Moving from Web 2 to Web 3

by Sigma Software

DISCLAIMER. All references to particular products, frameworks, solutions, libraries and other software of NEAR ecosystem are provided for educational purposes only. All product names, logos, brands, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. Use of these names, trademarks and brands throughout the document does not imply endorsement.

Introduction

In this guideline we’ll see how to bring a traditional Web 2 application into a Web 3 world using NEAR Protocol.

It’s written for developers who are just starting their journey into the world of Web 3 and Blockchain, so we’ll start by explaining what Web 3 and blockchain are. Then, we’ll explore how to build decentralized applications (dApps) using NEAR Protocol. And after we’ve learned the basics, we’ll guide you through the intricacies of fusing client applications, traditional web servers and the NEAR blockchain.

During our journey we’ll focus on high-level decisions, architecture, and explore not just HOW to do something, but also WHY it’s done this way. And as with anything, there’s no single right way, so we’ll explore different alternatives and help you to choose the right one.

Of course, real world applications aren’t built with words, but with code, so links to numerous code examples will be provided. But to make it as useful as possible, this guideline itself will be kept implementation and technology agnostic whenever possible.

If you are already familiar with Web 3 and blockchains, feel free to skip to the NEAR Protocol section. And if you are already quite comfortable with NEAR, you can jump straight ahead into the NFTs for Web 2 Applications chapter, where we’ll guide you on how to connect Web 2 and the NEAR blockchain together to bring the full power of NFTs into your app.

Without further ado, let’s begin our journey!