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Jamstacked Issue 18

A lighter Jamstack

Published: Nov 12, 2020

Your update on all things Jamstack

 JAMstacked

#18 — November 12, 2020

✦ web version

The central question nowadays when choosing how to build a new Jamstack project is: do I need a frontend JavaScript framework or not? The static site generator ecosystem has a widening split between those that heavily depend upon a JavaScript framework (Gatsby, Next.js, Nuxt, Scully, etc.) and those that do not (Hugo, Eleventy, Jekyll, Bridgetown, etc.).

The JS framework SSGs offer a lot of powerful features including easy API integration, massive libraries of modules to accomodate complex needs, and even the ability to switch between server-side rendering and static rendering depending on the route. However, in many cases, this is more than an application needs, as Nicolas Goutay explains, while putting an unnecessary burden (i.e. a lot of JS) on your users. Having made this decision myself recently, I will admit it's not always an easy or obvious one.

Brian Rinaldi

↘︎ What's Good

Towards a Lightweight Jamstack
While the developer experience of JavaScript framework-based static site generators are great, this doesn’t necessarily benefit users, particularly on sites that don’t require the features of the full framework. Nic lays out lighter weight options, including his stack based on 11ty and Alpine.js.

Nicolas Goutay

Internationalization And Localization For Static Sites
An outstanding and detailed look at the considerations, planning and development of a localized Jamstack site based upon the experiences of the team that developed ChromeOS.dev at Google using 11ty.

Sam Richard

API-Driven or Git-Based? Figuring Out the Right CMS for You
It can be difficult to decide between the growing plethora of headless CMS options. A good starting place is choosing between the two main types, and this post offers good explanation of the key differences and benefits between them. For another consideration, check Joel Varty's discussion of APIs, SDKs and Webhooks.

Sean C Davis

Contact Form Processing Made Easy with Netlify
A great in-depth look at using Netlify Forms including features like spam protection and responding to submissions via a serverless function.

Raymond Camden

✂︎ Tools and Resources

❖ Tidbits

How to Create a Commenting Engine with Next.js and Sanity
A look at building your own comment engine for a Next.js Jamstack site rather than relying upon embedded services like Disqus.

Bryan Robinson

Technology Radar
Clearly the buzz around 11ty is strong recently, with it even making ThoughtWorks’ influential Technology Radar under 'tools to assess'.

ThoughtWorks

NextJS, Contentful CMS, GraphQL, Oh My!
Eploring NextJS, Contentful, and GraphiQL from a beginner’s perspective based upon the experiences building Hack4Impact.org in just a month.

Ben Holmes

Running React Applications at the Edge with Cloudflare Workers - Q&A with Josh Larson
Discussing the recently released Flareact, a Next.js inspired React framework built for Cloudflare Workers to render content in edge functions.

Josh Larson

As always, I welcome feedback or link suggestion via Twitter. Stay safe and healthy! — Brian