How to Create an NFT Marketplace: Launch Your Tech Startup

Market State: Why Are You Lucky to Create an NFT Marketplace

The internet is filled with tech startups that have established platforms and ecosystems for users to create, share, and monetize content. But NFTs are a relatively new concept in crypto, and innovative entrepreneurs are pursuing the opportunity.

The daily sales value of NFTs has steadily increased over several months, surpassing 180,000 in 2021. The YoY growth of the industry’s market cap has been an impressive 138.7%. In addition, the NFT market has shown a strong annual growth rate (CAGR), highlighting ongoing market trends and potential profitability.

The main reason why people use NFTs is to access the huge market of digital art collectors and traders. There’s no question that NFTs have become popular and profitable for companies that create them, but it takes a lot of time and effort to create your own NFT marketplace from scratch.

Niche marketplaces specializing in specific NFT categories are also gaining traction among targeted audiences due to their focused offerings. However, with the help of an outsaffing company like ProCoders that’s experienced in NFT projects, your startup can excel at it. If you’re thinking about starting your own NFT marketplace, keep reading.

​​​​Popular NFT Marketplace Platforms

NFTs aren’t a one-size-fits-all kind of asset; here’s a quick breakdown of some of the most popular NFT marketplaces, such as OpenSea, Rarible, and Axie Marketplace.

These popular NFT marketplaces are widely recognized for supporting a range of digital assets, including art, collectibles, and virtual land. Each is an example of an NFT marketplace platform, offering unique features and user experiences to help you understand innovations and how to start an NFT marketplace.

OpenSea

OpenSea is one of the world’s biggest blockchain-based digital assets marketplaces, with over 30.5 million monthly visitors. The company is based in New York, United State,s and it has been existing since 2017.

The OpenSea website, where traders transact NFTs, uses a wide range of technologies, including Next.js, React, PostgreSQL, Django, Webpack, GraphQL, Python, PHP, Solidity, Materialize, and more.

Rarible

Rarible has over 9.5 million monthly visitors. The company is based in Delaware, United States, and it has been in existence since 2020. The Rarible software platform uses a wide range of technologies, including PHP, ExpressJS, Sentry, React, CoreJS, Lodash, and more.

SuperRare

SuperRare has about 2 million monthly visitors. The company is based in New York, United States, and it has existed since 2018. The SuperRare software platform uses a wide range of technologies, including React Redux, Moment JS, Lodash, Bootstrap, and more.

Binance

Binance has over 110 million monthly visitors. The company is based in Europe, and it has existed since 2017. The Binance software platform uses a wide range of technologies, including MongoDB, Next.js, Sentry, Webpack, React, and more.

Nifty Gateway

Nifty Gateway has several monthly visitors. The company is based in California, United States and it has existed since 2018. The Nifty Gateway software platform uses a wide range of technologies, including Moment JS, React, Webpack, Lodash, Sentry, and more.

Tech Stack for Creating an NFT Website

The tech stack you choose for how to build an NFT marketplace has a lot of influence on the success or failure of your business if you’re creating an NFT marketplace.

Web development and blockchain technology are foundational elements in building a robust NFT marketplace tech stack, ensuring your platform is both functional and secure. Here’s how you can build your own NFT website with cutting-edge technology.

Frontend frameworks

Next.js: Next.js is a server-side rendering framework for React. It allows you to use React in any application, not just web apps.

These frontend frameworks are commonly used to build the web app interface for NFT marketplaces, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience.

React: React is a JavaScript library for building user interfaces that support declarative programming and reusable components to create highly interactive user interfaces (UI) for single-page applications (SPA).

Bootstrap: Bootstrap is an open-source front-end framework used to develop responsive, mobile-first projects on the web.

Backend frameworks

Python: Python is an interpreted object-oriented programming language with high-level programming capabilities that supports multiple programming paradigms, including functional programming and procedural styles.
Django: Django is a full-stack Python web framework that supports object-relational mapping (ORM) and templating, which makes it easy to develop robust applications quickly.
PHP: PHP is an open-source language that allows you to write code for your website in order to make it interactive or perform certain tasks, such as connecting to databases and APIs.

Blockchain

Solidity: Solidity is a programming language that allows developers to write smart contracts on Ethereum’s blockchain network.

