Step-by-Step Guide to Developing a Blockchain Based Application

The term “blockchain” has become increasingly common, especially among developers and businesses looking to simplify their operations. Blockchain applications are becoming increasingly popular; peer-to-peer lending platforms, decentralized exchanges, and cryptocurrency wallets are just a few examples. This cutting-edge technology has the enormous potential to completely transform several industries, including supply chains, healthcare systems, and banking. Additionally, you can always turn to experts in a blockchain app development company for blockchain development services if you encounter any difficulties with the idea.

In essence, blockchain is a distributed ledger technology that makes it possible to preserve records on a network of computers transparently and safely. An uninterrupted chain of information is formed by the links between each data entry, or “block,” and the one before it. The decentralized aspect of blockchain, in which no single entity or authority has control over the network, is what distinguishes it. In a trustless environment, this decentralization provides security and trust, making it impervious to fraud and manipulation.

What Are Block-Based Applications?

Developing decentralized software applications that take capitalize on blockchain technology’s special properties is known as blockchain application development. These apps are secure, open, and resistant to censorship since they store data and carry out transactions via a distributed ledger. These apps are created by custom blockchain development companies using various blockchain systems, including Ethereum, Hyperledger, and Binance Smart Chain. These platforms offer the digital assets, security, and efficiency-boosting infrastructure and tools required to develop DApps, smart contracts, and other digital applications that have the potential to change industries completely.

There are many possible applications for blockchain technology. It can be used for financial transactions, guaranteeing safer and quicker international transfers. Blockchain can provide end-to-end visibility and transparency in supply chain management, which lowers fraud and mistakes. Blockchain can help the healthcare industry by securely maintaining patient records and expediting provider-to-provider data transfer. Furthermore, blockchain can upend sectors of the economy like digital identity verification, voting, and intellectual property rights. They are also employed in creating and administrating digital currencies like Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Knowing blockchain application development is essential to embracing the future of technology, whether you’re a developer hoping to leverage blockchain’s potential or a company trying to stay competitive in the digital era. 

Grand View Research estimates that the market for blockchain technology worldwide will be worth USD 10.2 billion by 2022. From 2023 to 2030, it is projected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 87.7%. The numbers speak for themselves. Having said that, let’s get started on the process of creating a blockchain application.

Steps To Develop A Blockchain Application

Setting the goal and scope of the application is the first step in the blockchain application development process, just like it is in any other app development process. Allow us to get things started and guide you through the process of creating a blockchain application.

Step 1: Analyze the Industry for App Development

A variety of businesses have apps, including gaming, banking, health, and security. Let’s examine each area and gain an understanding of it for the purpose of creating blockchain apps.

1. Banking and Finance

Blockchain has a lot of potential, especially in terms of efficiency, transparency, and usability—especially in relation to financial transactions. Put simply, modern technology can handle the main services provided by banks, such as payment, clearing, and settlement systems. Blockchain technology is already being leveraged by a number of banking and financial companies, including JP Morgan Chase, Credit Suisse, and Western Union.

2. Insurance

Blockchain offers nothing new or additional, especially for the insurance industry. Rather, in an effort to boost client satisfaction, reduce expenses, shorten time to market, and increase operational frequency, insurance companies are incorporating blockchain into their present insurance IT systems.

3. Healthcare

A challenging aspect of the healthcare industry is managing and storing data using several systems and fostering a lack of communication among these platforms. Sensitive data, including personally identifying information, is also present in these systems and is quite open to attack.

As a result, it would be risky to establish a single system that shared data with every institution. In this case, blockchain is relevant. Healthcare companies may simply exchange data with other network members via blockchain technology, all without compromising the security and integrity of the data.

4. Real Estate

There is always a risk when buying or selling real estate: too much paperwork, fraud, and errors in the public record. Blockchain technology may enable the real estate industry to swiftly do away with the need for paper-based records. Blockchain technology can be used to accurately and credibly record, track, and transfer land titles in the real estate industry.

5. Retail

When making purchases, retail customers rely only on the seller’s credibility. Again, belief is not always warranted. Sometimes phony products make their way onto store shelves and are bought by unwary buyers. Blockchain has the potential to boost trust and shift it away from other eCommerce platforms and marketplaces.

