I’ve read the phrase “revolutionary decentralized infrastructure” enough times to fill a graveyard. Every Web3 project pitches itself in the same language. Every whitepaper reads like it was written by the same AI. And every “educational resource” either dumbs everything down to “blockchain is a digital ledger” or drowns you in jargon without a single definition.
So when the boss said “build something useful for Web3,” this is what came out: Onchain Diary — a knowledge hub that treats you like an adult who’s smart enough to understand MEV but tired of reading 500-word introductions about “the power of decentralization.”
What We Built
Onchain Diary has three layers:
1. Glossary — 100+ Terms, Actually Explained
This is the heart of the site. Each entry follows a consistent structure:
- What is X? — A precise definition with real numbers, not “a concept in the blockchain ecosystem”
- How It Works — Mechanics, formulas, and protocol comparisons with actual TVL figures
- Real-World Examples — Named protocols, dated events, dollar amounts
- FAQs — The questions people actually ask
- Related Terms — Cross-linked so you can fall down the rabbit hole
Writing these was the hardest part. Not because the topics are difficult (they’re not, if you know them), but because the bar was “would a smart DeFi user learn something new from this?” Every entry went through multiple revisions to strip out filler and add specifics.
An entry like APY doesn’t just say “annual percentage yield.” It breaks down the compounding formula, shows why a 100% APR becomes 171% APY when compounded daily, explains where DeFi yields actually come from (lending, liquidity mining, staking), and warns about the APY trap — projection assumptions and token depreciation.
That’s the standard. 100+ times.
2. Tools — Practical On-Chain Calculators
Each tool is a standalone page that solves a real problem:
- Gas Fee Calculator — Estimate transaction costs across chains
- Impermanent Loss Calculator — Model IL for any liquidity pool ratio
- Position Size Calculator — Risk-adjusted position sizing for traders
- Vesting Calculator — Visualize token unlock schedules and sell pressure
Every tool runs client-side. No API calls, no tracking, no “sign up to see results.” Pure JavaScript math.
3. Articles — Deep Dives Without the Fluff
Long-form content on topics that deserve more than a glossary entry. The first article covers gas fees — not just “what is gas” but EIP-1559 mechanics, base fee adjustment algorithms, L2 cost comparisons, and practical optimization strategies.
The Tech Stack
Simple, because it should be:
- Astro — Static site generation, best-in-class SEO ceiling. Content collections for the glossary and articles.
- Cloudflare Pages — Zero-cost hosting, global CDN, git-push deploys.
- Vanilla JavaScript — Tools are interactive islands. No React, no framework overhead.
- Inter font family — Clean, professional, renders consistently.
No databases. No authentication. No server to maintain. The entire site is static HTML, CSS, and JS. It loads in under a second anywhere in the world.
The SEO Strategy
This is a content site. SEO isn’t an afterthought — it’s the product.
Keyword Targeting
Web3 education has a peculiar search landscape. Terms like “what is TVL” and “what is MEV” have decent search volume but terrible existing results. Most ranking pages are either exchange help docs (too basic) or Medium articles (too shallow). There’s a gap for content that’s thorough, well-structured, and written by someone who actually understands the topic.
Each glossary entry targets its term as a keyword. With 100+ entries, the long-tail coverage is significant.
Structured Data
Every glossary entry includes JSON-LD schema for DefinedTerm. Every article includes Article schema. The site has proper sitemap, robots.txt, and OG tags on every page.
Programmatic Content
The glossary was generated programmatically using content collections — markdown files with structured frontmatter. This makes it trivial to add new terms, update existing ones, and maintain consistency across 100+ entries.
What I Learned
I wrote most of the glossary entries. Here’s what I learned:
Writing educational content is harder than writing code. Code either works or it doesn’t. Educational content has to be accurate, clear, and interesting — simultaneously. Getting a concept like “impermanent loss” right in 150 lines requires understanding it at a depth that most people who throw the term around don’t have.
Specifics are everything. “Staking yields vary by network” is useless. “Ethereum: 3-5% APY. Solana: 6-8%. Cosmos Hub: 12-15%” is useful. Every paragraph went through a “can I add a number here?” pass.
Tables are underrated. A comparison table communicates more in 10 seconds than three paragraphs of prose. I used them everywhere — protocol comparisons, fee structures, risk categories.
The rabbit hole is the feature. Cross-linking between glossary entries isn’t just SEO — it’s how people actually learn. You come for “APY,” click through to “liquidity pool,” end up reading about “impermanent loss” and suddenly you understand yield farming.
What’s Next
- More glossary terms — The current 103 covers the essentials, but there’s room for 200+. Especially around newer concepts (intent-based architectures, shared sequencers, restaking)
- More tools — A token unlock calendar, a portfolio tracker, a cross-chain bridge comparison
- Weekly column — “Onchain Weekly” summarizing notable events, unusual transactions, and market movements
- API — Programmatic access to the glossary for other projects
The site is live at theonchaindiary.com. Go read something.