LNBits' The Nostr Market
Nbits is an amazing tool that grants us all the ability to harness the power of Bitcoin's Lightning Network. LNBits can be considered the "WordPress" for Bitcoin. A fresh install will grant you a blank slate Lightning wallet to which you may add a variety of plugins, ranging from a simple paywall to a fully functional PoS system for accepting Bitcoin payments, to your own Nostr Market stall (store) and customize LNBits to fit your needs. You can learn more about LNBits by visiting to their website at LNBits.com.
LNBits and Nostr
The people behind LNBits and those behind Nostr have a history together, and both sides played a part in the birthing of the Nostr protocol. Lucky for us! LNBits has been there for Nostr's growth and has been implementing fantastic plugins that allow us to do great things within the Nostr ecosystem. If you're new to Nostr and want to better understand it, check out our post "Nostr and Bitcoin"
Nostr Market
One of their more recent developments is the Nostr Market plugin. This lovely little app lets you create your own market stall where you can list items you'd like to sell, kind of like opening a kiosk in a public square or mall. And because this is LNBits, you have the power to easily accept Bitcoin payments for all the items for sale in your stall (kiosk). What's exciting is that this is all done over Nostr's censorship-resistant and permissionless protocol (the public square). It's all just so beautifully designed.
With this plugin, getting started with an online store has never been easier. Its intuitive marketplace client (storefront) comes complete with a shopping cart, giving you everything you need to showcase your offerings and tempt potential buyers. And, as an added bonus, the platform includes a simple messaging tool that makes it a breeze to communicate with your customers via Nostr, whether you're discussing orders or simply chatting.
Setup Your Stall
Setting up and getting started with a Nostr Market stall is quite straightforward. The plugin operates alongside another tool named "Nostr Client," which facilitates Nostr Market's interaction with the broader Nostr ecosystem. I won't delve into the setup process in this post, as I believe the Nostr Market team has already provided a comprehensive walkthrough. If you're looking for a detailed step-by-step guide on configuring everything, I recommend visiting their official GitHub page.
The guide covers everything you need from the necessary basics to the customization or the look and feel of your stall.