Are you interested in improving your app’s accessibility? In the world of blockchain development, big ideas sometimes fail to make it big because they can’t reach potential users, or get the right support where they need it. This article has useful areas to consider when making a dApp accessible to both crypto natives and newcomers. You will also find useful resources to help you build a dApp tailored to your needs.
User Interface (UI)
When compared to their Web2 predecessors, there is an obvious gap in the user interface of Web3 dApps – possibly due to their infancy. Many projects, while having excellent back-end functionality, lack appeal on the frontend. A common occurrence for developers.
Most dApps are concerned with functionality, ahead of user experience. A challenge for Web3 developers is to understand how to turn complexity into usability. Web3 dApps must identify and prioritise the main aspects that are important to the user. Furthermore, developers must keep in mind that if a dApp is intended for a broad user base, they must be usable for those with less technical expertise.
Engaging with new dApps may be a perplexing experience for the new, as well as the initiated. Crowded interfaces and overly technical terms will act as a deterrent to visitors.
Some terms may be incomprehensible to non-crypto individuals. As a result, new users will have a tough experience. Using technical phrases or text in your dApp’s language could alienate your customers. Simple terminology and clean interface make your app accessible to a wider audience.
While Web3 UI has its limitations, there are plenty of good examples out there. For example, MetaMask is extremely effective in allowing users to safely store their crypto in a decentralised, non-custodial wallet. In addition to being an in-browser wallet, it also allows other dApps to undertake user authentication without the need for the regular Web2 style login.
Developers may improve the simplicity of discovering other DeFi protocols and Web3 dApps by providing features within their own app that allow for discovery with only a few taps such as an in app browser. You could also include customisation capabilities such as personal profiles and user-specific settings.
You may find this article about UX on decrypt.co useful.
Software Development Kits (SDKs)
To be efficient, every developer requires helpful tools. A well thought out tool that is optimised for the right purpose speeds up development and also makes it more robust. It helps avoid common stumbling blocks and avoidable complexity. In Web3 especially, developers want tools to help them create and distribute dApps to a larger audience more efficiently.
There are several software development kits (SDK) available to assist developers more easily deploy their dApps. With the example of ready-made open source language-specific SDKs, open-source SDKs will make blockchain more usable. EVM (Solidity), Solana(Rust), Cosmos (Go), and Lisk (JavaScript) are a few examples. These initiatives are about more than simply smart contracts; they are about optimising your own blockchain dApp creation process.
Going this way gives developers more control from the start. If there are issues or bugs, developers may quickly repair and update.
Remember that blockchain, more than other industries, empowers new entrants by open source tools and sharing knowledge to create better applications. This allows new dApp developers to spend more time on creating features that allow their dApp to be more accessible to a wider audience rather than focusing solely on the technology.
A Payment Gateway (Fiat-Crypto On & Off Ramp)
Onboarding is the first step for any potential new user, so ensuring that an intuitive onboarding process is crucial. It is the opportunity to increase your user base. A confused user may never return. Various global and local fiat payment options and smooth KYC identification will simplify a user’s experience with the practical steps of possessing the correct token to use the decentralised application.
The Alchemy Pay Ramp Solution is a fiat-crypto onramp and offramp plugin, designed for small, medium and large scale dApps. Its payment gateway accepts Mastercard and Visa from your users and your community in 173 countries. Its capabilities extend beyond credit and debit cards, to include access to popular local payment systems and mobile wallets. Based in Singapore, Alchemy Pay has watched the increase in popularity of alternative payment methods (APMs) and ensures that customers can use them to buy and sell crypto. Mobile wallets and local forms of domestic transfers are quickly becoming the preferred payment option for many individuals all around the world.
The Alchemy Pay’s Ramp Solution accepts SEPA, alongside e-wallets such as GCash in the Philippines (60 million users), OVO (92 million users) and Dana (115 million users) in Indonesia, Kakao Pay (Alchemy Pay NFT Checkout only) in Korea (36.5 million users), MoMo in Vietnam (23 million users), Paynow in Singapore (4.9 million users), and many more. Additionally, the ramp also accepts crypto payments via Binance Pay (70+ million users).
Additionally, the Alchemy Pay NFT Checkout allows users to buy non-fungible tokens directly from the dApp, leaving no left over crypto after a purchase.
Collaboration and Partnerships
Within the crypto industry, you can improve accessibility and discoverability of your project by surrounding yourself with a supportive network of partners. Depending on the type of project, this could be blockchain Layer-1s who often support dApps building on their network. It could also mean other decentralised applications, or even your peers.
Making your platform expansive and interoperable will provide users with numerous ways to use your platform through compatible programs. A good example of this is AAVE’s collaboration with Pocket to use its distributed network to increase access for dApp developers across 50 blockchain networks.
Conclusion
Building accessible Web3 dApps has never been easier or more straightforward than it is now, thanks to the large variety of tools and industry participants available. It’s an excellent time to start developing your dApp today!
Check out these useful resources:
https://cryptonews.com/news/how-build-decentralized-application-dapp.htm
https://www.dAppuniversity.com/articles/blockchain-tutorial
https://www.adjust.com/blog/how-to-make-an-app-accessible/
https://devops.com/making-blockchain-based-app-dev-more-accessible/
