It’s understandable if you’re building a modern browser-based app and still need to decide whether to use web 2.0 or web 3.0 standards. These terms can be hard to understand if your app has anything to do with crypto.
If you keep up with the blockchain world, you’ve probably heard the terms “Web 2.0” and “Web 3.0.” You might wonder what each of these words means and what they do with the blockchain. Before getting to where it is now, the internet as we know it went through many important steps. Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are two different kinds of internet services that have changed how people use the internet. People want to know what’s different between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 to understand why they need Web 3.0. The discussion below will help you learn more about how web 2.0 and web 3.0 differ. If you know a lot about web 2.0 and web 3.0 and how they work, you’ll be in the best position to compare web 2.0 and web 3.0.
What does Web 2.0 mean?
Web 2.0 was the start of a time when the web became its medium. It was different from everything before it, even traditional print and video. Web 2.0 brought new ways for people to interact with websites. Before, websites were just static pages that pushed information to users. Blogging became popular, and social networks like Friendster, MySpace, and eventually Facebook started to appear.
From its early days to the Web 2.0 era, many technologies changed how the web works. One of them is a technology method called Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). Google Maps was the first thing that really got people interested in Ajax. It changed the way the web worked in a big way. Instead of a flat, static map, Ajax made it possible for Google Maps to zoom, scroll, and change the image of the map.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is another thing that makes Web 2.0 what it is. In the early days of the web, developers had to use tables to format pages, which could have been more flexible. By the early 2000s, CSS was more widely used and had more power. This made it possible for complex design layouts that changed how the web looked.
What does Web 3.0 mean?
In the middle of the 2000s, CSS, JavaScript, and HTML file applications grew in popularity, as did social media. Now, the world is about to go through another big change.
Soon after making Web 1.0, Tim Berners-Lee suggested that people could make the Semantic Web.
From the 1990s to the early 2000s, people looked into the idea. Berners-Lee later wrote an article with another person for Scientific American that discussed the possibility of a Web 3.0 internet based on semantic connections.
Web 3.0 is built on four main ideas: semantic markup, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, 3D visualization, and AI. It is very different from the Web 2.0 experience, even though the same devices are used, and information resources are still available to everyone.
Web 2.0 vs. Web 3.0.
Web 1.0 was mostly a static place where people shared information. Web 2.0 made the web more interactive and social. Web 3.0 will make the web smarter and more spread out than ever before. The main differences between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 are shown in the table below.
Web 2.0 Features
Centralized: Centralized authorities are in charge of and run application delivery, cloud services, and the platform.
Fiat Currency: Government-issued money, like $USD, is used to make payments and do business.
Cookies: Cookies are used to keep track of users and make things more personal.
CSS and Ajax: Web 2.0 is characterized by layout technologies that give users more control over how things look than Web 1.0.
Relational databases: The content and applications of Web 2.0 are based on databases.
Networks of people: Web 2.0 made social networking, like Facebook, possible.
User engagement: Very high, depending on the UX/UI.
Support for platforms: Desktop, mobile, tablets, smartwatches, and other devices are all supported.
Ownership: Companies own data, so ownership is centralized.
Payments: Various payment options
Security: There needs to be more than one layer of protection
Development and Deployment Process: The development and deployment process is ongoing and step-by-step. New features are added slowly.
Tech Stack: Many frameworks, languages, libraries, databases, etc., such as JavaScript, Ajax, and React.
Web 3.0 Features
Decentralized: In Web 3.0, edge computing, peer-to-peer, and distributed consensus will be used more and more.
Cryptocurrency: Digital encrypted currencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum can be used to pay for transactions.
NFTs: Users can get unique tokens that have value or give them some other benefit.
AI: Web 3.0 will be about smarter, more self-driving technology, like machine learning and AI.
Blockchain: The blockchain’s immutable ledger is used in Web 3.0.
Metaverse worlds: With Web 3.0, virtual, augmented, and real worlds will come together in metaverses.
User Engagement: Most of the time, developers are in charge of the UX/UI, and transactions take time to finish. So, less than what was in web2.
Support for Platforms: Most of the time on desktop and sometimes on mobile, but web experience on mobile is limited.
Ownership is distributed, and users own their data and assets.
Payments: Only crypto payments; hard to get on or off.
Security: Almost ready to go out of the box, but needs to be tested thoroughly.
The process of making and releasing software: In contrast, once deployed, it stays the same or needs to be changed with smart contracts that can be updated.
Tech Stack: Solidity, Web3.js, Truffle, HardHat, IPFS, Infura, and crypto-wallets make up the tech stack.
Last Words
In the comparison between Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, it is easy to see that Web 3.0 has more benefits than Web 2.0. It shows a good infrastructure needed for people and machines to work together. Most importantly, web3 marketplace development has better privacy, security, and trust. Many people also think of web 3.0 as the decentralized web, which will be based mostly on protocols that don’t have a central location. On the other hand, many of the web apps we use today are still built on top of web 2.0.
