Being a well-known technology, blockchain has entered many industries. Its adoption also allowed NFT to exist and develop with immense speed. While blockchain has long been here, NFTs are a recent trend that only starts its way in various domains. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are digital assets that can’t be changed or copied but bring value to the owner.

Even though the NFT market has experienced short-term fluctuations, the global market is suggested to grow from $3.0 billion in 2022 to $13.6 billion by 2027. That is because investors, creators, and businesses consider NFt space an excellent opportunity for their art pieces, marketing strategies, and funds.

In contrast to cryptocurrencies, the NFT space constantly experiences skyrocketed prices from the start of the industry, attracting attention from startups and established companies that want to step into NFT marketplace development. One of the easiest and most profitable ways to enter the NFT space is the NFT marketplace – a digital marketplace where users can buy and sell their tokens for further use.

This article will showcase how to build your own NFT marketplace through stages.

What Is NFT Marketplace?

Before diving into the development process, let’s first explore what the NFT marketplace means. To put it simply, it is a digital platform for buying and selling NFTs.

Some people don’t know what NFT means and why it is so popular. That is because almost everything digital can be named NFTs. The truth is that NFTs or non-fungible tokens refer to unique assets that can’t be replaced with something else. These items can exist in real life and be turned into digital assets or can exist only in the digital world. NFTs can be art pieces, music, photos, sneakers, social media posts, and much more. The key thing here is that NFT should be in a digital format.

How Does NFT Marketplace Work?

Once you build an NFT marketplace, you give users the following opportunities and features (depending on the marketplace type):

• Browse the available NFTs for sale;
• Mint (create) NFTs;
• Store and sell their NFTs;
• Add a payment method (fiat & crypto);
• Buy and sell NFTs directly for a fixed price;
• Participate in an auction;
• Connect with creators;
• Join the community.

When a user buys something on the NFT marketplace, the blockchain records the transaction showing the change of ownership. While you will need to explore blockchain technology, its challenges, and its rules, users won’t need to learn anything about blockchain to use the NFT marketplace.

Steps to Build NFT Marketplace

Step 1: Start the Project

Before starting your project, you will need to either create your team or use blockchain application development services. If you hire an experienced team of blockchain developers, you will reduce the cost of the process and issues you may face and also get a competitive advantage.

Once the team is created and you have an idea, you need to study all your project details. Discuss the market opportunities with your development provider, find what will differentiate your product from all the rest, how you will market the marketplace and what is your target audience. Ask the following questions to get a clear business concept before starting the development:

• What is your niche?
• How will users sell NFTs?
• What is the target audience?
• What blockchain will you use?
• What token protocol are you going to use?
• What tech stack are you going to use?
• What is your monetization model?
• What features do you want to see there?

These questions will help you develop the right direction of the development process and will also help you decide what features you need. Some answers you can get from your development team or project manager who has already worked on similar projects.

Step 2: Start Development Process

Once all technical aspects and the roadmap are discussed, your development team can start its work. The first step is building an MVP, so first users can try the product and provide valuable insights on what they like and what they don’t. Once the feedback is collected, the next stage is the design.

UX/UI design. User-friendliness and a simple interface are essential in the NFT domain. That is because most users are new to the sphere, and they want simplicity like with any digital marketplace. However, the design should also be relevant to the NFT space with themed colors. Therefore you need to hire designers with experience in the NFT industry.

Back-end and smart contracts. This stage goes next and can be started either alongside the design or after you approve the final version. The back end is the most complex part of the development, which requires deep knowledge of smart contracts and blockchain to make the product efficient and free from bugs.

Front-end. This is the final stage of the development part. This part represents the visual platform responsible for the interaction with the user. The key task of your front-end team is to provide a simple interface, security measures, and an understandable interface.

Step 3: Testing

While some companies avoid this step, it is essential to test your product. You will need a skilled QA team to ensure the marketplace works as intended, smart contracts work as you expect them, and the platform is free from issues. In addition, the content, usability, security, and productivity should be tested in all possible scenarios.

Step 4: Release & Post-Launch Support

Once you finish the testing part, you are ready to launch your marketplace. It is vital to note that this won’t be the last step since the market develops rapidly, requiring businesses to always check trends and offer post-launch support and maintenance. Only by offering this, you will make sure your product covers all user’s needs and stay relevant in the long term.

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