Blockchains are increasingly crucial, yet their usability remains limited to a select few.

Smart contracts will indeed define how systems operate in the future, creating a more trustless and decentralized society.

We are at a point where we’ve built more than 80% of the web3 stack, in comparison to the traditional web that relies upon models such as ISO-OSI, we are between the presentation and the application layer. While much of the infrastructure exists, it remains exclusive to developers. In a web2 language, only programmers can build apps and no-code barely exists yet (it’s mostly low-code i.e. you still need the developer in the equation).

It is essential to understand that the builders in web3 are largely the same people who have been building in web2, meaning that their expectations are to see at least what they are used to seeing in web2.

With the rise of no-code, the bar has been set high, and broader adoption of web3 cannot be expected, at least not in the foreseeable future or unless we bring those same user-friendly experiences to web3.

It took the Internet a lot of time to get to decent no-code solutions that are easy enough for citizen developers to build powerful apps without worrying about security, scaling, distribution, updates, and other technical aspects. However, it makes sense for no-code web3 tools to evolve faster than that given the recent knowledge from the web2 world.

To put this into perspective, the majority of the successful and widely known web2 companies in the last 20 years are built around the application layer and above, using tools and frameworks also on the same level. We are still early.

In another example, though focused on the financial tools, in Coinbase’s Secret Master Plan from 2016, Brian Armstrong writes about the importance of the apps and the correlation to broader web3 adoption.

We are at the beginning of Phase 4. That doesn’t mean advances in other phases won’t happen, but broader adoption will be achieved once the average user is able to build and use those apps and tools.

The need for better tools

I've spent the last decade modeling, planning, and building solutions for others. One of the biggest challenges I faced was having the right talent when needed, which pushed us to produce our own talent. However, creating new talent is slow and expensive.

Teaching people how to build is harder than building better, easier-to-use, and more intuitive tools. Humanity needs more builders, and the only way to achieve this is to build such tools.

Web3 is the new canvas. While many traditional web2 tools are user-friendly, Web3 is new in that sense, and most people in Web3 don't quite understand the ecosystem yet. This is mainly because everyone is trying to figure it out at the same time. In the meantime, citizen developers need brushes and colors to paint the canvas.

The challenges

1. No easy way to find the right smart contract out there

   In comparison to web2 and traditional centralized software development, you can’t quite share code between apps, the code is closed, and unless it’s shared publicly (e.g. GitHub repo or code library/SDK) it doesn’t exist.

   web3 is different, the code is open, everyone has access to it, and everyone can see why smart contract X is better than smart contract Y, or what risks smart contract Z introduces.

   Moreover, you can take that contract, change it to your preference and deploy it to the network, now you are the owner, and you *own* the same intellectual property that someone developed for a big brand. And yet, companies spent hundreds of thousands of dollars when they want to build something in web3 - although the chances are that that thing exists and with slight changes can be re-used.

2. The missing glue

   What happens when you find or build the right smart contract? Well, you still need to deploy it to the right network, and once again, the tools are failing the citizen developer - you have to hire a developer. Deployments at scale can be cumbersome. While deployment may not be as challenging as the other two problems, it's equally important as it serves as a glue that holds everything together.

3. Blackbox–hard to make sense of

   Deployed smart contracts (like any other code) are a bunch of numbers and relations, tokens, references...data that don’t quite make sense. So, now there’s a need to “build” that sense. The way to do that is either to use low-level tools and interact directly with blockchain data or to hire a developer and build portals and dashboards. Again, the chances are that someone has already built those dashboards and portals. And, how do you manage smart contracts at scale?

And what are we doing about them?

1. Discovery

   We built a platform where everyone can discover the smart contract for the use case they need it for. We did this in a way that the user is not bothered with technical language, but rather user-friendly terms that everyone understands (e.g. you won’t be looking for ERC721, but Collectibles).

2. Deploy

   We’ve made the deployment of smart contracts as easy as filling out a form. Anyone can do it. Most of the smart contracts are filtered and reviewed, and then modified enough so they can be useful for the user.

3. Manage

   Deployed smart contracts are then part of your dashboard, and you can easily manage them by customizing the experience. A library of common blockchain actions and interactions is available so you can build the right management portal. As web3 is composable, you can bring any contract to Enzyme, regardless of whether it was built on the platform or elsewhere.

So in conclusion

It is still day 1 in web3 land, but the tools are improving every day and we love building for the builders and problem solvers.

There are tons of tools yet to be built, and we want to:

• Provide better quality and security

• Add more advanced smart contracts and use cases

• Provide an easier way to build and customize dashboards

• Integrate with/support more blockchains (both public and private)

• Open up for creators and let everyone contribute (and respectfully be awarded for their contributions/introduce incentivization and monetization)

• Cross-integrate with the rest of the ecosystem

Web3 is teamwork, and if you believe web3 is the future, please reach out.

Teddy Pejoski, CEO and Founder of Enzyme
Get in touch with me on Twitter or via email firstname [at] enzyme.so