alike. In this article, we’re going to take you through a full guide for building your own NFT marketplace. We’ll cover the basics and the mechanics of NFTs. Steps to creating your marketplace and cost analysis.
Invatechs is dedicated to providing our knowledge and the best solutions possible. That’s why we’ll be introducing you to our services and blogs dedicated to crypto along the way. Do you have a vision for building an NFT marketplace but lack the direction? Stick with us and we’ll kickstart your next big crypto project.
NFTs – The Platforms, The Basics & The History
NFTs are non-fungible cryptographic tokens. They operate as unique, non-replaceable digital assets that are ledgered on the Ethereum blockchain. They include digital art pieces, videos, albums, and even Tweets. NFTs have grown in scope and popularity over the last decade. The ecosystem of NFT platforms and marketplaces have naturally grown too. For example, Counterparty launched in 2014, a platform that facilitated asset creation and exchange. Now, you can find a range of NFT platforms, including the popular marketplace OpenSea.
Niche markets and the range and type of NFTs hold unlimited potential. Developers are realising their advantages. NFT tokens reached over $2 billion in sales in the first quarter of this year. Operating on decentralized marketplaces incentivizes creators to interact directly with their customers. They’ll be trading unique, collectible and resealable assets. In a similar way to the world of rare art collection and sales.
The metadata, copyright protection and security protocols keep NFTs safe and one-of-a-kind. The market naturally facilitates assets’ capital appreciation and depreciation. If you decide to develop an NFT platform, you’re tapping into an organic and exciting market. You could build an NFT platform for trading in music, or even rare memes. There’s unlimited potential.
Whether you have an idea or you’re starting from scratch, you’ll need to know how the marketplace works before you start building. Don’t worry, Invatechs has you covered.
Overview of the NFT Marketplace Domain
It’s good to know as much as you can about cryptocurrency before you embark on your NFT project. Our blog on how to build a crypto saving wallet is a great starting place. Nevertheless, NFT marketplaces work similar to any eCommerce store like Etsy or Amazon. The user-flow is simple:
Users sign-up to the platform and install their digital wallet
If they’re trading, they can upload their items for exhibition
Users select what payment tokens they will accept as well as any fees
The assets and items will need to pass moderation
Once their account is established, they can set their assets at a fixed price for sale or put them up for auction
When two parties trade, a smart trading contract will finalise the transaction and terms of agreement between the two parties
Like every crypto transaction and trade, it’s stored on the blockchain, authenticating the transaction and the token’s non-fungibility
Non-fungible assets cannot be divided into smaller parts like Bitcoin. Bundling, bidding, and the possibility of selling in markets offer endless opportunities to NFT owners.
Smart contracts are one of the most important pieces of how the market operates. The smart contracts are the digital terms of agreement between users when they make a transaction. Once the parties agree to the terms of agreement, the transaction is automatically executed. Creators can put hard caps on their NFT supplies, and the coding enforces properties on the NFT that cannot be altered. Again, making it secure and one of a kind.
When you come to the market, you have lots of options and ways to make a creative mark on the industry. Bare in mind however, NFT traders are long-time users of cryptocurrency. The technology is still new and the 71 million crypto users aren’t all trading in NFTs. As a relatively new market, you’re targeting a very specific audience against well established vendors. So, it’s good to know your competitors. Popular vendors include Rarible, OpenSea and NiftGateway. You can find a list of the most popular vendors here.
How To Create An NFT Marketplace
Now you know about NFTs, it’s time to start building your marketplace. Whether you’re building from scratch or using a software development kit, there are key features you need to consider. From market research to building a mobile app, creating your platform can be a big undertaking. We’ll break it down into manageable steps. Thankfully, Invatechs are experts in crypto, platform building and fundraising. Our InvaBlog is a great place to start for research. We have a blog dedicated to launching a successful ICO. More than that, we can take you from the initial consultation through to the final product. More on that later. For now, let’s start with the must-have features:
Integration with digital wallets
Search functions
eCommerce storefront
Filters for users’ searches
Auctioning functionality
Product rating (and comments)
Product listing
Buying and bidding functionality
Payment functionality and integrating with gateways like Stripe, PayPal etc
Ability to synchronise with offline activities
Push notifications
Building from scratch vs building with OpenSea SDK:
There are many advantages to building from scratch or using OpenSea’s software development kit. With the OpenSea SDK, you’ll need a software development team behind you. The software development kit is JavaScript-based. One of its biggest advantages is that you won’t need to create or deploy smart contracts. The backend is already taken care of. In the SDK documentation you can find extensive information.
Of course, your marketplace and platform will always be confined to OpenSea software. Depending on the scope of your business model, this may not offer you a lot of flexibility. If you build from scratch, you can create a user-experience that matches your brand and target audience. You can customise features, which low-code and no-code options don’t provide.