6. Supply Chain

The supply chain segment has already embraced blockchain technology. Technology can be used to follow the steps of the supply chain and provide the highest level of transparency, even when several supply chain partners are involved. For example, when creating its menu, a restaurant can track the origin of the beef. It is easy to integrate the same application in industries such as agriculture, transportation, fashion, and others.

7. Gaming

The video gaming industry has evolved from a hobby to a professional sport. There are gaming competitions these days that have a blank market and high financial expenses. Blockchain technology possesses the capability to tackle legacy-related issues within the gaming sector. Users may, for example, have their own character with all of their resources and abilities, and blockchain would only operate as a deterrent to stealing.

Step 2: Come Up with an Idea

Just like any other business, you’ll also need a blockchain app concept. To put it simply, there are two linked tasks to identify: identifying the use case for your application and evaluating whether your concept requires blockchain.

Analyze the trade-off between profit and the cost of constructing the blockchain application, even if your goal is to use blockchain technology to secure a medium-sized application.

Consider a situation in which a social media site is decentralized via blockchain technology. Cryptocurrency is a good way to put the idea into practice for user transactions and payments. On the other hand, you might also want to use blockchain technology to promote transparency within your own organization. Testing whether blockchain application development is necessary is essential to doing the same.

Step 3: Do Competitor Research

This is the next step in the process of creating a blockchain application. If you intend to develop a blockchain application for your company or organization, find out what your competitors are up to by doing some research.

One of the easiest ways to find a competition is to use their social media accounts, such as Facebook or LinkedIn.

Step 4: Choose a Platform for Your Blockchain Project

The following step would be to examine the best platform or technology for app development when you have finished your market research. To be precise, there are two methods.

Craft New Blockchain

With this option, you may design your own blockchain architecture where you control every choice, including the algorithm and transaction validation.

It is thought to be one of the most comprehensive approaches to blockchain development, despite its high cost. Put simply, you’re intrigued about creating your own version of crypto, which sounds lucrative but can be costly. Additionally, this option is only available to you if you are creating your own coin.

Clone Popular Blockchain Platforms

Another efficient method for developing a blockchain based application is to use an established blockchain platform. Since the code for these platforms is usually open source, all you have to do to have it on your servers is fork the repository. In this case, the most important question is why the world would choose to adopt a blockchain that you invented.

Remember that the efficacy of a blockchain platform depends on the quantity of network nodes able to validate transactions. Just a few of the platforms are Ethereum, Hyperledger, R3 Corda, and Ripple.

Ethereum: One of the most popular platforms, it lets you use the solidity programming language to build your own blockchain application and ecosystem.

Hyperledger: Fabric-based DApps platform. If your company needs a corporate data communication tool. Hyperledger is an excellent tool for you. You will require a team of Go, Java, and JavaScript custom blockchain app developers to make an app for this platform.

R3 Corda: This platform focuses on trade finance, supply chain, healthcare, and commerce. The platform used to create permissioned blockchains is called Corda.

Ripple: For everyone who wishes to create a financial application, it is an excellent tool. You may move money anywhere with ease and connect to banks and payment processors with Ripple.

The skill set your professional blockchain development services team will need to possess depends on the platform you choose. Developers can create blockchain applications in several languages, including C++, Java, Kotlin, and JavaScript.

Step 5: Design Your Blockchain App

Given the complexity of the project, the design component is anticipated to consume up to 20% of the available funds. For the same reason that the process helps define the terminology and guidelines for the organization of your app and its parts, make sure you don’t ignore the mobile app design guide. In other words, design helps you lay out all of its features and make sure they all function as they should.

Step 6: Start the Development and Testing Process

One thing to keep in mind when it comes to the development process is that it can look very different depending on a lot of various aspects.

• The dialect and system you will use
• How you will reach a consensus?
• The process that directs communication and transactions among all nodes
• Will you create your own blockchain, use a BaaS, or rely on an already-existing blockchain?