NFT marketplaces can be built on various blockchain networks, such as the Ethereum blockchain and Tezos blockchain, each supporting different NFT standards like ERC-721, ERC-1155, and FA2. These NFT standards define how NFT tokens are created, managed, and traded across different platforms.

Smart contracts, including NFT contracts and marketplace contracts, are written in these languages to manage NFT tokens, handle listing struct data, store the seller’s address, and hold data related to token ID and transactions.

A marketplace smart contract, or NFT marketplace contract, typically manages NFT listings, sales, and transfers, acting as an intermediary for secure transactions. Integrating with other contracts, such as ReentrancyGuard or Ownable, is important for enhancing functionality and security.

When deploying and interacting with smart contracts on blockchain networks, it is essential to securely manage private keys to protect access and ensure safe operations.

Rust: Rust is said to be faster than Solidity because of its memory management features, which might even make it more secure than Solidity.

Vyper: Vyper is an experimental Ethereum virtual machine 2.0 (EVM2) with a Python-like syntax designed for smart contracts.

Data Storage

PostgreSQL: PostgreSQL is an advanced object-relational database management system that supports almost all SQL constructs (including transactions, subselects, and functions).

GraphQL: GraphQL is a query language that is used to retrieve data from a graph database, and it is also used to define the structure of the data returned by each query.

MongoDB: MongoDB is a document-oriented database that can be used to store all kinds of data. It’s a popular NoSQL database that can be used for storing large amounts of unstructured data.

NFT metadata, such as name, description, and image, is typically stored off-chain using a decentralized data storage system like the Interplanetary File System (IPFS). This approach ensures the authenticity, uniqueness, and traceability of digital assets while reducing reliance on traditional, power-consuming storage methods.

How to Develop an NFT Marketplace

Still, you may wonder how to develop an NFT marketplace, especially if you’re not too familiar with blockchain technologies. Successful marketplace creation involves careful planning and referencing an NFT marketplace guide for best practices and key considerations. What should give you an idea is the following list, which is based on the knowledge we have gained at ProCoders in working with NFT platforms:

Key Features of Platforms Like OpenSea

Auction Board

Auction boards allow users to create a listing for their items, which are then made available on the website for others to see and bid on.

Wallet Integration

In creating an NFT marketplace, this feature allows users to connect their crypto wallet, such as MetaMask or Trust Wallet, directly within the application, enabling secure transactions and seamless management of their NFTs without leaving the site.

Payment Services

By integrating payment services into how to make an NFT website, you can offer buyers and sellers more ways to complete transactions quickly and securely.

Catalogue Management

A centralized catalogue management system allows sellers to upload their products and manage their inventory.

eCommerce Storefront

An eCommerce storefront gives users a single place where they can browse through different items and make purchases without leaving their browser window.

Key Features of Platforms Like Rarible

Admin Panel

The admin panel is where you can manage your users and their permissions. You can also track the number of users who have created accounts on your platform.

Search Option

The search option allows users to search for specific items on your platform based on their description or name.

Ratings

Ratings are important for both buyers and sellers because they help them know what other people think about a certain product or service before purchasing it or selling it themselves.

Listing Status

Listing status gives sellers the option of whether they want to sell their items immediately or wait until they have received more offers before accepting one of them.

Wallet

A wallet feature lets buyers pay directly from their digital wallets, instead of having to manually transfer funds from their bank accounts or credit cards every time.

Monetization Models for NFT Marketplaces

When building your own NFT marketplace, choosing the right monetization model is key to generating revenue and sustaining your platform’s growth. Most NFT marketplaces rely on a combination of commission fees, listing fees, and premium services to monetize their operations.

Commission fees are typically charged as a percentage of each NFT sale—often ranging from 2.5% to 5%—and represent a primary income stream for many platforms. Listing fees can be applied to NFT creators who want to showcase their digital assets, helping to filter quality content and generate additional revenue.

Premium services, such as featured listings or access to exclusive content, offer another way to engage your target audience and encourage creators to invest more in their presence on your marketplace.

Transaction fees, usually paid by buyers, can also contribute to your revenue, especially as your platform scales and the volume of NFT transactions increases.

By carefully selecting a monetization model that aligns with your marketplace’s goals and the needs of your users, you can create a sustainable business that thrives in the competitive NFT market.

