Cracking the Code: Web 3.0 Software Development Challenges and

Guidelines

Surya Bahadur Kathayat

Department of Computer Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway

Keywords:

Web 3.0, Sofware Development, Challenges and Guidelines.

Abstract:

In the recent years, as the Web 3.0 continues to shape the digital landscape, developers faces many challenges

in navigating this dynamic terrain. This paper, informed by extensive literature review and insights from multi-

ple Web 3.0 applications development, examines the primary hurdles faced in Web 3.0 software development.

These challenges span from scalability and interoperability to security and user experience. Furthermore, the

paper presents essential architectural guidelines and best practices aimed at assisting developers in overcoming

these obstacles and constructing robust and future-ready Web 3.0 applications. By addressing these observed

challenges and adhering to the proposed guidelines, developers can effectively harness the full potential of

Web 3.0 and facilitate its widespread acceptance.

1 INTRODUCTION

Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 represent two distinct phases

in the evolution of the internet, each characterized by

its own unique features, capabilities, and philosophies

regarding user interaction and data management. Web

2.0, often referred to as the participative social web,

signiﬁes the transition from static web pages to dy-

namic or user-generated content and the growth of so-

cial networks. It’s the era of the internet that enabled

users to interact with sites and with each other, creat-

ing, sharing, and commenting on content online. This

phase saw the rise of blogs, social media platforms,

wikis, and services that emphasized user collabora-

tion. The underlying technology of Web 2.0 mainly

includes client-server based frameworks, making data

centralized and in the hands of a few large companies,

leading to concerns over privacy, data ownership, and

the monetization of personal information.

Web 3.0, on the other hand, is the decentralized

web, aiming to make internet more autonomous, intel-

ligent, and open. The Web 3.0 emphasizes decentral-

ization, aiming to give users more control over their

data through decentralized technologies, which facil-

itate secure, transparent transactions and interactions

without the need for centralized authorities or inter-

mediaries. In essence, the transition from Web 2.0 to

Web 3.0 marks a shift from a centralized web domi-

nated by large corporations to a decentralized ecosys-

tem that prioritizes user privacy, data ownership, and

intelligent, personalized web experiences. While Web

2.0 made the internet more social and interactive, Web

3.0 seeks to make it more secure, intelligent, and user-

centric.

As we navigate this new era, characterized by de-

centralized architectures, enhanced user experiences,

and advanced data handling capabilities, developers

are faced with a myriad of challenges and opportuni-

ties. In this paper, we delve into the intricacies of de-

veloping software for the Web 3.0 environment. Our

exploration encompasses not only the technical hur-

dles but also the strategic considerations essential for

success in this dynamic ecosystem. By identifying

key challenges and offering practical guidelines, we

aim to provide developers and innovators with the in-

sights and tools necessary to navigate the complex-

ities of Web 3.0 software development effectively.

Through this endeavor, we seek to contribute to the

advancement of Web 3.0 technology and empower in-

novators to unlock its full potential.

Here’s what’s coming up: In Section 2 we’ll ex-

amine relevant literature. Section 3 outlines the re-

search methodology and the experiments conducted.

The subsequent sections present guiding principles,

challenges and technical advice for Web 3.0 software

development. A comprehensive discussion and con-

clusion is presented towards the end.

458

Kathayat, S.

Cracking the Code: Web 3.0 Software Development Challenges and Guidelines.

DOI: 10.5220/0012852800003753

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Software Technologies (ICSOFT 2024), pages 458-468

ISBN: 978-989-758-706-1; ISSN: 2184-2833

2 RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 DApps Development

Central to the Web 3.0 transformation are decentral-

ized applications (DApps) (Cai et al., 2018). The

DApps have some sort of decentralized storage, and

user interface design! Developing robust and scal-

able Web 3.0 applications presents unique challenges

and require innovative methodologies and best prac-

tices. Most of the literature are based on the Ethereum

blockchain platform, which offers unprecedented lev-

els of transparency, security, and trustlessness. Au-

thors (W

ohrer and Zdun, 2021) explore practical ap-

proaches to building DApps using Ethereum, with

a focus on design patterns, security, and scalability.

Raval’s Decentralized Applications: Harnessing Bit-

coin’s Blockchain Technology offers hands-on guid-

ance for building DApps using blockchain technolo-

gies beyond Ethereum (Raval, 2016).

2.2 Smart Contracts

Smart contracts serve as the backbone of Web 3.0

applications, enabling automated execution of digi-

tal agreements. Mastering Ethereum by Antonopou-

los and Wood offers comprehensive guidance on

writing, deploying, and interacting with smart con-

tracts (Antonopoulos and Wood, 2018). Addition-

ally, Solidity Programming Essentials by (DeForest,

2023) provides practical insights into Solidity, the pri-

mary language for writing smart contracts. Ethereum

Cookbook by (Manoj, 2018) offers a collection of

recipes for common Ethereum development tasks, in-

cluding deploying and interacting with smart con-

tracts.