To put it plainly, it is imperative that the transition proceeds smoothly and that questions are answered by the developers and designers prior to the commencement of coding. after the coding is finished. Before the deployment, the QA engineer performs a thorough regression test to make sure everything functions as intended.

Step 7: Maintenance and Support

This procedure includes adding new features, changing the program to meet your current business requirements, and updating operating systems, frameworks, libraries, and libraries. You can get expert assistance with the same by contacting a professional blockchain development company.

Step 8: Marketing and Promotion

Now that you have an idea of building blockchain apps from scratch, you need to know there is something more to it. Even while development is a necessary component of the work you must do, grabbing and retaining users’ attention is as important. Most of the time, businesses adopt marketing and promotion plans while their product is still being developed. A few marketing strategies that you can include are:

• Content marketing and SEO
• Paid ads
• Email marketing
• Social media marketing
• Influencer marketing

Types of Blockchain

To put it simply, there are four primary sorts of blockchains depending on the network. Every form—private, public, hybrid, or consortium—has unique advantages and disadvantages that determine whether to utilize it.

Public/Permissionless – Every network user can access and use a public, or permissionless, blockchain on any device. Every user can see every transaction, interact with other users, be anonymous, and have total access to the code.

Private/Permissioned –  In contrast, permissioned blockchain will only allow participation from those who have been granted authorization. The network’s members’ transactions are governed by a set of rules. This kind of blockchain is thought to be appropriate for managing operations in businesses.

Hybrid – There are circumstances where organizations stand to gain from a hybrid approach. Hybrid blockchains allow for the creation of both a public and private system. With its assistance, businesses can effortlessly manage which data is available across all networks and to whom.

Consortium – Another name for the consortium is the federated blockchain. It has a validator node that can initiate, receive, and validate simple transactions. Member nodes are not able to validate transactions; they can only send and receive them.

Factors to Look into for Blockchain Application Development

As you prepare to develop a blockchain application for your company, there are a number of factors and aspects you should take into consideration. Let’s review each item on the list separately.

1. Platform Type

While some blockchain platforms are based on cryptocurrencies, others rely on smart contracts or several cryptocurrency tokens. It will be simpler for you to create blockchain apps if you analyze what is best for you.

2. Smart Contracts

Whether or whether you require a smart contract is another important consideration when developing a blockchain application. A smart contract is a self-executing protocol that executes, validates, and executes any trigger-based action that is stored on the blockchain, as you may already be aware of.

To be more specific, distinct consensus protocols—such as Proof of Work, Proof of Stake, Proof of Elapsed Time, and others—are used by different kinds of blockchain systems. Therefore, using consensus protocol to determine the best platform is a win-win scenario.

3. Cryptocurrency

Another area you will need to research as you prepare to create blockchain apps is cryptocurrency. Make sure you conduct adequate research to decide whether or not your mobile application needs to support cryptocurrencies. This factor is crucial when selecting the ideal platform.

4. Private/ Public Network

Consider whether having a private or public network would be preferable. Think about if you want a network where anybody can contribute or where only people with permission may access. Once you’ve decided between the two platforms, begin creating a blockchain application tailored to your needs.

5. Adoption Rate and Functionality

It can be difficult to find out how popular a blockchain is right now and how much support it has from the community. The adoption rate indicates how widely a certain blockchain innovation has been used. Choosing a technology that is generally accepted and used is far preferable to choosing one that is not as extensively accepted.

6. Scalability

Companies hoping to build a blockchain platform using current technology should closely examine the transaction capabilities and determine whether or not their requirements will be met.

To get the best out of your business, it is best to consult an enterprise blockchain development company like Debut Infotech to create solutions that will transform your business.

Conclusion

To sum up, the market for blockchain applications is a vibrant and varied ecosystem that includes apps from a range of sectors. It includes NFTs, enterprise solutions, smart contracts, and cryptocurrency. Although there is a lot of room for innovation, consumer uptake, regulation, and scalability are all major obstacles. Many custom blockchain development companies and blockchain consultants have been established. The market for blockchain apps is still growing in spite of these obstacles, providing chances for innovative ideas and game-changing innovations.