Main Steps to Create an NFT Marketplace with ProCoders

In this section, we share some main steps to create an NFT marketplace when you hire ProCoders developers and engineers. Here is what the process goes like:

Define your business strategy

If you wonder how to find NFT developers, in this phase, we will discuss your project requirements and goals with you, so that we understand what you want from us. We will also talk about our approach to developing this type of project.

The most important part here is that it must be focused on solving a real problem or satisfying a real need. Since a successful project requires careful planning and research, at this stage, putting a call through to ProCoders’ expert leaders can help you flesh out the details of your project idea.

This is the stage where you partner with ProCoders’ engineers and managers to clearly define your goals, objectives, and target audience before you start building an NFT marketplace.

Choose a tech stack to create an NFT Marketplace site

Some of the most popular technologies to create NFT website include ReactJS/React Native, VueJS, Solidity, PHP, Python, Java, etc. ProCoders’ engineers and developers have experience working with these technologies, and you are assured of an excellent partnership.

For efficient project organization, it is recommended to use a contracts folder for storing your smart contract files, a test folder for automated tests, and a scripts folder for deployment and interaction scripts.

Create an NFT Marketplace Prototype

This will help you test different concepts and get valuable feedback from users early in the process, it will also help you to figure out how much does it cost to build an online marketplace for your needs.

The prototype should also include UI/UX design, as it is important that the interface is user-friendly and intuitive enough so that people will be able to navigate through the platform without having any problems or issues. The design should be simple and easy to understand so that even beginners can use it without having any problems whatsoever.

ProCoders will also plan ahead with you for possible issues with scalability or security so that you can address them before launching the MVP into production. We also write code that matches our designs so that we can test different solutions with real users in a short period of time (1–3 weeks).

Develop MVP and Test Market fit

An MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is something that will give users an early glimpse into how your platform will function. You can also use an MVP as a proof-of-concept for future investors or partners who might be interested in investing in your project down the line.

On how to set up an NFT marketplace, ProCoders can help you develop an MVP in as little as two months. This should normally include core features like registration on site, search functionality, and wallet access via a web browser or mobile device.

Make Сhanges and Create a 1.0 Version

This is the stage for building the frontend using smart contracts. Frontend development is all about how users interact with websites through different browsers and devices. On the other hand, smart contracts are lines of code written in the Solidity programming language that define how data is stored on the blockchain.

Once the MVP is tested, you will have enough data to make changes to the design and functionality of your site. This is a more polished version of your platform with all the necessary features included it.

Deploy and Monitor Performance

After deploying your app on the blockchain, monitor its performance closely by tracking usage statistics and user feedback. Use these insights to improve your product over time and increase engagement with users. You may also want to consider adding new features based on what people want most from your NFT marketplace site or app.

Concerning how you can hire a crypto developer, our dedicated team has been working on NFT marketplaces for years now and has the experience to develop NFT marketplace with both frontend and backend applications using React/Vue, NodeJS, Java/Kotlin, and many other technologies.

Maintain and Upgrade

Finally, on how to make an NFT marketplace, you need to test them thoroughly to make sure they are functional without major bugs or errors.

This will ensure maximum user experience and give them confidence that their valuable assets are secure when trading on your platform. After launch, ProCoders can continue to keep your platform up to date with new features, as well as fix bugs or errors that users find in their experience using the site.

If possible, we will look for ways to improve performance, such as adding new features. We will also assign you a dedicated project manager who will be responsible for managing your project throughout its life cycle.

NFT Marketplace Security

Security is a cornerstone of successful NFT marketplace development. With users entrusting your platform with valuable digital assets, it’s essential to implement robust security measures at every level.

Start by leveraging secure smart contracts to automate NFT transactions and ensure that all operations are transparent and tamper-proof.

Encrypting user data and protecting against common web vulnerabilities—such as cross-site scripting and SQL injection—are also critical steps in safeguarding your marketplace.

To further enhance security, consider integrating two-factor authentication and multi-signature wallets, which add extra layers of protection for user accounts and transactions.

Regular security audits and penetration testing should be part of your ongoing development process, helping you identify and address potential vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. By prioritizing security, your NFT marketplace can build trust with users and protect their NFTs and other digital assets from emerging threats.