2.3 Integration and Interoperability

Like a traditional software development, web 3.0 de-

velopment also intersects integration and interoper-

ability as developers design, implement, and test sys-

tems to facilitate seamless communication and data

exchange between diverse software components and

external systems. There are some standardized data

formats and protocols, and leveraged middleware to

streamline integration processes. Blockchain Basics

by (Drescher, 2017) offers insights into integrating

blockchain solutions with existing web 2.0 systems.

Enterprise Blockchain Development in (Lee and

Ghosh, 2018) explores enterprise-grade blockchain

development methodologies, covering topics such as

consortium networks, permissioned blockchains, and

interoperability standards. Cryptoassets by (Burniske

and Tatar, 2017), navigates the complexities of cryp-

tocurrencies, offers insights into their integration with

traditional web services. Understanding Ethereum by

(Scott, 2017) provides exploration of the platform’s

architecture, protocols, and design principles, shed-

ding light on its interoperability with existing web in-

frastructures.

2.4 Security and Governance

Security is paramount in Web 3.0 development, par-

ticularly when dealing with smart contracts and de-

centralized applications. Sajid’s Ultimate Blockchain

Security Handbook offers insights into securing smart

contracts and DApps on the Ethereum blockchain, in-

cluding best practices for auditing and testing (Sajid,

2023). Blockchain Cybersecurity, Trust and Privacy

by (Choo et al., 2020) delves into various DApp use

cases and their implications for privacy, security, and

governance. The DAO of Capital and Blockchain and

the Law respectively explores the concept of decen-

tralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) in Web

3.0 governance and delves into legal and regulatory

challenges associated with decentralized applications

(De Filippi and Wright, 2018).

2.5 Web 3.0 Game Developments

The game development within the context of Web

3.0 is a burgeoning area with a focus on exploring

the convergence of blockchain technology, decentral-

ized systems, and gaming (Sahin, 2023). The litera-

ture in this domain typically investigates the integra-

tion of blockchain and smart contracts to enable novel

gameplay mechanics, true ownership of in-game as-

sets through non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and decen-

tralized economies within gaming ecosystems (Min

et al., 2019). Additionally, research in game design

and user experience examines how to optimize user

onboarding processes in decentralized environments

(Iyer and Dannen, 2018). The literature in this ﬁeld is

still emerging.

2.6 The DeFi Revolution

Development on decentralized ﬁnance (DeFi) is prob-

ably one of the most talked topic of Web 3.0.

Friesendorf et al.’s Decentralized Finance (DeFi):

How Decentralized Applications (DApps) Disrupt

Banking, offer deep explorations into the intricate

mechanics of DeFi protocols, including decentral-

ized exchanges (DEXs), lending platforms, and gov-

ernance mechanisms (Friesendorf, 2023). Technical

documentation and whitepapers from leading DeFi

Cracking the Code: Web 3.0 Software Development Challenges and Guidelines

459

projects, like Uniswap’s whitepaper Automated Mar-

ket Making (Uniswap, 2024) and Compound’s The

Money Market Protocol (Compound, 2024), provide

foundational knowledge and implementation details

crucial for developers and researchers. Furthermore,

conferences like the Ethereum Foundation’s Devcon

and ConsenSys Summits serve as hubs for the dis-

semination of cutting-edge research, best practices,

and innovative ideas in the realm of decentralized

ﬁnance, fostering collaboration and knowledge ex-

change among developers, and industry stakeholders.

3 METHODOLOGY

Our research methodology draws inspiration from ag-

ile principles and design science research, focusing on

tackling one problem at a time and iterating in small

steps. This approach prioritizes ﬂexibility, adaptabil-

ity, and continuous improvement, enabling us to ef-

fectively address changing requirements and uncer-

tainties. By integrating experimentation, hypothesis

testing, and data-driven decision-making, Agile De-

sign Science fosters curiosity, exploration, and learn-

ing. This allows for continuous prototyping, and

shorter user feedback loops to reﬁne solutions iter-

atively and drive innovation. Through this iterative

process, Agile Design Science promotes creativity,

resilience, and a culture of continuous learning, ul-

timately leading to more impactful outcomes.

3.1 Experiments

We’ve undertaken a series of experimental projects,

each distinct in nature.

3.1.1 Academic Diploma Veriﬁcation Platform

Our ﬁrst experiment (Hustad and Fredrik, 2021) is to

develop a simple decentralized app resembling a Web

3.0 wallet designed to revolutionize academic creden-

tials storage and transparent veriﬁcation. Users can

import veriﬁed documents, such as academic diplo-

mas, into a web wallet and share them with potential

employers during recruitment. While the technology

functions well, we’ve encountered several challenges.

