Have you ever wanted to build a modern web application without all the gimmick then you should have already heard of the JAMstack where JAM stands for JavaScript API's and Markup.
"JAMstack: noun \’jam-stak’\
Modern web development architecture based on client-side JavaScript, reusable APIs, and prebuilt Markup"
The ever-changing world of the web never ceases to amaze us. Static Websites are popular, super efficient and extremely fast which makes it a good fit for blogs, resumes, portfolio, landing pages and documentation. So yeah Jamstack is cool why should i use it you ask?
Reasons You Should Consider JAMstack
Better Performance: If you ever wanted to build your websites on the go with flawless speed and performance your best choice will be to go with the JAMstack. Build your files only on deployment served over a CDN.
Cheap and Fast Deployment: Jamstack websites can easily be deployed without going through the hassle of configuring databases, securing .htaccess and so on. We are only dealing with static files so it is easy to integrate a fast CDN to get up and running.
Awesome Developer Experience: Learning and using JAMstack is not as difficult as you might think it is. With just HTML, CSS and JS experience developers can build complex websites. JAMstack doesn't require a complex language to start with, It also allows the selection of CMS options for site generators remove the need to maintain a separate stack for content and marketing.
** High-Security**: Static Websites have a very low potential for vulnerabilities because it is just HTML files and external API handling served over a CDN. This reduces any possible risk or attack on the website. It is easy to integrate SSL certificate with Let's Encrypt. Also, leverage the use of server-side microservice APIs to secure the websites.
Great Community: The JAMstack community is growing over time. New support for various functionality springs up every day. Even exciting is the local community meetups being created. The Online community is also amazing.
Another great feature to consider is the ability to integrate core dynamic functionalities into JAMstack websites. JAMstack is more or less hyper-dynamic than you can imagine, This technology has the ability to handle dynamic server-side features, thinking of handling backend functions tools like Webtask and Serverless. Form handling on the go with Formspree or Netlify Forms. Full Search capability Google Search, lunr.js and Algolia is There are quite a number of tools available to integrate with JAMstack. The list is available here and here
A whole lot of companies have already joined the bandwagon so what are you waiting for?
Examples of websites
Useful JAMstack Resources
- StaticGen.com
- 5 Reasons to try JAMstack
- Jamstack.org
- Using A Static Site Generator At Scale: Lessons Learned by SmashingMag
- Build a Static Site with Hugo and Deploy with Netlify
- Static Websites + JAMstack = <3
- An Introduction to Static Site Generators
- JAMstack Group
- JAMstack Reddit
- Bejamas Blog
Originally posted on my blog
Top comments (20)
I just converted a client from sitecore over to:
Contentful for headless CMS,
Netlify for deployment and hosting,
Gitlab for code repository and version control,
Algolia for site wide search engine,
React front end framework,
Gatsby for build and compilation.
They have been astounded by the performance and I've got to say I'm fully on board with jam.
Oh and this is a Bank! So very cool that they are open to trying this.
Nice, I want to use do something like that with AWS next.
AppSync for headless CMS
S3 + CloudFront for deployment and hosting
CodeCommit for code repository and version control
Elastic Search Service for site wide search engine
Probably also with React and Gatsby as frontend.
Good call on AWS! agilitycms.com/resources/posts/aws...
Contentful is great, but if you want to save time on coding Page Mangement and other awesome editors tools like URL and Sitemap management - try Agility CMS :) you might be pleasantly surprised. Our own website is on Gatsby and Netlify! check it out. :)
agilitycms.com/resources/guide/con...
Ooh this is interesting. Bravo!
I'd love to hear more about this project. Especially since it can be difficult to persuade a bank to publish anything on a platform outside of what they have been provisioning for years and years.
Any possibility of sharing any more info on this?
Nice that's awesome mind sharing the link?
Great list! I wrote a similar post when I was exploring the different options for static site generators a few months ago. I ended up rewriting my blog with Gatsby.
Post: kostasbariotis.com/modern-static-s...
My blog's source code: github.com/kbariotis/kostasbarioti...
Thanks. I also wrote this while exploring static sites. Gatsby is a great one too. I used Hugo and Netlify for mine giftegwuenu.com I like the idea around static site generators.
Are there any alternatives to hosting on netlify? I don't have anything against them but they look like they are the only jam hosting worth using at the moment
Yeah there are alternatives even though I only tried hosting with Netlify. This list will give a detailed idea slant.co/topics/2256/~static-websi...
You just need some static hosting provider. AWS S3 (+CloudFront) would be enough.
Thank you Gift! great article! Here is another good read over coffee - please let us know if you have something to add to our ebook or fix something! :) would love your expert opinion: agilitycms71084.ac-page.com/ebook-...
It's basically Fat Client coming to the browser, haha.
But yes, I think with the advent of FaaS/Serverless, we need heavier clients to hide the latency :D
Sure i agree with this.
I have a project I'm working on now that's sole purpose to make a bunch of common-place JAM replacements for everyday native applications for the Web.
github.com/Nektro/apps.nektro.net
Really informative text on the JAMstack
Thanks Francis.
One I just learned about today (around the same time I opened this article, so it was weird):
vuepress.vuejs.org/
Yeah vuepress is great. Also heard about it over the weekend :)
Great post I make a similar post about static site generators a week ago. I developed my blog with Gatsby.
codespot.org/how-to-build-a-blog-w...