Waxify: Shopify App for Selling NFTs on the WAX Blockchain
A public Shopify app that sells digital collectibles together with physical goods, with a merchant interface and asset issue on WAX
About the project
- Project: Waxify, a Shopify app for NFT sales on WAX
- Industry: E-commerce, blockchain
- Timeline: April 2022 – May 2023
- Technologies: Node.js, Next.js, Shopify API, WAX, MySQL
- Team: a full-stack developer and a project manager
Waxify is a Shopify app that lets a store sell digital collectibles on the WAX blockchain together with physical goods. A fan pays in regular currency, and the store delivers both a T-shirt and an NFT in one purchase, without gas fees or contracts to approve.
The client came to us with a Shopify app template, a development plan and a wish to publish a public app. We worked on it from April 2022 to May 2023: first to bring the code up and plan the work, then to build the merchant side, and later to extend it for new requirements.
What we delivered
THE CHALLENGE
- A public Shopify app.
- NFTs issued on WAX after checkout.
- A merchant interface for non-developers.
- Design frames that arrived late.
THE SOLUTION
- A plan in three stages.
- A merchant interface of about eight pages.
- Checkout logic that issues the asset.
- A second round in 2023.
THE OUTCOME
- A working Shopify app.
- A merchant interface and Get started page.
- Asset issue on the WAX blockchain.
- A launch for NFT drops.
Fans want to buy a T-shirt and a collectible in one click, and the merchant wants an app that feels like the rest of Shopify.
Stage one: taking over the code and a plan
We began with the client's repository, which came from the official Shopify template for Node.js and Next.js. First, we asked the questions that decide the architecture: who mints the tokens, whether the app is for the client only or for the marketplace, and how deep the Shopify integration goes. The answer was a public app for the Shopify marketplace.
We then split the work into three stages. The first stage brought the code up, tested it and estimated the rest. The second stage was the main build, and the third was bug fixing and hand-over. Tasks lived in GitHub, a weekly call closed each sprint, and a spreadsheet tracked the work per sprint.
Stage two: the merchant side
In the summer of 2022 our developer built the interface for the merchant: about eight pages, a "Get started" page with a promo code and tracking of quantities together with a third-party fulfilment service.
In July the client sent frames for the key pages, so we reworked the screens to match them. Part of the work was done again, but the pages that we had already drawn became the base for the rest.
Stage three: from checkout to the blockchain
The core of the app is the moment after payment. After checkout, the app issues the digital asset on the WAX blockchain and delivers it to the buyer, and the store ships the physical item as usual. We also studied how the AtomicHub marketplace handles assets and reused its logic where it made sense.
In September 2022 we finished the prototype, showed it to the client in a final demo and kept the final code in a separate branch.
A second round in 2023
After a pause, the client returned in the spring of 2023 with new tasks. We prepared a new estimate, set up a fresh server with HTTPS, Nginx and MySQL, and clarified the commission logic of the smart contracts. The demo of 14 April 2023 went well, and we closed the last sprint in May 2023.
What turned out to be hard
- A public app, not a private one. An app for the Shopify marketplace must pass a review, so every flow had to work for any store.
- Late design. The frames for the key pages arrived after we had drawn the first screens, so we adapted the interface instead of starting over.
- Blockchain accounts. Working with WAX needs a wallet and test assets, so we agreed with the client how to get them for development.
- Work in rounds. The project ran in sprints with long breaks between them, so we kept the plan and the code ready for each restart.
Result of the project
The client launched Waxify, and artists and brands used it for NFT drops sold together with physical items. Our part was the app itself: the code base, the merchant interface, the integration with Shopify and the issue of assets on WAX.
Looking for a Shopify app or a blockchain integration? See our blockchain development services or read how we built contracts and a dashboard on Polygon. The app follows the Shopify app model and issues assets on the WAX blockchain.
Need a Shopify app or a blockchain feature for your store? Tell us about your task.
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