The primary issue is the performance of storing and

retrieving large documents, along with associated gas

fees for blockchain transactions. Additionally, stor-

ing documents transparently in a decentralized net-

work somewhat limits data ownership aspects, despite

the preservation of document integrity by Web 3.0

technology. The architecture of the application was

quite simple - set of JavaScript based front-end com-

ponents representing issuer and veriﬁer, and a back-

end with a set of smart contracts communicating to

the blockchain.

3.1.2 Identity Wallet Platform

In this experiment (Bliudzius et al., 2022), we have

envisioned a cutting-edge identity platform to tran-

scend the boundaries of conventional digital iden-

tity based authentication methods. The idea behind

was based on self-sovereign identity (SSI) where user

identity veriﬁcation (e.g Norwegian BankID) is done

once, stored securely in the wallet in the form of ver-

iﬁed credential (VC) and later can be used by the

user for veriﬁcation in the form of veriﬁable presenta-

tions (VP). This not only offers ownership of identity

data back to the users, but also has large economi-

cal advantages along with increased privacy and secu-

rity. The platform boasts both mobile and web-based

interfaces, and seamlessly integrated web 3.0 into a

sophisticated Web 2.0 back-end infrastructure. With

this fusion of traditional web 2.0 functionalities with

the immutable, trustless architecture of web 3.0 tech-

nology, we have drawn some Web 3.0. architectural

guidelines and design principles ensuring seamless

interoperability and enhanced security. The guide-

lines are comprehensively presented later section in

this paper.

The overall architecture of the platform has fol-

lowing main components.

• Mobile and web wallets written in react-native

and uses Veramo APIs for handling veriﬁable data

and SSI.

• Web 2.0 backend serving as orchestrator for Is-

suers, User wallets, and Veriﬁers. It also manages

keys, resolves identities and account data.

• Web 3.0 backend with a set of smart contracts

written in Rust. It communicates the underlying

Polkadot Blockchain.

• Issuers web applications mocking the issuance of

identities.

• Veriﬁers or consumers web applications that sim-

ulate services consuming identities.

3.1.3 Web 3.0 Gaming Applications

We have then experimented by developing multiple

web 3.0 games. First, in BlackJack (Gimre, 2023) and

Tic Toc (Groven, 2023), we focused on the concur-

rency aspect, where players play the game simultane-

ously. We also wanted to have most of the game logic

decentralized i.e in the blockchain. Technically, it is

possible but we have faced several obstacles. Trans-

action delay was the main factor.

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Figure 1: System architecture of the Web 3.0 games.

Then in TokenTrivia (Bendvold et al., 2024), we

shifted our focus on having a optimal technical so-

lution. We combined best of web 2.0 and web 3.0.

It helped us to validate our architectural guidelines

that underpin the development process, advocating for

scalable, modular architectures that facilitate seam-

less integration of web 2.0 and web 3.0 ensuring

optimal performance across diverse gaming environ-

ments.

The generic system architecture for web 3.0 en-

ables games is shown in Figure 1. Note the learn-

ing from our earlier experiment on Identity Platform,

we have decided to have Node.js based web 2.0 back-

end component. We discovered that this option offers

better performance. Furthermore, there are numerous

JavaScript-based frameworks and resources available

that facilitated a swift start and allowed for a short

development cycle.

4 THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

After extensive experimentation and research, we’ve

established best practices for Web 3.0 solutions, cov-

ering interoperability, scalability, security, and user

experience. These guidelines provide developers with

a roadmap for building resilient, future-ready applica-

tions in decentralized technologies.

4.1 Think Decentralization at the Core

One needs to think fundamentally differently when

comes to web 3.0 software development compared to

traditional web 2.0! In a decentralized system, there’s

no single point of control or failure; instead, respon-

sibilities are shared among various nodes or partic-

ipants ensuring resilience and autonomy. Accord-

ingly, the software architecture should be such that

distributes power, application logic, authority, and

decision-making across a network rather than concen-

trating it in a single entity or server.

4.2 Continuous Innovation

A fundamental guiding principle for Web 3.0 software

development is fostering a mindset and culture of con-

tinuous innovation. Given the youthful and evolv-

ing nature of the ﬁeld, it’s imperative to remain agile,

embrace change, and adopt emerging technologies to

stay ahead in Web 3.0 software development.

4.3 Scale with Agility

Scaling with agility in Web 3.0 development in-

volves carefully selecting blockchain technology tai-

lored to speciﬁc application needs, such as Ethereum

for its robust ecosystem or Solana for high-speed

transactions. Layer 2 solutions like state channels,

sidechains, and rollups can enhance scalability by

handling transactions off the main blockchain, thus

improving throughput and reducing costs. Off-chain

computation through oracles or services like The

Graph helps optimize data handling and costs.

