ICO Development Services and Process Explained

Are you planning to build your ICO? ICO development can be stressful and exhausting. A professional ICO developer company can take the pressure off your mind with comprehensive and results-driven initial coin offering development services. Here’s all you need to know.

What’s an ICO Development Company?

An ICO developer or company is a professional with experience in developing, managing and implementing successful initial coin offering campaigns based on underlying goals.

An ICO or initial coin offering is an online sale of crypto tokens. The company selling tokens usually wants to raise funds for a project.

Crypto tokens or cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that are built and run on blockchain, which is a decentralized distributed ledger facilitating peer-to-peer transactions between participants (nodes).

ICO is arguably the best way for a company to raise funds for its new or existing blockchain project, for things like technology and product development, marketing, etc. An ICO development company can assist with the entire ICO creation process, from website and token development to smart contract creation, and ICO marketing.

What are ICO Development Services?

Different ICO companies may have different definitions and criteria for ICO development services. Some ICO developers are exclusively engaged in the development part only, so they will create tokens, smart contracts, etc. An ICO development agency, on the other hand, can provide comprehensive services, from token and contract development to website design, marketing, and post-ICO services. ICO development services typically cover the following:

1. ICO Planning and Strategy Building

This involves initial discussions with the client, understanding their goals and needs for ICO, answering their questions, and determining a roadmap for the ICO development project. The team may also research your target market and audience to develop an understanding of the type of token people are expecting. Based on this, a comprehensive strategy is developed.

As a client, you can use this opportunity to share your requirements with the ICO agency, like whether you need development only or want ICO marketing and post-ICO services as well. Be clear about your objectives, and help build a robust ICO development plan.

2. ICO Token Development

Based on your requirements, the team brainstorms and finds the best blockchain platform to build your ICO token and smart contract. You can, of course, suggest your own blockchain choice if you have one in mind. While Ethereum is the most popular blockchain for ICOs, alternatives such as BNB Chain are much more advanced and efficient.

Token development professionals leverage blockchain-compatible programming languages and the latest technologies to build your tailored cryptocurrency with the required features, including advanced security, p2p transfer, wallet compatibility, and value proposition.

Most agencies and ICO developers should be able to build a variety of tokens for your needs, including security tokens, utility tokens, currency tokens, NFTs, and others.

3. ICO Website Development

This service covers the development of an ICO website. When building an ICO, you need a place to showcase details of your upcoming ICO, token and project for the target audience. This is where an ICO website comes in. Your website may also serve as the platform where you conduct the token sale (if you’re not using a third-party exchange or platform).

ICO website development includes building an attractive and smooth website for your users, providing brief information about your project and adding a white paper, a roadmap, and other crucial details that you’d like your investors to know.

4. ICO White Paper Development

An ICO white paper is a document explaining your project in layman’s terms for potential investors and users. People who might invest in your ICO would like to know what your project is all about, so this white paper is your opportunity to impress investors with accurate and comprehensive details of the project, token, ICO, team, technology, and other things.

ICO white paper development may or may not be covered as a service within your ICO development package. Make sure to ask before hiring an ICO company.

5. ICO Smart Contract Development

A smart contract is a self-executing virtual agreement on the blockchain. All transactions within a blockchain are managed through smart contracts, which are designed to execute automatically based on underlying conditions programmed into their code.

In the ICO space, smart contracts are used to control/manage the issuance, distribution and trading of crypto tokens in a secure and dispute-free manner.

ICO smart contract development is a service offered as a part of the ICO development process. If you’re hiring an agency for token development, they’ll likely build a smart contract as well to support token functioning and features. You may also hire an ICO agency exclusively for smart contract development.

6. ICO Marketing

Most ICO development companies or developers you come across may not offer ICO marketing services. This service is separate from the development part and involves marketing the ICO project to attract investors and boost token sales.

Contrary to popular opinion, marketing isn’t something you do after a product launch. Starting community building and marketing before the launch of your ICO can boost your success probability by up to 100%.

Some popular ICO marketing strategies include community building, social media marketing, content marketing, email marketing, influencer collaboration, PR and media, and bounty programs. Consult with an ICO marketing agency to know the details. Pre-ICO marketing involves promoting your upcoming sale through content on topics such as steps to participate in the ICO, KYC verification process, bounty program, etc.

7. ICO Launch and Tracking

Once the ICO development process is complete, including the ICO token and smart contract, it is time to launch the sale. The token sale is initiated according to a predefined schedule. It may be held in multiple stages, such as private sale, presale, and public sale, depending on your preferences and fundraising goals.

You may want to implement KYC/AML for your ICO to increase security and investors’ trust. This protects your sale from fraud participants.

During the ICO, investors purchase tokens by following a predefined process. They send cryptocurrency to the project’s wallet, in exchange for which they are promised tokens to be credited after the sale concludes.

Your ICO marketing team can also help you efficiently track the performance and progress of your ICO campaign using analytics tools and manual tracking.

8. Post-ICO Services — Exchange Listing, Token Distribution

Once the ICO concludes, it is time for post-ICO evaluation. This service may not be covered in an ICO development package.

Post-ICO services include ICO performance evaluation and analysis, post-ICO planning, token launch on exchanges, token distribution according to a predetermined plan, and post-ICO marketing.

Choosing the Right ICO Development Company

Look for the following factors when hiring an ICO developer or agency:

• Dedicated, Experienced and Proficient: The agency must have a track record of creating and launching successful ICO projects. The developers should be well-trained and expert in the blockchain domain.
• Advanced Technologies and Methodologies: The company should have an understanding of various modern web3 technologies and development methods, from agile to encryption, and can build robust code at low cost.
• Versatility: They can build a variety of cryptocurrencies for different purposes, such as utility token, security token, currency token, non-fungible token, and others for different use cases.
• Tailored: Ideally, the ICO development services should be designed to match the specific goals and requirements of your business, whether it is to gain more investors or raise more funding.
• Comprehensive: The best ICO development agency offers complete solutions, from selecting the best blockchain platform to strategizing and developing the tokens, ICO website and smart contracts, and launching a successful ICO launch with impressive marketing.

Conclusion — ICO Development

Initial coin offering (ICO) remains one of the best and easiest ways for blockchain companies to raise funds for their projects. However, developing and organizing a successful ICO is anything but easy. The intense process of ICO development includes in-depth search, planning, programming, marketing, execution, analysis, and post-ICO activities. To do it right and meet the goals, make sure to hire a proficient and credible ICO development company.