Under the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, museums and galleries had to close, sales of art works had plummeted. In contrast, sales of NFT-based works have skyrocketed, from $2.6 million in November 2020 to $8.2 million in December of the same year. The problem here is that the NFT marketplace is exploding, and the launch of NFT e-commerce platforms is the current trend. Let Tech Town learn about NFT marketplace and how to create it in this article.

What is NFT marketplace?

The NFT marketplace is a dedicated platform for storing and trading non-fungible Tokens, items that have a fixed price or can be purchased in an auction. It is worth noting that buyers should own a crypto wallet to make transactions.

Types of NFT marketplace platforms:

•     Universal NFT websites: Sell any kind of crypto merchandise, be it digital art or a domain name. The most famous Universal NFT sites today are Rarible, OpenSea, and Mintable.
•     Niche peer-to-peer marketplaces: Centralized offering of specific digital assets. Just as Valuables is a website that buys and sells tweets, Glass Factory sells digital holograms.

How the NFT Platform Works

Smart contract definition

A smart contract is a self-executing transaction protocol, in simpler words, it is a piece of programming code. This code is used to enter all the terms of an agreement between the parties to a transaction in the blockchain.

What makes this transaction protocol so important? That’s because it governs the seller-buyer relationships on the NFT marketplace.

How do smart contracts work?

The obligations of the parties are expressed in the smart contract in the form of IF/ THEN. Example: If (IF) the buyer transfers to pay for a digital item, then (THEN) the seller grants the rights to this NFT crypto-asset. When both parties meet each other’s conditions, the smart contract will conduct the transaction independently.

Going back to the NFT marketplace, NFT tokens are made through smart contracts. Each item comes with a unique metadata. The set of specific information related to supply, origin and authentication are all represented in smart contracts, blockchain technology will protect this data carefully.

To develop the NFT marketplace, we need to create a token protocol. As a rule, these protocols are created on the Ethereum network, as a specific group of smart contracts. They allow the implementation of certain market functions. The token protocols will then be integrated in the development of the NFT marketplace.

User flow on NFT marketplace

We will now discuss how users operate on NFT marketplaces. The process is the same for all NFT auction sites. As follows:

•     Step 1. Users register an account on the NFT . platform
•     Step 2. Create a crypto wallet.
•     Step 3. This is the NFT creation process, users will upload digital items to showcase their products.
•     Step 4. User lists items for sale. Here they have two options: auction or set a fixed price.
•     Step 5. Bypass censorship.
•     Step 6. As soon as the new NFT is approved, potential buyers can see it in the product listing.
•     Step 7. NFT holders can start accepting bids.
•     Step 8. When the auction ends, the seller is notified of the highest bids.
•     Step 9. The NFT platform regulates the conversion of money and digital assets.

How to create an NFT marketplace

When it comes to creating an NFT marketplace for business purposes, it’s still the same as developing any other software product. First, you need to identify the right audience for your background and the challenges you’re about to face. The job then is to develop the required functionalities for your NFT marketplace and find the most suitable development. We will talk about this shortly:

Basic functions for an NFT . website

Your main task is to allow users to create and sell collections. Additional features can be added to provide users with a better using experience. The features we recommend here would be:

•     Storefront: Like any other marketplace, your NFT marketplace platform must have a storefront.
•     Convenient search engine: Ensures that users can easily find the collection they are interested in. A good way here is to divide all content into categories like Art, Photography, domains, music,…
•     Filters: The filter system will help users navigate the NFT application and select the required items. With this feature, the time between NFT selection and purchase will be greatly reduced. The most popular filters include: highest price, lowest price, recently listed, most viewed.
•     Create a list: The process of creating a collection should be quick and simple. On the creation page, the user can upload the file and the required token information such as name, description and tag.
•     Listing Status: This feature will benefit sellers as they go through the collection verification process. With its help, they can check the stages of the verification process for their item.
•     Buying and Auctioning: Building a convenient auction system is one of the key stages of the development of the NFT marketplace platform. Don’t forget to set an “expiration date” in the form, it helps users control their bids. Besides, with the auction watch list, users can keep track of the current status of the bids.
•     Rating: This feature will be very useful for users who do not know which NFT to choose. This is also a way to “reward” the best sellers by demonstrating their reliability.
•     Wallet: This functionality makes it possible to send, store and receive cryptocurrencies and NFTs. For added convenience, allow users on the NFT marketplace to connect to their preferred wallet.

The functionality for NFT marketplaces is not limited to the features mentioned above. You can test some unique functions to better improve the user experience. Example: Creating a forum on your platform is also a great way to build a strong user community. Push notifications are also a good idea, which will notify users of new collections or the status of their current listings.

How much does it cost to build an NFT marketplace?

The answer to that question is: Everything will depend on how much work is required. For example, if you decide to use an off-the-shelf solution that is ready to be installed, costs will be lower.

Along with that, the NFT marketplace development services of a reputable software development company will cost more to set. That’s because experts will have to build user flows, develop functionalities, and design your solution from the ground up.

Same for the platform functions, the more complex you want to build the platform, the more money you have to invest in developing the NFT marketplace.

The cost of developing an NFT marketplace platform usually starts at $47,835, which will be higher if you use the services of developers from Western Europe or the United States.

NFT marketplace development solutions

When it comes to building an NFT platform, you have two options:

•     One is to use the available tools to develop the NFT marketplace, which will be less expensive, and shorten the time to develop and launch products in the market.
•     Second, you can use the services of a trusted custom software development company. Their experts know how to develop an NFT marketplace that specifically meets all your requirements. With this development any new functionality can be added as required, your business won’t have any problem with scaling, improving your platform to attract more customers. more users.

Another advantage of using a custom software development service is the good security of sensitive information. This is especially important for NFT marketplaces, as failure to comply with privacy laws can have dire consequences.

Hope the information Tech Town brings will be useful to you.

Contact us if you have any technological challenges.