It’s also critical to maintain agile development

practices, focusing on iterative development, con-

tinuous integration, and automated testing to adapt

quickly to changes. Optimizing smart contract code

for efﬁciency, designing user-friendly interfaces, and

staying updated with the latest technologies and reg-

ulations are also essential for creating scalable, efﬁ-

cient, and compliant Web 3.0 applications. This ap-

proach not only addresses technical scalability but

also ensures the application remains accessible and

practical for end-users, leveraging the decentralized

nature of the web without compromising on perfor-

mance.

4.4 Community-Centric Approach

State of the art web 3.0 software development is

fragmented based on different blockchain platforms.

Such platforms have their own dedicated commu-

nities engaging users, developments and innovators.

Cracking the Code: Web 3.0 Software Development Challenges and Guidelines

461

Many of the communities even engage users in gov-

ernance, feedback loops, and decision-making pro-

cesses to ensure your software evolves with the needs

of the community. Therefore emphasize collabora-

tion, transparency, and inclusivity. Involve or get in-

volved in decentralized governance mechanisms like

DAOs, open contribution to project development,

token-based incentives, education, and a commitment

to transparency and accountability. This approach

empowers users, developers, and stakeholders to ac-

tively participate, shape projects, and collectively ad-

vance further.

4.5 Interoperability Bridges

Web 3.0 is still very diverse! It is useful to use

protocols or mechanisms that facilitate communica-

tion and data exchange between different decentral-

ized systems such as blockchain networks. This en-

ables ability of diverse systems and platforms to work

together seamlessly and overcome the fragmentation

and siloed nature of blockchain ecosystems. This also

means fostering ecosystem growth and collaboration

enabling organizations to leverage existing infrastruc-

tures and tap into diverse networks.

However, while these bridges offer signiﬁcant ad-

vantages, they also introduce security risks, as the

bridge itself can become a target for attacks. Develop-

ers must therefore also focus on building secure bridg-

ing protocols to safeguard cross-chain interactions.

4.6 Fortify with Security

Boost the security of your applications by incorpo-

rating robust measures to defend against potential

threats. Utilize encryption, conduct frequent audits,

and implement trustworthy authentication methods to

fortify your systems. By adopting these comprehen-

sive security practices, you can safeguard your data

and infrastructure from unauthorized access and ma-

licious activities. Additionally, fostering a culture

of security awareness within the development pro-

cess ensures that all stakeholders remain vigilant and

proactive in addressing evolving security challenges.

4.7 Empower User Sovereignty

Provide individual users with the empowerment to

oversee their digital existence by granting them au-

tonomy over their data, identities, and online inter-

actions. This empowerment entails not only owner-

ship and management of personal data but also the

ability to regulate digital identities, safeguard privacy,

embrace decentralized platforms, and prioritize de-

sign that revolves around the needs and preferences of

users. By considering these principles, users can feel

more empowered and in command of their online ex-

periences, fostering a digital environment that is both

inclusive and respectful of individual rights and pref-

erences.

4.8 Tokenomics for Sustainability

Tokonomics and reward is the beauty of web 3.0.

Especially rewarding those who offer distributed re-

sources such as computing power is good in terms

of sustainability. Therefore if your application has

tokonomics, design ecosystems with robust and sus-

tainable token economics. Incentivize participation

and contribution while maintaining long-term viabil-

ity and value creation.

4.9 Craft Seamless Experiences

Engaging users is a fundamental challenge in any

software systems! This is even more essential for

young and emerging web 3.0 systems. Therefore craft

experiences that captivate and delight end users. Pri-

oritize intuitive interfaces, friction less onboarding for

example from web 2.0 to web 3.0, and user-centric

design to ensure adoption and retention.

4.10 Immutable Accountability

In Web 3.0, immutable accountability refers to using

blockchain technology to record transactions in a way

that cannot be altered, ensuring all actions are perma-

nently and transparently logged. This approach is cru-

cial in applications like smart contracts and decentral-

ized apps (DApps), where it guarantees that once data

or agreements are entered into the blockchain, they re-

main unchangeable and veriﬁable by all participants.

This transparency builds trust, reduces fraud, and en-

sures that all network activities can be audited at any

time, fostering a reliable and secure digital environ-

ment. On the other hand, it may have consequences

against privacy. So use it wisely.

5 THE ROADBLOCKS

The following challenges emerged during our endeav-

ors.

5.1 Complexity in Development

One of the most formidable challenges we faced in

Web 3.0 software development is the steep learn-

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462

ing curve associated with blockchain technology and

decentralized systems. Developers must grapple

with new programming languages like Solidity for

Ethereum, Rust for Polkadot, etc as well as under-

stand the intricacies of smart contracts and consensus

algorithms.

5.2 Scalability Challenges

When it comes to multiple users and increased num-

ber of transactions, the underlying blockchain plat-

forms face scalability issues, struggling to handle in-

creased transaction volumes without compromising

on speed or inﬂating costs.

