Ever since websites emerged in the late 20th century, the digital space has been adjusting to align with shifting user preferences. Thanks to tech innovations, what was once static has become more immersive. And while innovations like artificial intelligence and responsive designs are leaving their mark in this space, blockchain has also not been left behind. In fact, looking at the statistics, Straits Research values the global Web 3.0 blockchain market at $7 billion and expects it to hit $135.34 billion within the next few years.
Clearly, this technology’s implications stretch far beyond just digital coins and collectibles. In fact, some believe it could completely reshape how websites are designed, managed, and experienced. Looking at the bitcoin price today, you can agree that the blockchain sector is no longer just about predicting price changes and taking advantage of market movements.
Blockchain, the technology powering these digital tokens, is proving it can do more than move money. It can also move information and even entire websites securely and more transparently. This is actually part of why Straits Research expects the Web 3.0 blockchain to make such a huge leap.
Decentralizing hosting and content delivery
Having every web resource, including servers and storage, owned and controlled by only one company has its own share of challenges. One of them is handling server downtime challenges. With modern customers expecting round-the-clock availability, you want to ensure your systems are on 24/7. Repeated outages can erode customer trust and even cause many of them to turn to competitors.
It worsens when they negatively review your brand on social media and other online spaces. You may end up losing another 88% of customers who often read online reviews before making a purchase decision. Server downtime can also result in direct revenue loss. When customers cannot complete transactions on an e-commerce app just because of server outages, they may abandon carts and never return. Those are lost opportunities to make profits. According to Contentful, such instances can cost businesses between $300K and $5 million per hour.
Since blockchain distributes data storage and control across multiple nodes, it makes it possible to overcome these challenges. As such, even when one node goes offline, the others can keep your website running. This means you can now focus on making your website user-friendly, thus making your brand more competitive.
Tokenization and new monetization models
It shouldn’t be surprising that innovations like Sohara AI are quickly becoming popular. Launched in April 2023, Sohara AI takes advantage of an EVM-compatible blockchain layer to allow everyone to participate in AI development. According to Binance, this platform already has onboarded over 3.3 million on-chain accounts and 1.4 million daily users. Developers can now sell, license and earn royalties on AI assets they create without worrying about losing their revenues to third parties.
Imagine a scenario where blog readers can tip authors directly with tokens. Or better still, an online marketplace where customers earn rewards in the form of cryptocurrency, which they can use in various ways. Well, this is not a far-off dream because it’s already happening. Brave Browser, for instance, rewards users with Basic Attention Tokens (BAT) for watching ads, creating a brand-new monetization model for the web. Now, if over 8 million people were earning BAT by 2022, you can imagine what this figure will be like in the next few years.
Tokenization unlocks new ways to build value-driven platforms. You could design membership sites where access to premium content is unlocked via non-fungible tokens (NFTs), or community forums where contributors earn tokens for meaningful participation. NFTs are simply blockchain-based tokens that prove you own a unique digital file or real-world object.
Catering to the popular need for online security
With cyberattacks increasing, internet users want to ensure they interact in secure environments. Most will, in fact, assess whether a platform is secure before interacting with it. If the website turns out to be secure, it may discourage many from further exploration. According to Enzuzo, almost nine in ten (87%) won’t transact with a brand they aren’t sure about its security practices.
Such statistics explain why web developers are working hard to cater to the growing number of security-conscious customers. With blockchain, they can reduce the likelihood of single-point failures as networks are decentralized. Blockchain’s immutability also helps improve security by preventing data manipulation upon validation.
And besides this technology’s inherent abilities, key industry players have also been putting in effort to ensure it is more secure. In a statement showing their commitment to provide safe blockchain interactions, Nils Andersen-Röed, Global Head of FIU at Binance, said that, “Binance has become the very first member of T3+, a global collaboration to combat illicit blockchain activity, and has already contributed to its first successful case by freezing nearly $6 million tied to a pig butchering scam.” Such moves improve user confidence and could lead to further blockchain adoption among developers in the coming days.
Therefore, it makes sense to think that blockchain could actually become the norm in web design. This technology offers unique features like decentralization and immutability, which are very handy in this age when developers are working hard to overcome downtime and security challenges. When it comes to tokenization, the technology also ensures web designers can interact with users in ways that were never possible before.