I'm new to blockchain. I find that Etherscan's UI/UX is too complicated for average person to use. I basically need my users to read my Ethereum smart contract transactions and to view their own tokens (which my contract issues) content and data. Must I need to build my own block explorer using open source software and customize a nice UI/UX or could I just code a simple web app and pull this data from a public node?
1 Answer
You don't need a block explorer but you probably need a user interface.
Web3.js is the main library but there are others. https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/JavaScript-API
Your UI would present an application to users and coordinate interactions with users.
- Read the contract by calling functions
- Send data to the contract by inviting the user to sign transactions
- Monitor event logs to update dynamic elements
I think it bears mentioning that if your tokens comply with ERC20 then users can and would expect to use them with the wallet of their choice. No need to reinvent that.
A block explorer is more of a diagnostic tool. Have a look at https://www.cryptokitties.co/ to see a pretty nice UI in action. You will need MetaMask or your own node to meet the client-side blockchain requirement. https://metamask.io/. MetaMask uses Infura backing.
Hope it helps.
answered Sep 25, 2019 at 21:43
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So I guess I can just use Infura API to retrieve all my ERC20 token and contract details, am I right? Commented Sep 26, 2019 at 7:52
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It's a popular choice. Even better if the client will check for the presence of a full node and use Infura as a fallback to support users who are not concerned about verifying the chain themselves. Commented Sep 26, 2019 at 15:25