You can decide on your software pattern and tech stack. Again, this gives you more flexibility for native and mobile app development. If you’re building a small NFT marketplace, OpenSea might be a good option. However, if the scope of your business is much larger and needs long-term scalability, building from scratch could be a better option.
Once you have your software development methodology, you need to move into the discovery and team formation phase.
Key Steps - Discovery Phase:
You’ll need a team of developers on-board and behind you. You’ll want to consider: UI/UX designers, web developers, mobile developers, testers, brand consultants and market researchers. You can recruit from freelance platforms or partner with a software development company. Take a look at our web page. development if you want some more information on how Invatechs work with our clients. Your users have three main roles: artists, buyers and administrators.
Your users have three main roles: artists, buyers and administrators.
As we’ve discussed, you’ll need to define your niche. With fierce competition, it’s better to target a specific set of products and services. This is where your interests in NFT products comes in.
For your tech stack, we recommend JavaScript for front-end development. Either AngularJS or ReactJS are popular amongst developers. Next, Node.js is a popular, scalable backend software development for web apps. On top of this, you’ll want to consider your APIs, SQL database and NOSQL database.
Key Steps – Development Phase:
With your team, software and tech stack in place, it’s time to start building. We have a couple of suggestions to get you started.
We wrote about how you can build a project from scratch in our latest blog. Building a Canvas business model is a great way to get all your ideas in oneplace. Launching with an MVP (Minimum Variable Product) is a potential way to test the waters with your platform. Finally, The Design Sprint method is a great way to go from wireframes to finished prototypes. Check out our blog linked above for tips to get you started.
In the development stage, you’ll need to connect your NFT marketplace to Ethereum’s blockchain requirements. This will include DApp development that facilitate the smart contracts.
Never skip out on testing for quality assurance. Software testing will detect any bugs and faults whilst making sure the platform is running as expected. You’ll want to plan the following reviews on: requirements, specifications, test planning and coding.
Once all of this is in place, you can deploy your platform and new marketplace. As with all NFT technologies, you’re working with something new. That’s why it’s important to keep on top of post-launch maintenance and scalability. This will be determined by your pre-existing business model and team. If you’re working on a limited scale and budget, this can prove tricky. If you partner with Invatechs, you can rest assured maintenance is in capable hands.
Cost Analysis
Like all project development, a number of factors will influence costings. These will include geography, manpower and your budget. Still, NFT marketplace development is a new, bespoke industry. Finding a skilled team might push the prices higher. We’ve got an approximate budget table below. It should give you a rough guide with points to consider.
Features | Time / Hours | Cost, $35/hour |
User Profiles | 50.4 | $1,764 |
UI/UX Development | 50.4 | $1,764 |
Authorisation and Security | 86.4 | $3,024 |
Home Page | 100.8 | $3,528 |
Product Page | 50.4 | $1,764 |
Search and Filters | 115.2 | $4,032 |
Reviews and Ratings | 57.6 | $2,016 |
Notifications | 38.4 | $1,344 |
Payments | 50.4 | $1,764 |
Shopping Cart | 57.6 | $2,016 |
Ethereum Integration | 115.2 | $4,032 |
NFT Management | 115.2 | $4,032 |
Buyer Panel | 76.8 | $2,688 |
Inventory Management | 50.4 | $1,764 |
Author Panel | 158.4 | $5,544 |
Admin Panel | 102 | $3,570 |
Total | 1275 hours | $37,205 |
FAQs on NFTs
Can you only buy NFTs with cryptocurrency? Cryptocurrency is the most popular trading currency. However, fiat currencies are also a viable option.
Are they just a fad? NFTs have been around since the early 2010s, but they’re only now gaining popularity. Time will tell, but their uniqueness and collectability make them truly one-of-a-kind. They’re not going anywhere anytime soon.
What is decentralisation? Decentralisation enables data to be copied and distributed across blockchain networks.
What are the benefits of the NFT marketplace? Where do we start? Safe and secure transactions. Low transaction fees. Seamless wallet integration. Easy to use. It’s just getting started.
In Conclusion – Your In Conclusion - Next Steps
In this article, we’ve given you the tools and info to start building your NFT marketplace. From its origins to its main components. Competitors to research and a cost breakdown. However, as we highlighted, NFT technologies are a new frontier of crypto.
Finding the expertise to pull off such a project can be daunting. With such fierce competition, you need a marketplace unlike any other. You need experts that can take your idea from consultation through to the finished product.
Thankfully, at Invatechs, we’re experts in crypto project development. Check out our portfolio where you can learn about our cryptocurrency saving app. Invatechs aren’t limited to just cryptocurrency. We’re dedicated to launching fintech projects and solutions. You can learn about our blockchain services and how we’ll work with you over here.
The world of NFTs is exciting, but how do you plan to break into it? Contact Invatechs today and we’ll transform your concept into the thriving NFT marketplace you envision.