Since 2020, NFTs and NFT collections have taken the blockchain industry by storm. Initially, these digital goods were created to be memorabilia or a collectible. However, as the technology and awareness about these progressed, people started building NFT collections with specific utilities and built plans around them. In many ways, NFT collections became a part of a larger ecosystem or plan of the creators.
While the world of NFTs has been relatively quiet, people are still looking to create projects and applications in which NFTs play a crucial role. In such scenarios, proper knowledge of the various methods, as well as their pros and cons, becomes essential. One of the most critical questions is whether to build your own smart contract for the NFT collection or directly create an NFT collection on marketplaces such as OpenSea. If this question has been on your mind, you’ve arrived at the right place. Let us dive right into it.
NFT Smart Contract
NFT contracts, a type of smart contract, serve as the foundational protocols for minting and managing unique digital assets. To standards such as ERC-721 or ERC-1155, these contracts provide a standardized framework for creating and identifying individual NFTs.
NFT collections represent curated groupings of tokens, often organized around common themes, styles, or projects. Typically, these collections are off-chain representations and are commonly associated with specific NFT marketplaces. They facilitate easier
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How do NFT Smart Contracts Differ from an NFT Collection?
A smart contract enables the creation of specific functionalities on the blockchain network. This also involves minting NFTs and NFT collections. The features and functionalities vary depending on the smart contract you use and the marketplace and blockchain network you choose. You will use the marketplace’s smart contract to create NFT collections on marketplaces. As a result, you will have access to limited features and cannot utilize smart contracts’ full potential. In the next section, we’ll examine how minting NFT collections over your smart contracts is more beneficial than minting NFT collections on NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.
Benefits of Smart Contracts over OpenSea or other marketplace
Collection Name
Any NFT collection that lasts for a sustainable period has a popular name that users can identify, irrespective of the marketplace in which it is located. While building your NFT collection, your smart contract will enable you to name your collection uniquely. On the contrary, if you do the same on OpenSea, the collection will appear with its name only OpenSea. In contrast, the different NFTs in the collection will appear as disparate pieces on other platforms. Thus, the brand recall value will diminish drastically in the latter case.
Launch Plan
When you launch an NFT collection, you will likely have plans for the launch. It might include a landing page, a comprehensive understanding of the NFTs, their utility, the roadmap, launch date, and more. When you build your smart contract, you can give your audience the complete launch experience right from creating and giving all the info on the landing page to connecting the page with Discord servers where you give timely updates and build a loyal community. On OpenSea, you wouldn’t be able to execute such elaborate plans and strategies, leading to an impressionable launch. Considering the number of NFT projects that come out every month/year, you would aspire to stand out and create something that stands out. Building your smart contract is the way to do that.
Versatility of NFT
Creating an NFT collection isn’t merely about having quirky imagery or avatars that grab people’s eyeballs. The NFTs must also have a utility that adds value to some of the target audience’s life. Utilities can range from NFTs acting as membership tokens, entry passes, tickets, connection with a real-world asset, a subscription to a product/service, or more. Building your smart contract allows you to configure its features to best suit your and your audience’s needs. It also allows you to determine the resell value, royalties, and other aspects of NFT usage. OpenSea and a few different marketplaces have several limitations regarding the customization of NFT utility.
Exclusive Access Programs
Address whitelisting is a common practice creators adopt while launching their NFT collections. They give specific addresses and personalities VIP or early access to the collections to create intrigue around the pieces and ensure a higher buying rate at launch. If you have your smart contracts, the whitelisting process becomes simple. However, if you create the collection on OpenSea, this is not possible.
Airdrops and Giveaways
Finally, airdrops and giveaways are another strategy to create buzz around the collection. In fact, creators regularly share airdrops to keep the community engaged much after the launch. With a smart contract of your own, the task can be carried out with just a few clicks. However, with collections on OpenSea, you’ll need to manually select and type the addresses you choose for airdropping rewards or NFTs.
Building a Scalable Project
When you build a smart contract, you can design and configure it with the larger plan in mind. Although you’re launching an NFT collection, your plans may include building a metaverse for your audience. You’d like to keep that option open even if you do not plan. Thus, smart contracts allow you to scale your project without using OpenSea. These are a few significant benefits of having NFT collections over your smart contracts compared to having them on marketplaces such as OpenSea. Now that you understand this, what are you waiting for? Get started with your own NFT project and smart contract today.
How do I create a Smart Contract?
Now that you can see the benefits of creating your own Smart Contract, the next question is how to do it. We offer a no-code NFT Smart Contract creator app that allows you to easily set up your contract. You just have to pay a small fee to use our app and pay for the Gas fees. Once you create your contract, you can deploy your Mint website, which is included with the NFT contract creator.
