Tech Stack for Building an NFT Marketplace
Tags: nft, discuss, blockchain
Published: 2022-03-08 16:22:19

Suppose you want to build your very own NFT marketplace — excellent idea! Whether you are hiring a dedicated team or looking for individual professionals, you usually start out with a UI/UX design ([here are a few tips](https://perpet.io/blog/nft-marketplace-ui-ux-design-essential-features-and-helpful-tips/)), then proceed to the development stage, do some testing, and that’s it — time to attract users.

But wait, before getting to the process, you might have several questions about what will actually be going on. Let’s discuss which tech stack is used for building NFT marketplaces, so when the time comes, you are all set.

## Frontend
Let’s start with the “face” of your platform: frontend. You need a user-friendly and responsive interface. Apart from being visually appealing, it needs to be quick and reliable. React or Node.js can be the perfect choice for this task.

These are modern, regularly updated, and well-established frameworks used to build the frontend of all kinds of platforms.

## Backend 

The backside of your platform is no less important. After all, it’s behind the curtains where all the translations and operations are going on. For the backend, you might choose between some of the most popular programming languages; they all suit NFT platform development. These include:

- JavaScript

- Kotlin

- Swift

- Python

- Solidity

One thing to note: the language of your choice needs to go together with the blockchain the platform will be running on, so your developers should double-check that. For example, NFT platforms that use Ethereum blockchain are built with the Solidity language. 

## Blockchain frameworks

Speaking of the blockchain, you have to choose one too. Ethereum might be an obvious option, but, of course, there is more than just one blockchain out there. Some other popular ones are:

- Solana

- Polygon

- Cardano

- Tezos

Blockchain impacts your other tools, like crypto wallets and smart contract deployment, so making a wise and strategic choice is crucial. Blockchain is what defines your platform’s infrastructure.

When it comes to the very blockchain integration, APIs are happy to help. For example, you can go for NOWNodes, Ethereum API by Moralis, or Coinbase. 

## Crypto wallet gateways
Surely your users will need to access cryptocurrency while buying or selling NFTs. For that, they will use crypto wallets. It is not a challenge to integrate a wallet, but again the choice really depends on the blockchain. For example, AlphaWallet is a go-to option for Ethereum blockchain.

At the same time, some wallets support multiple cryptocurrencies, like MetaMask or Math Wallet. These can go with most of the popular blockchains. Some wallets are mobile-only solutions, so keep that in mind.

## Smart contract deployment tools

Finally, there is one more tool to work on. And, of course, it’s connected with blockchain. Smart contracts run on blockchain and basically allow the transaction only when all the data is correct. But how do you integrate smart contracts into your NFT platform?

No worries — there are dedicated tools for that. These frameworks include

- Brownie

- Hardhat

- OpenZeppelin

Such tools make it easy for developers to deploy smart contracts even if they are not NFT specialists.

## One more thing (actually two)
And that’s the basic tech stack for building an NFT platform. You will also need cloud storage (AWS or Google Cloud Platform will do) and a database (for instance, Firebase). Cloud and databases are required for virtually any digital product today, so we don’t need to discuss them separately.

And that’s it for the tech side; when broken down, making an NFT platform isn’t such a tremendous task, is it? Does designing the interface still seem like a lot? We got your back — find valuable tips [here](https://perpet.io/blog/nft-marketplace-ui-ux-design-essential-features-and-helpful-tips/).