NFT Marketplace Scalability

As the NFT market continues to expand, scalability becomes a top priority for NFT marketplaces aiming to support a growing user base and increasing transaction volumes. A scalable NFT marketplace can handle spikes in activity without sacrificing performance or reliability.

To achieve this, consider adopting a distributed architecture that spreads workloads across multiple servers, along with load balancing and caching strategies to optimize response times.

Choosing the right blockchain network is also crucial for scalability. Platforms built on robust networks like Ethereum or Binance Smart Chain can process NFT transactions efficiently, even as demand grows.

By investing in scalable infrastructure from the outset, your NFT marketplace will be well-positioned to accommodate future growth, deliver a seamless experience to users, and remain competitive in the fast-evolving NFT market.

NFT Marketplace User Experience

Delivering an outstanding user experience is essential for the success of any NFT marketplace, whether you’re building an NFT art marketplace or a platform for digital collectibles.

Your marketplace should be intuitive, visually appealing, and easy to navigate, making it simple for both buyers and NFT creators to interact with the platform. Features like advanced search and filtering, high-quality images, and detailed descriptions help users find and evaluate NFTs quickly.

Clear, step-by-step instructions for buying, selling, and managing NFTs can reduce friction and encourage more transactions. Collecting user feedback and analyzing platform analytics allows you to continuously refine the user experience, addressing pain points and introducing new features that keep your community engaged.

By prioritizing user experience in your NFT marketplace development, you’ll foster loyalty, drive sales, and establish your platform as a trusted destination in the NFT space.

Factors that Affect Cost & Timeline

Software Development Company

The cost of developing an NFT marketplace can vary from one region to another. For example, if you hire a software development company from India or Estonia, the cost will be less than if you hire them from the US or Western Europe. This is because the cost of living is lower in those places than in the US or Western Europe.

Project Specifications

The more complex your project requirements are, the higher will be the cost of developing an NFT marketplace for you. This is because more detailed requirements lead to more time being spent on research, analysis, and coding, which leads to higher development costs.

Software UI/UX Design

The UI/UX design of your NFT platform influences its overall look and feel. It also helps determine how easy or difficult it will be for users to navigate your platform and transact using NFTs. If you want a sophisticated UI/UX design for your NFT platform, it will cost more than if it has a simple UI/UX design.

Technology integrations

If you want to build a blockchain-powered NFT marketplace, then you will need to integrate multiple technologies. These include integrating with payment gateways, user authentication and authorization, blockchain transaction management, smart contracts, and more.

Third-party API integrations

The cost of developing an NFT platform also depends on whether you want to integrate third-party APIs or not. You can either choose to develop from scratch or integrate existing APIs into your system.

If you go for the former option, then it might take longer and cost more than expected. However, if you want to use existing APIs for your project, then this will be easier and faster as well as cost-effective eventually.

Features and Complexity

The more features you want on your platform, the higher the cost will be because it adds complexity to it as well as increases development time.

This also increases security risks and maintenance costs in the long run since there are more things that can go wrong over time due to their complexity when compared with simpler applications or websites.

You need to evaluate which features are important for your business needs and determine how much they will cost before making any decisions to build an NFT marketplace from scratch in-house or to outsource it.

Technology Stack

Once you have decided on the architecture for your platform, you will need to select a technology stack. A technology stack refers to the combination of programming languages, frameworks, libraries, and tools used by developers while building their products or services. A blockchain-based platform is technically more expensive to develop than traditional eCommerce platforms because it requires knowledge of blockchain architecture.

NFT marketplace development cost

Niche	Typical Cost
Collectibles	$60,000 to $250,000
Games	$100,000 to $500,000
Open marketplace	$50,000 to $150,000
Curated marketplace	$80,000 to $200,000

Conclusion

• The main reason why people use NFTs is to access the huge market of digital art collectors and traders. Businesses take advantage of this interest to build products that cater to the NFT market.
• The tech stack you choose has a lot of influence on the success or failure of your business if you’re to build your own NFT marketplace.
• ProCoders’ engineers and developers have experience working with blockchain technologies and you are assured of an excellent partnership.
• Our dedicated team has been working on NFT marketplaces since 2015 and has experience in building both frontend and backend applications using React/Vue, NodeJS, Java/Kotlin and many other technologies