Why you should be using IPFS if you’re a Web3 developer

A developer that builds dapps or Web3 projects must first ask themself: How will I store my files, folders, and assets?

Apillon

Sep 13, 2023 • 3 min read

In reality, the question of storage is often not the first one that pops up when a developer starts building a dapp. Instead, the obvious questions of the project’s goals, the choice of language for smart contracts or even the blockchain itself precede the choice of storage.

But no matter if the project is a dapp, a NFT marketplace, a game, or after all, even a simple static website, it’s important for the assets to be stored in a safe and reliable manner.

The whole point of the next era of the web is improving the way we build and scale things online, right? But before we get to building and scaling, we need a solid base. One that’ll ensure the awesome projects we build will remain accessible, censorship-proof, and less exposed to the usual risks.

So, the simple answer to the storage question? It’s decentralized storage.

Most commonly used storage options for developers

First, let’s dig into the most common storage options for developers out there.

Local backup on your computer, centralized cloud providers like AWS, or GitHub are usually the way to go if we don’t give too much thought to the storage of assets.

All these options come with risks and there’s one thing they have in common: centralized storage.

Take your computer that’s exposed to even the most banal risks such as beverage spillage. Centralized cloud providers are handy but come with a single point of failure as they rely on a centralized server. Imagine the consequences if that single point with all the concentrated resources goes down. That’s not all — your files are exposed to data leakage or other tampering as you’re not the sole owner of your files. And finally, even though GitHub is a very useful platform, it’s not ideal for the purposes of decentralized storage and project deployment.

So, how should a Web3 developer store assets of their Web3 project instead of opting for the centralized options?

IPFS upload as a decentralized storage alternative

IPFS is a protocol that enables decentralized file storage and file sharing.

The difference with other protocols like HTTP is that when you upload files to IPFS, they get stored on a decentralized, distributed network of IPFS nodes instead of a centralized server. This makes all the content uploaded on the IPFS network outage-proof — if one node is compromised, many others still hold your files.

The IPFS network supports decentralized storage for all kinds of files — think if you can build it, it can be stored. Anything from NFT collections, photos, websites, and dapps can get uploaded to IPFS.

Each file that’s uploaded to IPFS gets its own content identifier in the form of a CID value. Every time you re-upload the files, the CID value changes, which ensures the files are immutable.

When you upload your files or folders to IPFS, they will stay there until a process called IPFS garbage collection clears the nodes’ caches. If you want your projects to stay accessible forever, you need to pin them to the IPFS nodes.

Besides the IPFS-stored files being resistant to censorship, outages, and tampering, file-sharing of all IPFS-stored content is made unstoppable. Anyone with the CID value can access your content simply with an IPFS URL and an HTTP URL.

We discussed the benefits of using IPFS upload for you and your project’s users in more detail here.

Why upload to IPFS with Apillon?

Developers can upload files to IPFS themselves without relying on an outside provider.

The catch? Your computer must then become one of the nodes in the IPFS network.

This is why the Apillon platform offers developers and other users simple, fast, and easy IPFS upload to make their Web3 projects and dapps censorship-resistant and outage-proof from the very first step of building.

As soon as you use the Web3 Storage service on the Apillon platform, your files get uploaded to Apillon’s IPFS node, which then sends copies to the IPFS nodes of Crust Network. Crust is a Polkadot parachain that offers IPFS pinning services and offers its own network of IPFS nodes.

Finally, Crust’s IPFS nodes pin your files to the network, making your content unstoppable and forever accessible (or at least until you want it to be).

If you’re a developer building Web3 projects, your best decentralized storage option awaits on the Apillon platform.

Upload the assets of your project to the Apillon platform and get free decentralized storage for your content.

⧓ About Apillon

The Apillon platform serves as a unified gateway to the Web3 services provided by linked Polkadot parachains. Following the multi-chain vision, Apillon powers the transition of developers to Web3, simplifying its adoption in the real economy, and expanding its versatility as the ecosystem grows. With Apillon, Web3 services are within reach for every developer, regardless of their background and experience with blockchain technology.