5.3 Security Vulnerabilities

The immutable nature of blockchain is a double-

edged sword. While it provides security against data

tampering, it also means that any vulnerability in

smart contracts or the decentralized application itself

is permanent and can be exploited repeatedly. That re-

quires careful design and development of smart con-

tracts.

5.4 User Experience Hurdles

Creating user-friendly experiences in Web 3.0 is quite

challenging and they stem from the complexity of de-

centralized technologies. Challenges include man-

aging wallets and cryptographic keys, high transac-

tion fees and slow speeds, complex onboarding pro-

cesses, unfamiliar interfaces, lack of support systems,

and data privacy concerns. Simplifying wallet man-

agement, streamlining onboarding processes, improv-

ing interface design, establishing robust support sys-

tems, clarifying regulations, and enhancing data pri-

vacy measures are key steps to address these hurdles

and make Web 3.0 more accessible and user-friendly.

5.5 Regulatory Ambiguity

Regulatory ambiguity poses signiﬁcant challenges for

Web 3.0 development. The decentralized world is still

in a legal gray area, with varying regulations across

jurisdictions and different geographic locations. Un-

clear legal status, compliance burdens, regulatory ar-

bitrage, enforcement risks, and impacts on innovation

hinder progress. Collaboration between stakeholders

is very crucial to develop clear and balanced regula-

tory frameworks that support innovation.

5.6 Privacy and Transparency

Privacy and transparency in Web 3.0 present a deli-

cate balance. While decentralized technologies offer

increased privacy by decentralizing control over per-

sonal data, they also introduce challenges. Immutable

public ledgers, like blockchains, may compromise

user conﬁdentiality, while fully private transactions

can hinder auditability. Similarly, while blockchain

enhances transparency by providing an immutable

record, it raises concerns about data visibility. Ad-

dressing these challenges requires innovative solu-

tions, collaboration among stakeholders to develop

and promote standards that promote both privacy and

transparency.

6 BEST PRACTICES: THE

ROUTE TO SUCCESS

Choosing the right technologies is crucial for devel-

oping robust, scalable, and future-ready web 3.0 ap-

plications. The recommendations provided in this

section are based on our experience and expertise in

the current technological landscape, aiming to em-

power individuals to make informed decisions.

6.1 Blockchain Platforms

Various Blockchain platforms support app develop-

ment, but they often lack compatibility, requiring apps

to be rewritten for different platforms. Our experi-

ments have been conducted on Ethereum and Polka-

dot. Some popular options for app development in-

clude Ethereum, Polkadot, Solana, Cardano, etc. Se-

lect the one that is suitable for your requirements.

6.1.1 Ethereum

It remain the most popular choice for developing

DApps due to its widespread adoption, smart con-

tract functionality, and developer-friendly ecosystem.

It provides Ethereum virtual machine for running

DApps. However, Ethereum also faces challenges,

such as scalability issues and high gas fees.

6.1.2 Polkadot

It’s interoperability and scalability features make it

an excellent choice for building cross-chain DApps.

Its multi-chain framework enables parallel process-

ing and seamless communication between diverse

blockchains.

Cracking the Code: Web 3.0 Software Development Challenges and Guidelines

463

6.1.3 Solana

It is known for its high throughput and low latency.

With its innovative consensus mechanism, Solana can

process thousands of transactions per second, mak-

ing it ideal for demanding applications like DeFi and

NFTs.

6.2 Smart Contract Languages

Solidity (Zheng et al., 2020) and Rust (Sharma, 2024)

are two of the most widely used smart contract lan-

guages. Solidity is for Ethereum-based DApps, of-

fering a JavaScript like syntax and extensive tooling

support. Rust is the preferred language for building

smart contracts on Substrate-based blockchains like

Polkadot, offering strong type safety and performance

beneﬁts.

6.3 Web Development Frameworks

Web3.js and ethers.js are two popular libraries that

allow developers to interact with Ethereum nodes

and smart contracts, making it essential for building

Ethereum-based DApps. The ethers.js is newer, mod-

ular, and lightweight.

Moralis is a backend infrastructure provider that

simpliﬁes Ethereum development by offering tools

and services for managing user authentication, data

storage, and real-time updates. Trufﬂe Suite and

Hardhat are the popular development environments

providing a comprehensive development environment

for Ethereum developers, including tools for smart

contract compilation, debugging, testing, and deploy-

ment.

Popular web 2.0 frontend frameworks, such as

React.js, Vue.js or Angular can be seamlessly used

for web 3.0 app developements. All of these offer a

component-based architecture and a large ecosystem

of libraries and tools for building interactive and re-

sponsive DApps, making it suitable for complex Web

3.0 projects.

6.4 Distributed Storage

Data and information in web 3.0 applications are dis-

tributed along time and location axis. The information

can be in the form of ﬁles, log messages, structured

data in databases or transactions.

