With NFTs very quickly became immensely popular, it was always foreseeable that more and more people would begin to flock to the market, looking to sell, create, and collect from the ever-expanding marketplace.
And whilst each person’s reasoning for their interest in NFTs varies, there is no denying that it is clear that NFTs are not going anywhere anytime soon.
Being Blockchain based, Ethereum was the natural choice as NFTs first emerged, and is still the dominant network.
However, the sheer quantity of people now trying to utilize this Blockchain has meant that the network is suffering from congestion, as well as a slowing in transaction times, and increasing fees.
Now, other Blockchains are emerging and are providing excellent alternatives, at a lower cost too.
Solana is one of these new Blockchains and has begun to thrive as people seek Ethereum alternatives. This guide will help you mint your own NFTs on Solana, utilizing Solsea, which is soon becoming the biggest NFT marketplace.
Step 1: Setting Up Your Wallet
The first step is to set up your wallet, as this will ensure that you can pay any required fees, as well as receive payment from Solana if your NFT sells.
Solana accepts a vast variety of wallets, however many people’s preferred choice is Phantom – which is a browser extension. So once you’ve installed it, add it to your browser, and you should see the icon in the right-hand corner, open it up to begin the installation.
Once your wallet has been set up, it is time to fund your wallet. You’ll need to purchase SOL – which is Solana’s cryptocurrency, if you have any in other wallets or crypto exchanges, you’ll need to transfer it to your Phantom wallet.
Once this is done, you’re almost ready to begin minting.
Step 2: Create A Solsea Account
The next step is to create an account on Solsea, which is easily achieved. All you need to do is connect your wallet to Solsea – navigate your way to the top right and click ‘Connect Wallet’.
Click Phantom, and then allow Solsea to gain access to view your funds and request approval for transactions.
You will then be taken to the sign-in page for Solsea, where you enter your email address as well as your desired password, agree to the terms and conditions, and confirm your account’s creation via the email Solsea will send you.
Step 3: Creating A Collection
You’re so nearly able to begin minting your first NFTs (see also ‘What Does Mint Mean In NFT?‘) on Solsea, but there are a couple more steps you need to take before you can start.
Firstly, navigate to ‘Create’, and select ‘Collection’, this will give you a place to store your NFTs and means that you can group them however you like.
You’ll then have to create a title, short description, and a full description, that truly encapsulates the nature of your NFTs and your collection as a whole.
Remember, if you want to sell your NFTs, these are what will help encapsulate your buyers, so try to make it as appealing as possible!
Then you need to add your header and icon image! And if you’d like, connect your social media accounts, which will help people interact and engage with any work you do in the future.
Once you’ve done all this, all you need to do is sign the transactions in order to mint your first collection, this may take a small amount of time, but if you’re ever unsure, check your wallet and check SOL, you should be able to view your transaction history.
Step 4: Minting Your NFT
Once your collection is created, you can now begin to add NFTs, go back to the ‘Create’ tab and this time, click ‘NFT’, this will navigate you to the NFT creation page.
Solsea accepts a range of formats, including JPEG, GIF, PNG, MOV, or MP4, so ensure that your desired design is suitable to be uploaded.
You’ll then need to add a title, and two descriptions again. Try to be descriptive about what your NFT is, what the artwork contains, and why you created this design!
More in-depth descriptions and explanations of your artistry will attract more potential buyers.
Then you get to set the royalty fee, which is the percentage of the fee you’ll receive every time your NFT gets sold on the market.
The range is between 0-50%, but it’s best to keep your fee reasonable and match it to your business model.
Other fields to fill in include the external link to your artwork page (if you have one), tags – which are based upon format, licences (which help discern what you’re selling), and finally, the NFTs traits, be cautious filling in these traits.
However, as once you’ve set them, they can’t be changed once the NFT is minted. Whilst all of these fields are optional, it really is recommended that you fill them in.
Then, select the collection you want to add your new NFT to, and click ‘Mint NFT’, and once you’ve signed the translation, you’re done!
You’ll be available to view your NFT in your Phantom wallet whenever you like. But it’ll vanish once you’ve uploaded it to the Solsea marketplace.
Step 5: Listing Your NFT
If you wish to list your NFT, it’s super easy to do.
Navigate your way to ‘Wallet’, then ‘NFTs in my Wallet’, and find the NFT that you’d like to sell.
Click on ‘List NFT’, and then decide upon a price for your NFT.
Once completed, you’ll be able to view your listed NFTs in a separate section of your wallet.
Conclusion
Minting an NFT on Solana is extremely easy once you’ve done it a few times. Unlike other platforms, there is no specialized coding knowledge needed, making Solana much more accessible for those who are new to NFTs!
Listing on Solsea is also easy too, and it is clear to see why Solana is quickly becoming an excellent alternative to Ethereum!.
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