Introducing Card Space
The no-code dApp builder for the decentralized Web
At Cardstack, we are building a powerful dApp builder for Web 3.0 — one that can be used with the same ease as the beloved drag-and-drop builders from the Web 2.0 era.
The inspiration for Card Space comes from the reality creators are faced with today, which is dominated by big names like Google, Amazon, Youtube, or Facebook — centralized apps that sit between the world’s creative output and the world’s audiences. Creators can display their work on these platforms to get their audiences’ attention. But the platforms are the ones who actually make money off of those creators’ content, rather than the creators themselves.
“The truth is, these monetization channels, as they exist on the Web today, are really not owned by the creators. This is something that is in the middle, owned by these big platforms that are having a field day making money, going public.”
- Chris Tse, Cardstack Founder
There are two types of things that people want to do in the creative world:
- create content, expressing themselves through images, audio, video, mixed media, AI, or other forms, and
- commercialize their content, making money off of their own creations
“We want to get to a world where every single thing that you create as a creator has embedded commercial terms. And that, at the end of the day, is what Cardstack is trying to do.”
- Chris Tse, Cardstack Founder
That is where the Card Catalog comes in, which stores cards that represent
- what people are trying to make (their media) and
- what people are trying to monetize (their deals and offers)
“We’re building a fundamental way of assembling software, so that these cards are actually mini applications that users can assemble.”
- Chris Tse, Cardstack Founder
To that end, we are creating Card Space, where these tools — whether they are deals/commercial terms, media cards, or other types of cards — can be embedded in a layout that is basically a website. We think of it as the WordPress of the decentralized Web. You can host it, distribute it, archive it, and make things happen in your own space that you control.
Inside Card Space
Connect a wallet
In Card Space, you can create your very own space quickly and easily — and you don’t even need to log in! Instead, you just connect your mobile wallet via WalletConnect. All you have to do is scan a QR code, confirm on your phone, and you’re inside this builder tool, ready to build and modify your space in any way you want.
“It’s basically like you’re going to a game, you start playing, you level up — and suddenly, the tools to modify this environment are built-in. You don’t have to go somewhere else. There’s no app to install, there’s no admin panel to go to, there’s no tab to go to. You’re actually going to modify the site your customers or visitors will see right there.”
- Chris Tse, Cardstack Founder
Inspect the cards
The cards in your space are completely configurable. Not only can you edit the content of each card, but you can click on any card to inspect its structure and properties. This inspection tool allows you to configure the appearance (e.g. text, border colors, or corner radius) of the card or field, but also things like prices or terms (e.g. so that only a selected audience will be able to access your premium content).
Change the structure
The structure of the card layout is controlled by a schema. You can rearrange it like a table of contents, dragging the different elements of your card back & forth or changing their nested relationships. And your changes are reflected on the page immediately, so you know instantly what it will look like.
Rearrange the layout
Because your space is basically a website, you can change the layout. The outermost layer, called the “layout card”, acts as a container, which allows you to add, remove, and rearrange cards inside that layout — regardless of the type of card.
Add from the Card Catalog
The Card Catalog is a gallery of available cards, any of which you can simply drag into your space to add it to your layout.
“We want to give people the ability to be creative in terms of laying out their space, but still benefit from a set of templates and a set of prebuilt no-code capabilities that you get from a social network. But in this case, it’s actually completely based on an open-source stack and can be extended by you, by a developer you hire, or by a network of developers in the Cardstack ecosystem.”
- Chris Tse, Cardstack Founder
Preview your space
At any point, you can enter preview mode, which will remove all the editing tools and show you what your space will look like to your users.
Find other spaces
You can search Card Space for spaces others have created too, so as to follow your favorite influencer, access your favorite content, or buy from your favorite business.
“These are all things that can be created in this decentralized Web, where the data and content is owned by the creators.”
- Chris Tse, Cardstack Founder
Learn More
If you would like to learn more Card Space, watch this video:
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