Overcoming the Visibility Crisis in Web3: Designing a Search Engine for the Decentralized Web
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Abstract: The rapid growth of decentralized web technologies, such as IPFS, ENS, and Arweave, has enabled the creation and hosting of censorship-resistant, open-access websites.However, these systems suffer from a fundamental usability problem: decentralized websites are effectively invisible to the average user due to the absence of an indexing and discovery infrastructure.This paper introduces Web3 Compass, a search engine purpose-built for the decentralized internet.Unlike traditional search engines that rely on centralized servers and behavioral tracking, Web3 Compass discovers and indexes content from decentralized domains through real-time blockchain monitoring, resolver contract interactions, and a custom IPFS infrastructure.It outlines the visibility problem, examines failed or insufficient past solutions, and presents the architectural design of a hybrid, privacy-preserving search tool optimized for the decentralized web.The contribution aims to address the core bottleneck in Web3 usability by making decentralized content discoverable and accessible.
DOI: 10.51408/csit2025_80
Author: Artyom Harutyunyan
Language: English
Subfield: Information Systems
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4414454162
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