Toward Web3 Applications: Easing the Access and Transition

Web3 is leading a wave of the next generation of web services that even many Web2 applications are keen to ride. However, the lack of Web3 background for Web2 developers hinders easy and effective access and transition. On the other hand, Web3 applications desire encouragement and advertisement from conventional Web2 companies and projects due to their low market shares. In this article, we propose a seamless transition framework that transits Web2 to Web3, named WebttCom [WebttCom stands for Web2 (two)–Web3 (three) Communicator], after exploring the connotation of Web3 and the key differences between Web2 and Web3 applications. We also provide a full-stack implementation as a use case to support the proposed framework, followed by performance evaluation and surveys with $\sim$1000 participants that show $\sim$80% positive and $\sim$20% neutral responses. We confirm that the proposed framework WebttCom addresses the defined research question, and the implementation well satisfies the framework WebttCom in terms of strong necessity, usability, and completeness based on the survey results.

I. Introduction

Web3 has drawn intensive attention from communities and investors. As an umbrella term, Web3 covers a series of blockchain-based decentralized applications (DApps), services, and economics [1], [2], [3], [4] that bring significant impacts on both traditional finance and cryptocurrency markets. To date (as of March 2023), over DApps¹

Data source [Mar 2023]: DappRadar https://dappradar.com/industry-overview.

have been developed on-chain and smart contracts (SCs) are deployed across protocols. A total of M users are actively interacting with the SCs within h, as evidenced by their wallet addresses. In this sense, Web3 impresses users by providing such a connect the wallet button on the upper-right corner of each webpage. Users can use DApps through embedded wallet entries by invoking specific functions that are deployed on blockchain-engined platforms (e.g., Ethereum [5]). The shift of backend servers from centralized clouds to decentralized chains has mostly distinguished Web3 and previous web styles.