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Web3 is often described as the third-generation of the internet, and it introduces the concept of decentralized infrastructure and permissionless systems that aim to cut out middlemen and break the monopoly of web giants like Google and Microsoft. It’s aiming to displace Web2, which is the second-generation of the web and what most people continue to interact with.
However, the progress of Web3 development has been slow – agonizingly slow, in fact. While there are millions and millions of Web2 applications in use today, only a handful of Web3 apps get any kind of attention, but that may change as developers get access to more capable tools for building them.
One of the reasons for Web2’s slow pace of development is that there’s a steep learning curve involved. As a developer, the transition from Web2 to Web3 is a daunting task that requires them to familiarize themselves with new technologies like blockchain. That’s because the architecture of Web3 apps, known as dApps, is quite different due to its focus on decentralization.
Blockchain is the key component that enables this decentralization, serving as the foundation of every Web3 dApp. From the developer’s perspective, this is a big change, as the use of blockchain means there’s no need to integrate centralized platforms such as web servers and databases.
Decentralization is the main focus in Web3, and so the architecture has to be different. For instance, Web3 dApps also rely on “smart contracts”, which are programs written in specialist programming languages that contain logic, acting as the backend of the application. These smart contracts, which can automatically execute actions based on predefined rules, are deployed on the same blockchain as the dApp.
This architecture is necessary to create a more inclusive and transparent digital ecosystem that anyone can participate in, free from censorship or restrictions. It’s designed to address some of the main shortcomings of Web2, which is characterized by the almost total dominance of big tech giants, leading to centralized control over user’s data.
The interest is there
While Web3 holds a lot of promise, it has also been a long time coming. It has been more than a decade since Dr. Gavin Wood first coined the term “Web3”, and still the vast majority of internet applications remain centralized. Some might interpret the lack of progress as a sign that people simply aren’t interested in the idea of a decentralized web, but there is a lot of other data to suggest that’s not true.
For one thing, there are huge amounts of money being poured into Web3 development. According to Crunchbase, Web3 startups raised $2 billion in funding in the third quarter of 2024, up 43% from the $1.4 billion raised in the same period one year earlier.
Moreover, plenty of internet users seem interested. The term “Web3” currently gets around 200,000 hits per month on Google Search, according to the internet giant’s own data. And a significant number of developers are attracted to Web3 too, with more than 34,000 contributing code to open-source Web3 projects in 2021, according to Electric Capital.
These data points suggest that the relatively small number of Web3 applications in existence isn’t due to a lack of interest, but rather the difficulty faced by developers in transitioning from traditional to decentralized apps.
Web3 development is much more complex
One of the main challenges for developers is the lack of available tools to make their lives easier when building Web3 applications.
In Web2, there are literally thousands of tools available to help developers, and the industry has evolved to the point where you don’t even need any coding skills to make a functional app. The availability of so-called “low-code” and “no-code” development tools means that anyone who wants to can quite easily build Web2 applications.
By using visual tools such as drag-and-drop interfaces, users can simply piece together the components of their Web2 applications, and the underlying code will be automatically generated for them. This level of automation and abstraction has transformed software development, and it’s quite common to see regular business workers in large organizations create their own apps, without the support of developers.
Low-code tools have advanced to the point where they lend themselves to building a vast number of apps, including websites, mobile applications, business process management platforms and more.
In contrast, while Web2 development has become significantly easier over the years, Web3 development has gotten much harder with the emergence of its “multichain world”. It’s often said that blockchain networks operate in silos. These days, there are literally hundreds of blockchains that developers can build on, such as Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Cosmos, Fantom, Avalanche and Polkadot, to name just a few of the more popular ones.
Each of these blockchains is an isolated environment, where their tokens, liquidity and state data are trapped within its ecosystem of applications.
Because they’re isolated within their own blockchain ecosystem, it’s difficult for Web3 dApps to interact with other dApps located on different networks. This means there is limited interoperability, which impacts the usefulness of dApps.
Web3 developers also struggle with a lack of key infrastructure, which means that instead of developing their dApps, they have to spend substantial time and effort creating their own developer tools and integrations. This adds to the complexity of creating dApps and slows down their progress.
Low-code for Web3 dApps?
There are reasons to think Web3 development won’t always be so difficult though, as the underlying development infrastructure evolves. Thanks to the advancement of new concepts such as intent-based architectures, the challenges of dApp development are slowly being overcome, making the transition much easier for developers.
Intent-based architectures enable developers to specify desired outcomes, with the technical execution being abstracted away, so they don’t have to worry about it. It promises to break down the silos between different blockchain ecosystems. So instead of having to write the code to enable cross-chain processes, a developer can simply state what they want their application to do, and the system will write the code that enables this for them.
One of the leading platforms in terms of intent-based architectures is Enso Network, which acts as a unifying layer that abstracts away smart contract interactions across various blockchains and Layer-2 networks like AppChains and rollups. It can be thought of as an “intent engine”, allowing developers to describe their desired outcomes or define their intentions. Enso then translates these intents into an actionable workflow that will interact with the underlying smart contracts across any blockchain. In this way, it’s uniquely able to standardize on-chain actions, eliminating the need for developers to understand the intricacies of each individual network.
1/ Enso is blockchain shortcuts.By mapping all onchain interactions to a shared engine, Enso lets you focus on your product.Our new identity reflects what we provide: The fastest way to turn your ideas into reality.https://t.co/6V5x3tOLm0 pic.twitter.com/S2fiE54MTr
— Enso 🛠️ (@EnsoBuild) January 27, 2025
In other words, Enso is a kind of middleware that allows developers to embed DeFi applications on any blockchain directly into their dApps, without any complexity. It removes the need for manual integration of different protocols, allowing developers to experiment with any kind of smart contract, regardless of the underlying chain it’s hosted on.
Enso isn’t alone in its efforts to bring a low-code-like experience to Web3 dApp development. Various other initiatives are looking to make lives easier for developers. For instance, the recently launched Aurora Cloud Console provides a simple way for developers and businesses to deploy and manage customized EVM blockchains in a few clicks, without having to write any troublesome code. Moreover, we’ve also seen the emergence of no-code tools that enable anyone to create their own memecoin along with liquidity pools on popular decentralized exchange platforms.
Final thoughts
The emergence of these tools suggests the evolution of Web3 development tools is finally taking shape. By simplifying and/or abstracting away the complexities of dApp development, they’re making the transition from Web2 to Web3 much easier.
As a result, they’re paving the way for developers who’re already familiar with Web2 to start exploring the potential of decentralized applications without the need to invest significant time and money in learning the basics first.
Web3 has been slow to get off the ground, but as the barriers to development come crashing down, it’s only a matter of time until many more developers start exploring the possibilities it enables.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