6.4.1 Interplanetary File System

Is a distributed ﬁle storage protocol that enables de-

centralized and censorship-resistant data storage. It

is commonly used in Web 3.0 applications for storing

content such as images, videos, and documents.

6.4.2 Databases

Store various types of structured data, such as user

proﬁles, transaction records, and application state.

They support CRUD operations to manipulate data

and enforce data consistency and integrity through

transactions and constraints. Use of databases in Web

3.0 is similar as in Web 2.0, and can be implemented

using SQL, or NoSQL databases depending on the re-

quirements.

6.4.3 Logs

In Web 3.0 applications record events such as user in-

teractions, system errors, smart contract executions,

etc. They capture metadata like timestamps, user IDs,

and transaction IDs to provide context for each event.

Logs are essential for diagnosing and troubleshooting

issues, auditing user activities, and analyzing system

performance. In addition, Logs in blockchain systems

serve to record and provide transparency for various

events and transactions within the network.

6.4.4 Ledgers

In Web 3.0 applications maintain a distributed ledger

of transactions and smart contract state changes

across multiple nodes in a network. They use con-

sensus mechanisms like Proof of Work or Proof of

Stake to validate and append new transactions to the

ledger in a secure and decentralized manner. Ledgers

are used for recording ﬁnancial transactions, asset

transfers, digital identity management, and other de-

centralized interactions. They ensure data integrity,

transparency, and censorship resistance by providing

a shared source of truth that is veriﬁable by all partic-

ipants in the network.

6.5 Oracles

Oracles play a crucial role in decentralized applica-

tions, and should be used whenever possible. They

act as bridges between blockchain smart contracts and

real-world data sources. They fetch and verify ex-

ternal information ensuring data authenticity and in-

tegrity. Common usages of oracles include:

• to provide real-time price feeds in DeFi protocols

like decentralized exchanges or lending platforms

• to track real-time data in supply chains

• to provide weather data to smart contracts to

hedge against weather-related risks, etc

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6.6 The WebSockets

WebSockets play a pivotal role in Web 3.0 app devel-

opment by establishing persistent, bidirectional com-

munication channels between clients and decentral-

ized nodes. Unlike traditional HTTP requests, which

are stateless and require repeated polling for updates,

WebSockets maintain an open connection, enabling

seamless real-time updates and notiﬁcations. This al-

lows DApps to receive instant updates on blockchain

transactions, smart contract events, and other net-

work activities, ensuring users stay informed about

the latest developments in the ecosystem. More-

over, WebSockets provide efﬁcient data transfer, min-

imizing network overhead and latency compared to

polling. Maintaining persistent connections, they en-

hance the responsiveness and interactivity of Web 3.0

apps. Scalability is another key advantage of Web-

Sockets, as they support distributed architectures and

horizontal scaling across multiple servers or nodes.

This enables Web 3.0 applications to handle large

numbers of concurrent connections and maintain re-

sponsiveness even under heavy loads. Note however

that, WebSockets should be secured using Transport

Layer Security encryption, ensuring that data trans-

mitted is encrypted and protected from eavesdrop-

ping. This is crucial for maintaining the conﬁdential-

ity and integrity of user data.

6.7 Usage of Wallets

Wallets are key part of web 3.0 due to their decentral-

ized in nature. Unlike in web 2.0, the wallets in web

3.0 allows users to have full control over their assets

without the need for intermediaries. Here are guide-

lines for using wallets in Web 3.0 development.

6.7.1 Wallet Providers

Select established and reputable wallet providers,

such as Metamask, with a track record of security and

reliability. Prioritize wallets that are open-source and

have undergone third-party security audits.

6.7.2 Privacy and Data Protection

Respect user privacy by minimizing data collection

and ensuring the protection of sensitive information

such as transaction history and account balances. In-

form users about privacy features and options avail-

able within the wallet.

6.7.3 Regular Awareness

Educate users about security practices such as safe-

guarding private keys, using hardware wallets where

possible, and enabling additional security features

like multi-factor authentication. Encourage users to

verify transaction details carefully before conﬁrming

transactions.

6.8 App Deployment Strategies

Smart contract and decentralized application deploy-

ment strategies require meticulous planning, focusing

on effectiveness, security, reliability, and scalability.

Here are some recommendations:

6.8.1 Network Selection

Select the suitable blockchain network considering

factors such as scalability, security, and decentraliza-

tion, with options like Ethereum. Solana and Polka-

dot, each presenting unique trade-offs.

6.8.2 Testing

Conduct comprehensive testing before deployment,

including unit tests, integration tests, and security

tests. Choose an appropriate deployment environ-

ment, starting with Testnets before transitioning to

public or permissioned networks, each offering vary-

ing levels of access control, privacy, and scalability.

6.8.3 Upgradability and Governance

Consider requirements for contract upgradability and

governance mechanisms to manage future changes

and improvements to deployed contracts. Implement

upgradable contract patterns or use governance proto-

cols like DAOs to enable community-driven decision-

making and consensus on contract upgrades.

