I wrote and deployed a demo Web3 store with Solidity and ethers.js.
Users can log in using MetaMask and make purchases.
The store runs without a database; all transaction data is stored on‑chain.
The store was created for learning about solidity and working with smart contracts.
Unfortunately, the book I bought few years ago and the tools it recommends (web3.js, Truffle, Ganache) are now obsolete and no longer maintained, so I had to figure everything out on my own.
First, we needed a tool for building and deploying smart contracts. Modern options are Forge and Hardhat; I chose Forge.
A testnet is required for development. Both Hardhat and Forge provide built‑in local testnets; I used Anvil, Forge’s fast, in‑memory Ethereum node.
Anvil is started from the console. It automatically creates funded accounts and prints the RPC endpoint (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:8545) that MetaMask can connect to.
Connect the MetaMask extension to the RPC URL shown by Anvil, then deploy the compiled contract to that network.
For the contract, we need two functions:
1.Purchase an item. The purchase will transfer funds to the store wallet and record the ID of the purchased item for the buyer.
2.View purchased items.
I won’t provide tests here. After successful testing and compilation, publish the contract:
After successful publication, we are given the smart contract address.
Next, we’ll write the store application. We’ll need a library to interact with MetaMask and the blockchain. I used Ethers v6, as I found it to be the most well-documented.
First, connect to the Ethereum wallet through the MetaMask extension.
Query the balance to ensure it’s working correctly.
Next, interact with the smart contract.
1.Import abi – a json from the solidity build result.
2.Create an Contract instance and pass it the smart contract address we received after publish.
3.That’s it, you can call the smart contract’s functions.
Once the work is complete, you can deploy the store and contract to the live network.
Thanks for reading, any feedback or suggestions are appreciated.
