What is JAMstack and why should you use it?
JAMstack is a new way of building extremely fast and secure websites or apps. It is a modern software architecture that works by delivering pre-rendered files and serving them directly from a content delivery network (CDN). This is great because it removes the requirement to manage or run web servers.
Javascript, APIs, and markup
JAMstack consists of the following components: Javascript, APIs, and Markup. All dynamic functionalities are handled in JavaScript. This means that you can use modern Javascript frameworks like React, Vue, and Angular to build your frontend. The javascript then communicates through APIs to different server-side operations that are accessed over HTTPS. These can be both third party services or your custom-written functions hosted in for example Google Firebase or AWS Lambda. The data is then prebuilt and served as static HTML resources on your site. All this magic is possible with a static site generator like Gatsby that generates the content from source files such as Markdown.
Benefits with JAMstack
There are som huge benefits with JAMstack compared to traditional Webhosting. We have summarized some of the key benefits of this architecture.
Faster performance
You are able to serve pre-built markup and static HTML assets over a content delivery network (CDN). This means your content will be available on servers worldwide instead of a single server on one location. This leads to faster load times worldwide, which is perfect if you run a brand with a global audience.
Better security
Since all assets are prebuilt and uploaded to a CDN you don't need to worry about server or database vulnerabilities.
Improved developer experience
Developers like us can put our focus on a modern javascript architecture which improves the development experience. We are not tied to a monolithic architecture which leads to more focused and quicker development.
Scalability
It is very easy to scale your product if it goes viral and gets traction over a short time with many active users. The CDN helps compensate for sudden traffic changes.