Often called the ‘Future of the Internet’, Web3 offers a read/write/own version of the web – which is blockchain-based – and includes cryptocurrencies, NFTs, DAOs, decentralised finance, and more. Web3’s vision is to rewire or rearrange how the web works. The use of blockchain tech is instrumental in actualising the vision and changing the ways of storage, sharing, and ownership of information.
Web3 development is gaining significant traction in the market as many experts believe it has the potential to create new economies, product classes, and online services, breaking away the existing monopolies that a few corporations command over the internet and information in more general terms.
What is Web3 Development?
As a development platform, Web3 allows developers to build decentralised applications (dApps) that run on a network of nodes which are not controlled by a single entity. The use of blockchain tech in Web3 development is to create an open, transparent, and secure transaction system.
Distributable ledgers and the immutable recording of data on the blockchain remove the need for third-party verification of transactions and give birth to a trustless, secure system, which is ideal for use in financial services, supply chain management, and several other industries.
Developers build dApps on Web3 using known languages like JavaScript or Solidity and several more. There are also several tools to debug and test applications.
Importance of Learning Web3 Development
According to the Electric Capital Developer Report (January – December 2021), there were more than 18,000 monthly active developers committing code in open-source crypto and Web3 projects in 2021. While 65% of active developers in Web3 joined in 2021, 45% of full-time developers in Web3 joined in 2021.
This surge of developers in Web3 development is largely driven by the benefits Web3 brings to the ecosystem. Developers have realised the value they can leverage in the virtual world by developing on Web3.
Web3 applications are immune to autocratic censorship without them having to compromise security. The use of cryptography ensures that the data that has been used is protected from tampering and unauthorised access. Self-executing smart contracts that work as the backbone for developing dApps do not depend on time-consuming and cost-bearing intermediaries. This advantage makes Web3 more efficient and cost-effective. Built-in features like Ethereum and Truffle make Web3 conducive to developers to formulate high-quality dApps.
How Do You Learn Web3 Development for Free?
Naturally, developers who want to build effective and efficient applications to solve a multitude of problems, service bottlenecks, and process deficiencies around them would like to leverage the latest technology paradigm out there. Traditional internet developers would have to learn Web3 development skills to be able to participate in this. Students of application development would also prefer to learn these skills.
All of these come to the essential question of how to learn Web3 development. Here, we present the best three courses for one to learn Web3 development for free.
Free Courses for Web3 Development
LearnWeb3.io
The course has been split into four consequentially progressive steps. It starts with the module Freshman, meant to teach the basics of Web3. The next module is Sophomore, where users learn to dig deeper and build dApps. The third is Junior, which helps the learner get embedded in the ecosystem, and the fourth is Senior, where one learns about Web3 security and hacking.
Course content overview: The course content of the Freshman module includes Basic Programming, Solidity Concepts, ways to build a simple get/set dApp, cryptocurrency, simple NFT, and more. The Sophomore module teaches how to build whitelist dApps, NFT collection, ICO, on-chain NFT investment DAO, etc. The Junior module includes details on Layer 2, setting up local nodes with Hardhat, contract verification on Etherscan, IPFS deep-dive, etc. Finally, the Senior Module is about the Ethereum World State and EVM Execution, upgradable smart contracts, gas optimisations, meta transactions, etc.
This course is for you if you are: a student who wants to learn the A-Z of Web3 for free.
User reviews: Since December 2021, LearnWeb3.io has garnered more than 96,000 followers on Twitter.
Web3.University + Alchemy
The ‘Road to Web3’ course from Web3.university is a 10-week program that covers the entire range from a Beginner to the Advanced phase for a Web3 Blockchain Developer. By creating a free Alchemy account, one can access a large selection of Web3 development tools to build and deploy decentralised applications completely for free.
Course content overview: The course content includes lessons on developing an NFT Smart Contract, building a DeFi dApp, making NFTs with on-chain metadata, creating an NFT gallery, connecting APIs to a Smart Contract, building a staking application, building an NFT Marketplace from scratch, building a blockchain betting game with optimism, building a token swap DApp, and building decentralised Twitter.
This course is for you if you are: Blockchain Development Community
User reviews: Web3 University has been teaching Web3 to more than 100,000 developers worldwide. Since September 2021, Web3 University’s official Twitter has garnered more than 27,000 followers.
Web3x: Free Online Courses from Web3 Foundation
The course, titled Introduction to Blockchain and Web3, helps acquire the foundational knowledge in understanding the latest developments in the Blockchain space and Web3. It is a 12-18 hours self-paced course.
Course content overview: The course content includes lessons on blockchain basics, an introduction to bitcoin and ethereum, blockchain and cryptography, hashing and block mining, blockchain nodes and networking, Web3 and the Future of Blockchain.
This course is for you if you are: This course has no prerequisite, and anyone can learn from it.
User reviews: The course has been available under the banner of edX, a popular learning platform, for over a decade now, with more than 345,000 followers on Twitter.
Other Free Resources for Web3 Development
A. RockX Access Node Free Credits
Developers can also leverage access node portals that instantly empower developers and institutions to interact with major PoS blockchains, reducing their development complexity and cost. To incentivise developers to try out their hands in development through the access node portal, RockX has launched a Rewards feature.
Moreover, RockX is conducting a giveaway to anyone who uses the voucher feature with the Cronos API on the portal to celebrate the Rewards program launch. Stand a chance to win $50 of your favourite token on top of up to $1000 in access node API credits when you participate!
B. Online Communities
Several online Web3 communities act as online hangouts for budding programmers, builders, and developers in the field. These communities, like Simpl3r or CeresDAO, prove especially helpful for developers looking to build a decentralised app, mint their NFT collection, join a DAO, and more.
C. Blogs and Articles
Building a robust knowledge base from secondary sources, such as blogs and articles, is also an efficient way to learn Web3 development. Some of these blogs include Polygon Technology Blog, Chain Link Blog, Shyft Network blog, Alchemy Blog, App Developer Magazine, etc.
D. Forums and Discussion Boards
Forums and discussion boards work as constructive and inclusive social and professional networks for Web3 developers, where they get the guidance, advice, and discussion opportunities with fellow members of the ecosystem. Moralis, Web3-DEV Community, and freeCodeCamp are examples of such forums and discussion boards.
E. Open Source Projects
For open-source projects around Web3, enthusiasts can always start with the Web3 GitHub repository and explore the codebase. Next, they can join the Web3 Discord and introduce themselves to the community. Getting involved in the Web3 open-source community makes it possible to get experience and code renewal from experienced developers.
F. Events and Conferences
There are several events and conferences that aspiring Web3 developers may join to learn more about the subject. Such events may include the Web3 Weekend in Bali from May 8th-13th, The Web3 Conference in Amsterdam on May 19th, Epic Web3 Conference on June 9th in Lisbon, and more.
Conclusion
The Internet of the Future requires future-ready developers. Blockchain, Web3, and decentralised paradigms are all emerging and evolving technology areas. Much of the learning in this space will germinate from ongoing trials and errors.
While free courses, blogs and articles, discussion forums and communities are spread across the public domain, developers will have to try out their hands to better understand what is efficiently feasible and what is not. Access node Free Credits from RockX can be an optimal way of learning through first-hand practice. Developers can always try it out for free and even get incentivised for their efforts.
