THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO CONTENT-ADDRESSED PUBLISHING12 topics · 10 field guides

IPFS Ethereum Website / ETHEREUM FRONTENDS

A versioned frontend for your Ethereum app.

Use a CID to identify the frontend you released. Keep the chain, contract configuration, wallet permissions, and live services in their own clearly documented layers.

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Keep the architecture honest

An Ethereum frontend can be hosted on IPFS while its contracts execute on Ethereum and its browser reads through an RPC service. Additional indexers or APIs are still runtime dependencies. Identify every component in a release record. Do not describe content-addressed delivery as proof of contract security or as evidence that the entire application has no centralized dependencies.

Review destinations before release

Maintain an approved network-to-contract mapping and treat changes to it as code changes. Display the intended network and destination near important actions. Handle the wallet changing networks or accounts while the page is open. Keep test configuration separate from production and fail visibly when critical values are missing instead of silently selecting a convenient default.

Respect authorization boundaries

Let users read before connecting. Distinguish a connection, a signature, an approval, and a transaction submission in both code and copy. Where permissions are needed, identify the spender and scope. A rejected request should not trigger repeated prompts. Never ask visitors for seed phrases or private keys, and never place signing or deployment secrets in public files.

Observe outcomes without inventing certainty

Preparation, wallet review, submission, and observed network results are different states. Preserve a transaction reference when observation fails and explain uncertainty instead of displaying an unsupported success message. Test wrong networks, unavailable RPC services, rejected requests, and reloads during a pending action. Review older frontend compatibility before treating a static-file rollback as an application rollback.

Technical reference: Ethereum developer documentation on dApps. Review the relevant configuration before applying it to a production environment.

COMMON QUESTIONS

IPFS Ethereum Website: the details

Does uploading a frontend deploy its contract?

No. Frontend publication and contract deployment are separate processes. The interface must be configured for the contract it is intended to use.

Can an old frontend safely be restored?

Only after compatibility is reviewed. Restoring page files does not reverse blockchain state, contract changes, or changes in external APIs.

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