Open-sourcing the Cosmos Network website

Adriana Mihai
Cosmos Ecosystem Blog
5 min readJul 24, 2020

From the very beginning, the Cosmos community has been at the forefront of open-source technology by spearheading the development of toolkits and protocols like Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC), Tendermint Core, and the Cosmos SDK.

As proponents of open-source software, we, at Tendermint, value transparency and the benefit of an extra set of eyes on our work. In this spirit, we have worked hard to build the free and vibrant developer community we see today — a place where everyone is welcomed and empowered to collaborate, discuss, and sustain knowledge transfer.

We take pride that through our initiatives, we have inspired others to follow our lead and open-source their work, bringing us closer to the vision of Cosmos — a decentralized, secure, and sustainable ecosystem of interoperable networks.

Today we make another step towards our common goal by open-sourcing the Cosmos website, cosmos.network. 🚀

The role of the Cosmos website

Since its inception in 2017, the Cosmos website’s primary purpose has been to introduce the vision of the ‘Internet of Blockchains’ to a worldwide audience of developers, token holders and blockchain enthusiasts. It has played a critical role in attracting numerous developers, communicating the benefits the Cosmos architecture provides, and introducing them to the tools they need to start building Cosmos applications.

In the last two years, the website has had over 2.7 million page views and over 420k visitors. Fundamentally, it has been the gateway to the ever-expanding Cosmos ecosystem we see today. ✨

Number of pageviews and visitors, and top pages on cosmos.network — June 2018 to June 2020
High-level visitor stats for cosmos.network — June 2018 to June 2020

Open-sourcing the website

At Tendermint, we believe that we can create a more transparent and accountable world through open, distributed, and interoperable networks. Our work orbits around these core principles while we endeavour to provide the necessary tools to empower those who strive for the same goals.

As our developer community has matured, they have provided valuable feedback and ideas to more effectively communicate the Cosmos vision. By opening up the source code to the Cosmos website, we now have a new platform to converge these ideas and address feedback in an open and transparent manner, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard.

Tendermint will continue to shepherd the design and development of Cosmos websites, with support from the Interchain Foundation. The Tendermint design team is committed to building a website that will better reflect and celebrate the true nature of the fast-growing ecosystem and its thriving community. This is the first step towards that goal.

What exactly have we open-sourced?

Publishing our source code on GitHub gives us a chance to leverage all the excellent tools for collaboration and continuous integration that our community has to offer.

At a glance, here is the current state of things:

  • The repository of the entire website front-end has been open-sourced on GitHub.
  • There are still some pieces yet to be open-sourced, like our data sources for events, articles, projects, and our source files for design assets. These will be made publicly available in the next few phases of development.
  • The Cosmos brand is still trademarked by the Interchain Foundation, and some visual assets are available for use. Please be sure to adhere to the guidelines for Cosmos trademark usage.

How can I contribute?

We are excited to accept contributions, but bear in mind there will be many changes ahead with a full website redesign project currently underway (outlined below). In the interim, we are welcoming contributions such as:

  • Suggestions for improving communication in our copywriting.
  • Identifying and fixing broken links.
  • Updating out-of-date or inaccurate content.
  • Updating links and descriptions of projects and tools.
  • Cross-browser bug fixes — please note that we only intend to support the latest versions of major browsers.

Check out the repo on GitHub to create pull requests and issues for the above.

What comes next?

cosmos.network

Open-sourcing is just the first step of a momentous journey for the Cosmos website. The Tendermint design team is hard at work designing a new website with a brand new visual look-and-feel and refresh of the brand identity. Check out the new Stargate website to get an idea of where things are headed, as this website will serve the basis for development of the upcoming redesign.

Moreover, with an overhaul of the site structure, we’ll be introducing new and updated content, so make sure to keep an eye on the team’s progress in the new repository for the Stargate website. Meanwhile, we are establishing processes for community contributors to provide submissions of the following:

  • Cosmos community events
  • Projects (Wallets, zones, block explorers, visualizers, tokens etc.)
  • Development tools, modules, integrations etc.
  • Articles, videos, and other relevant Cosmos media
  • Tutorials and guides

⚛️ hub.cosmos.network

In order to better inform existing and future ATOM token holders as stakeholders of the Cosmos Hub, we are nearing the completion of a new website for the Cosmos Hub. We hope that this new website will provide token holders, with all the information they need to start their Cosmos journey. Everything from token acquisition, staking information, wallets, explorers, validators will be covered — stay tuned for more.

🌐 cosmos.network/ecosystem

In parallel with the redesign of the Cosmos website, we’re also compiling more accurate, comprehensive, and up-to-date data for projects and tools in the Cosmos ecosystem.

This new data source will exist in a public repository on GitHub (cosmos/awesome), which will surface the criteria for submitting updates and new projects for review. This development is underway, in collaboration between Tendermint and Interchain GmbH.

Get involved

We want to hear your thoughts! We’re creating a new channel specifically to discuss the design and front-end development for the various Cosmos websites. Join us on Discord and take part in the conversation. 🪐

See you all in Cosmos!

Thanks to Nass and Josh.

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Published in Cosmos Ecosystem Blog

Cosmos is the internet of blockchains - an ever-expanding ecosystem of interconnected, blockchain-based apps and services. Powered by the Interchain Stack, Cosmos boasts over 100 IBC-enabled chains.

Written by Adriana Mihai

Director of Marketing & Community @Tendermint_team, working in @cosmos| founder of “Today in @cosmos” daily review | validator @Kalpa_Tech | crypto enthusiast

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