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Jamstacked Issue 20

2020: The year Jamstack went mainstream

Published: Dec 10, 2020

Your update on all things Jamstack

#20 — December 10, 2020
✦ web version

This is the last issue of 2020. While 2020 is largely a year that I'd rather forget, in the context of the Jamstack, I believe it will prove to be the pivotal year. When we look back in five years time, 2020 will be viewed as the year that Jamstack transitioned from niche to mainstream.

You may have reason to doubt me since it's easy to argue that I am more than a bit biased. However, just take a look at the companies jumping into the Jamstack space this year - not just startups, but also big companies. As just two examples of this, Microsoft launched Azure Static Web Apps earlier this year and just this week we heard Cloudflare is launching a similar service. Add to that the massive funding for Jamstack-focused startups (like Vercel and others) and, ironically, finally being perceived as a threat by the Wordpress community (or at least Matt M). I think it's clear that it is not just us Jamstack true-believers anymore. Jamstack has officially hit the mainstream and 2021 should be really interesting.

— Brian Rinaldi

↘︎ What's Good

The Web Almanac 2020 - Jamstack
This report looks at data from millions of sites archived by the HTTP Archive. There are some inherent difficulties in accurately measuring Jamstack, which the report notes, but it shows massive adoption growth but also some struggles to live up to Jamstack’s performance promises.

HTTP Archive

Cloudflare is Testing a Netlify Competitor to Host Jamstack Sites
This has been a year of new Netlify competitors popping up. While not official yet, it has been discovered that Cloudflare is looking to enter the fray and is testing a new Jamstack hosting service.

Romain Dillet

Server-Side Analytics with Jamstack Sites
Google Analytics is very prone to being blocked by ad blockers, which can really skew analytics data. This tutorial shows how to use a Netlify Function to collect analytics but get around the blockers.

Luke Oliff

How To Migrate From WordPress To The Eleventy Static Site Generator
Walks through the steps required to export the content to XML, convert it to Markdown, handle images and YouTube embeds, and more.

Scott Dawson

CommonMark: A Formal Specification For Markdown
Markdown isn’t a required part of the Jamstack by any means, but it is ubiquitous in Jamstack apps. This is a very detailed look at CommonMark, an attempt to create a formalized spec for Markdown that is now widely adopted.

Adebiyi Adedotun Lukman

✂︎ Tools and Resources

❖ Tidbits

Build your Backend with Netlify Functions in 20 Minutes
While most of the time you think of Netlify for deploying frontend code, this looks at using Netlify Functions combined with AWS services like DynamoDB to build a fully functional cloud-based backend.

Kyle Mitofsky

How to Fetch GraphQL Data in Next.js with Apollo GraphQL
While Gatsby uses GraphQL by default, Next.js does not. This tutorial shows you how to add a GraphQL source to a Next.js site using Apollo Client.

Colby Fayock

Passwordless Auth0 and Netlify functions: backend
Connecting Auth0’s passwordless (i.e. magic link) authentication with a site running on Netlify using Netlify Functions.

Katie

The Agility CMS Opportunity Scholarship Program
If you are interested in attending TheJam.dev virtual conference in January, check out this scholarship opportunity.

Agility CMS

Thanks for being a part of this newsletter in its first year during 2020. I hope that it's been useful to you and I look forward to bringing you lots more Jamstack goodness next year.

Enjoy the holidays, but stay safe and stay healthy! — Brian