6.8.4 Gas Costs and Transaction Fees

Deployments and transactions incur costs! There-

fore, optimize contract code and transaction param-

eters to reduce gas consumption and improve cost-

effectiveness.

6.8.5 Security Auditing

Implement security best practices (Naha, 2023) and

conduct security audits to mitigate risks associated

with smart contract vulnerabilities, such as reen-

trancy, overﬂow/underﬂow, and access control issues.

6.8.6 Tools and Infrastructure

Use tools and infrastructure to streamline the deploy-

ment process and automate repetitive tasks. Tools like

Trufﬂe Suite, Hardhat, and Remix provide features for

Cracking the Code: Web 3.0 Software Development Challenges and Guidelines

465

contract compilation, testing, and deployment, mak-

ing the deployment process more efﬁcient and reli-

able.

7 DISCUSSION

7.1 Unprecedented Opportunities

Web 3.0 presents a fertile ground for innovative appli-

cations, spanning from DeFi as an alternative to tra-

ditional banking to NFTs revolutionizing art owner-

ship and copyright. Users now have true ownership

of digital assets, data, and online identities, promis-

ing enhanced privacy and control. With a focus on

interoperability, Web 3.0 aims for a more connected

internet where data and assets can move seamlessly

across platforms. Open-source Web 3.0 projects fos-

ter community-driven development, enabling rapid it-

eration, innovation, and shared ownership. Decen-

tralized identity solutions and the rise of DAOs are

reshaping governance structures, offering new mone-

tization avenues, community rewards, and enhanced

network security. Possibilities are endless.

7.2 Unpredictable in Nature

Web 3.0 is still unpredictable in nature. The unpre-

dictable nature stems from various factors challeng-

ing traditional internet governance, data management,

and economic models. Regulatory ambiguity and

security vulnerabilities persist despite cryptographic

protocols, while interoperability issues hinder seam-

less integration among diverse platforms. The dy-

namic technological landscape and market dynamics

further compound uncertainty, necessitating constant

adaptation and collaboration within the ecosystem.

This unpredictability affects software development

practices, requiring developers to embrace agility, risk

management, and modular design. Collaboration with

decentralized communities, prioritizing user experi-

ence, and privacy considerations are crucial for navi-

gating and capitalizing on Web 3.0’s unpredictability.

7.3 Maturity Is Happening

Implementing Web 3.0 libraries has proved more

complex than expected, primarily due to two fac-

tors. Firstly, a lack of up-to-date documentation on-

line posed a signiﬁcant challenge. Secondly, exist-

ing documentation often lags behind due to ongoing

library development. For example, the ’Ethers.js’ li-

brary saw a substantial update to version 6.9.2, ren-

dering many examples obsolete. Similarly, while

web3.js documentation for 2024 covers basic trans-

actions, guidance on raw transactions remains incom-

plete. Developers often face challenges in ﬁnding

the correct methods due to scarce online resources.

These instances underscore the Blockchain environ-

ment’s ongoing intensive development phase. This

dynamic environment is characterized by rapid tech-

nological advancement and frequent updates, neces-

sitating continuous monitoring and adaptation by de-

velopers. Drawing from the experiences, it is advis-

able to opt for versions of libraries with robust on-

line documentation. This decision can signiﬁcantly

streamline the development process and contribute to

enhanced productivity.

7.4 Maintenance of Smart Contracts

Smart contracts are known for their immutability

once deployed on the blockchain, ensuring that their

rules remain unchanged, thus fostering trust and se-

curity. However, this immutability poses challenges

for maintaining and updating contracts. Develop-

ers must deploy entirely new contracts to add fea-

tures or address bugs, involving intricate processes

like transferring data and user deposits. Communi-

cation with users is crucial for informing them about

updates and facilitating data migration to the new

contract, minimizing disruptions. To address these

challenges, developers have explored practices like

’upgradable’ contracts or proxy contracts, offering

ﬂexibility for updates without deploying entirely new

contracts. Despite their challenges, these approaches

aim to balance stability with the need for adaptation

and enhancement over time.

7.5 Reliability

Reliability posed the most signiﬁcant challenge in

our works with TokenTrivia within the realm of Web

3.0, where the technology’s attributes both bolstered

and strained the system’s stability and trustworthi-

ness. Issues such as network stability and scalabil-

ity persist in Web 3.0 and blockchain, with network

congestion leading to delays and increased transac-

tion costs, sometimes resulting in temporary outages.

Another concern is the unpredictability of transac-

tions, as variations in network trafﬁc and gas fees can

cause signiﬁcant delays or transaction failures, poten-

tially resulting in the loss of funds. Despite advance-

ments in security, the complexity of blockchain tech-

nology introduces new challenges, including the risk

of security breaches with severe consequences. While

smart contracts ensure accurate execution of agree-

ments and processes, providing a high level of trust

ICSOFT 2024 - 19th International Conference on Software Technologies

466

and predictability in transactions, they also present

challenges if designed with security vulnerabilities.

