JAMstack is a web development architecture for creating faster and more secure websites. It is an innovative way of developing websites and apps that offer better performance, lower cost of scaling, backend programming languages and better developer experience.
The main concept behind JAMstack is the usual static site generators. Solutions such as Jekyll have allowed content generators to avoid the need for managing costly servers and databases. They can publish their content as static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript directly through a CDN.
Let's break up the term:
J represents JavaScript JavaScript is a scripting language introduced by Netscape in 1995 and it has progressive & reactive libraries, using that you can design web apps that work almost similar to mobile apps.
A represents API You can get help from a third-party for doing a number of tasks.
M represents Markup You can reuse components that are pre-built which is easier to maintain than the new one.
Advantages of Using JAMstack
Improved Performance: Pre-built files and assets are served directly from a CDN.
Easy Scaling And Cutting Costs: There is no requirement of databases and handle load balances because hosting static files is cheap.
Better Development Experience: The whole site content is static and it can be managed through version control, and it delivers.
Proper Security Features: The website build in this architecture has high protected security features.
Why JAMstack ?
1. JAMstack is highly Secured.
There are no security database or security breaches because everything works through an API. The server-side processes are integrated into microservice APIs hence the surface area attacks can be prevented.
2. JAMstack Is Cheaper And Easier To Scale. AMstack sites consist of files with small sizes that can be served anywhere and it much easier to scale when serving through CDN.
3. JAMstack Best Practices.
- To share your files use CDN instead of servers.
- The common functions like installing and contributing your project should be less complex and easy. In order to ensure standard and faster setup then use tools like Git and npm.
- Use build tools such as Babel, webpack, Browserify to make your project compatible for all browsers.
- Make sure your project is up to web standards and highly accessible.
- Use platforms like netlify to make your deployment process automatic.
How do I Get Started ?
Use pre-built technologies available in the internet medium to build JAMstack applications in a few minutes and some of them are
Gatsby: Gatsby is preferred by developers to create fast websites and apps which is a free & open-source network based on React.
NuxtJS: NuxtJS is the Vue.js Framework and it is used for building single-page applications, universal applications, progressive web apps, and desktop apps.
Hugo: Hugo is the fastest framework for developing websites and it is the famous open-source static site generators. It can create the site at amazing speed and flexibility.
Netlify CMS: Netlify CMS is open-source content management that can be used with any static site generator for faster website building.
Svelte: Svelte is a popular approach for building user interfaces. The traditional frameworks like React and Vue do the lack of their work in the browser.
Conclusion
JAMstack is the new approach of building apps and websites that offer higher security, lower cost of scaling, better developer experience, and better performance. JAMstack is based on a much looser set of services and libraries, which can make the starting stage of the transition more complex. The architecture of building apps is changing before it was called LAMP stack and then it was the MEAN stack. Now it is called JAMstack and it makes your work easier.