This article will discuss Jamstack. We are going to look at how building for the web with Jamstack can result in better-performing and more scalable websites as well as an enhanced developer experience.
What is Jamstack?
Jamstack is an architecture designed to make web applications faster, more secure, and more easily scaled to address evolving business requirements. Jamstack fosters developer productivity by using many popular tools and workflows. It employs core principles of pre-rendering and decoupling that address the needs of the modern web for more resilient sites and applications.
While the name may bring up visions of an alternative music festival, it is built on an acronym that describes its focus. The architecture was originally called JAMstack to highlight its reliance on client-side JavaScript, reusable APIs, and prebuilt Markup.
- JavaScript - Any JavaScript framework or library can be used in Jamstack. It handles the dynamic functionalities required by websites and applications.
- APIs - Reusable APIs are used for server side operations and are accessed via HTTPS using JavaScript. The APIs can be custom-built or obtained from third-party services.
- Markup - Websites are constructed as static HTML files that can be generated from source files using a static site generator.
Jamstack’s Core Principles
The following core principles are employed by Jamstack developers and are what differentiate the architecture from legacy development strategies.
Pre-rendering
The front end of a Jamstack site is prebuilt and stored as static HTML pages. This process allows the creation of sites that are served directly from a content delivery network (CDN). The cost, complexity, and risk of dynamic servers are reduced, making a Jamstack site more appropriate for mission-critical applications.
Decoupled
The front end and back end are decoupled and are developed using separate tools. The pre-rendered front end is usually built with a static site generator. APIs are used to integrate the back and front ends of the application during the build process. A serverless approach can be employed for server side processes.
Static-first
Most of the elements of Jamstack sites are pre-rendered and static. The site’s front end is typically built and compiled into CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files. This reduces the processing necessary to present the site and leads to a more responsive and user-friendly experience.
Progressive enhancements
Javascript and APIs are used to facilitate communication between a site’s front end and backend services. This enables pages to be personalized and progressively enhanced to introduce new features or increase performance.
Problems With the Legacy Approach to Building Websites
Jamstack is designed to address some of the problems with the traditional methods of web developers. Following are the main issues Jamstack addresses.
- Jamstack eliminates the reliance on monoliths like WordPress or other content management solutions. Traditional development relegates the handling of data and logic to the web server. All site services are in competition for the same resources and it can be very difficult to replace an individual component to address changing business requirements.
- Performance issues can cripple a website. Traditional development requires that requests and responses trace through multiple logical layers. Database requests can become very time-consuming, affecting the customer experience and internal productivity.
- A substantial learning curve is necessary to develop websites with the traditional LAMP approach. It forces a developer to be in control of all components simultaneously which can be a daunting task for new developers.
- Security is a major concern for all companies operating websites. The prevalence of sites constructed with WordPress presents hackers with a wide variety of targets that can be attacked with known or newly discovered vulnerabilities.
How Jamstack Alleviates Legacy Website Building Issues
Let’s take a closer look at the advantages that should influence developers to build a Jamstack website rather than using traditional tools and workflows.
Better performance - The performance of Jamstack websites is improved by eliminating the need to generate page views on a server to fulfill a request. By generating pages at build time and serving static pages from a CDN, better performance can be achieved without a complex infrastructure.
Heightened security - The removal of moving parts and subsystems from the hosting infrastructure means fewer attack vectors that can be exploited by cybercriminals. Static files can be stored in read-only mode to further reduce the attack surface. Additional security functionality can be introduced to sites through services made available through APIs.
Enhanced scalability - Jamstack provides caching by default by serving sites from a CDN. No complex logic is required to determine what to cache and an influx of users can be handled seamlessly.
Improved developer experience - Developers can choose from a wide variety of tools with which they are familiar to build Jamstack sites. By decoupling the front end, developers can complete their work quickly and focus on customer-facing features that lead to increased traffic and conversions.
Reduced maintenance - The lack of servers in favor of delivering content from a CDN reduces time-consuming and potentially error-prone maintenance tasks such as patching and updating.
Increased portability - By pre-generating Jamstack sites, they can be hosted from a variety of hosting services. Infrastructure lock-in is eliminated with sites able to be hosted from simple hosting solutions.
These benefits are driving the move to Jamstack development. The annual Jamstack conf is a place for developers to gain knowledge, increase their skills, and connect with other like-minded individuals striving to create a more modern and flexible web.
Working with Experienced Jamstack Developers
Byer Company is focused on advanced digital marketing technology. Website design, development, optimization and promotion are our core services. While they are comfortable with traditional web development technologies, the team at Byer Company has embraced Jamstack due to the benefits it provides developers and customers.
In addition to developing websites from scratch using the Jamstack approach, Byer Company specializes in converting traditional websites to take advantage of its modern capabilities. Examples of their work include the successful conversion of a WordPress site for Fiorabrand.com using Next JS and Sanity content management. They also have experience turning PHP (Amio2.com) or Drupal sites (Davewilson.com) into Jamstack websites.
Get in touch with Byer Company today to see how they can develop a new website or migrate an existing site to take advantage of Jamstack.