7.6 Web 3.0 Along with Web 2.0

Standalone Web 3.0 may face adoption challenges

due to the need for users to transition from familiar

Web 2.0 platforms and habits to new decentralized al-

ternatives. Integrating Web 3.0 features and technolo-

gies into existing Web 2.0 platforms offers a gradual

transition for users while harnessing the beneﬁts of

decentralization. This hybrid approach enables the in-

corporation of blockchain-based features such as tok-

enization, decentralized identity, and smart contracts

into familiar Web 2.0 applications and services. By

seamlessly integrating Web 3.0 functionalities with

Web 2.0 infrastructure, one can facilitate user adop-

tion and drive mainstream acceptance of decentral-

ized technologies. However, it may also pose chal-

lenges in terms of technical complexity, interoperabil-

ity, and maintaining user trust and privacy.

7.7 Can Web 3.0 Become an Everyday

Technology!

Despite considerable hype surrounding its potential

to revolutionize industries through decentralization

and trustless systems, Web 3.0 technologies are still

evolving and face challenges such as scalability and

usability. Critics argue that current implementa-

tions fall short of their theoretical promise due to

issues like transaction speeds and regulatory uncer-

tainties, which ongoing development efforts may ad-

dress over time. Moreover, Web 3.0 encounters sig-

niﬁcant hurdles in achieving greater accessibility and

user-friendliness for the average internet user, with re-

liance on digital wallets. But, Web 3.0 has the poten-

tial to become an everyday technology. With its focus

on user control, transparency, security, lower costs,

and innovation, Web 3.0 technologies offer signiﬁ-

cant advantages over traditional web platforms. As

they become more user-friendly and accessible, they

are likely to seamlessly integrate into our daily lives,

revolutionizing how we interact online, conduct trans-

actions, and access services. And it can be said that

Web 3.0 developers play a crucial role in making this

as everyday technology!

8 SUMMARY

Web 3.0 software development presents unique chal-

lenges that must be navigated with precision and

forward-thinking strategies. This paper shares experi-

ences of developing number of web 3.0 applications,

and presents key challenges encountered. Addition-

ally, experience based architectural and technical best

practices are presented.

Scalability continues to be a major challenge, es-

pecially for platforms like Ethereum, which struggle

with increased transaction fees and delays during pe-

riods of high demand. This is compounded by user

experience issues; the complexity of managing wal-

lets, interacting with decentralized applications, and

understanding blockchain operations can deter main-

stream adoption.

Security is also paramount, as the decentralized

nature of these applications exposes them to speciﬁc

vulnerabilities in smart contracts which, if exploited,

cannot easily be reversed. In addition, it typically

leads to a negative impact on user sentiment - in the

form of losing trust and becoming more hesitant to

adopt these systems. It is therefore crucial to prior-

itize and apply strong security measures, like thor-

ough audits and following established best practices

in smart contract development, to reduce risks.

Interoperability between various blockchain sys-

tems is still limited, hindering user experience and

functionality across different ecosystems.

Regulatory uncertainty further complicates devel-

opment, due to changing legal environments, the de-

ployment of DApps is impacted in terms of both loca-

tion and process.

While the challenges are substantial, they are not

impossible to overcome. To effectively address these

challenges, developers should prioritize implement-

ing scalable solutions such as layer 2 scaling, or

sharding technologies to improve transaction speed

and reduce costs. Improving the user interface and

simplifying interactions within DApps will help de-

mystify Web 3.0 for a broader audience, fostering

wider adoption. Additionally, designing applications

with interoperability in mind and employing proto-

cols that facilitate cross-chain functionality will en-

hance utility and expand user reach. Engaging with

community-driven development models or decentral-

ized autonomous organizations can also play a piv-

otal role. These structures empower users by involv-

ing them in the decision-making processes, aligning

with the decentralized ethos of Web 3.0 and poten-

tially driving more robust and user-responsive devel-

opment. Keeping up-to-date with regulatory devel-

opments will ensure compliance and adaptability in a

rapidly changing digital environment.

In conclusion, understanding challenges and ap-

plying suitable strategies are essential for developers

aiming to unlock the full potential of Web 3.0.

Cracking the Code: Web 3.0 Software Development Challenges and Guidelines

467

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Gratitude is extended to the individuals listed be-

low for their valuable contributions to validating the

ideas through implementations, design, and analy-

sis: Rokas Bliudzius, Martin Slind Hagen, Diderik

Kramer, Jesper Hustad, Julsen Fredrik, John Fredrik

Bendvold, Magnus Lutro Allison, Pedro Pablo Car-

dona, Leo Gimre, and H

akon Groven.

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