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What is the Jamstack?
- Authors
- Name
- Daniel Kapper
- @dkapper01
The Jamstack is an abbreviation coined by Mathias Biilmann, the CEO of Netlify and stands for JavaScript, APIs, and Markup. It represents a modern web development architecture that allows developers to capitalize on the advantages of static websites which have better web performance and security benefits while still maintaining dynamic functionality. Jamstack website are unique in the fact that they are not tie a specific framework or stack.
The JAM in Jamstack is shorthand for:
JavaScript: Dedicated to handling dynamic functionality during the request/response cycle. Runs entirely on the client side and can be any frontend framework or vanilla JavaScript.
APIs: Reusable APIs are accessed via HTTPS with JavaScript abstract all server-side processes or database actions
Markup: Templated markup prebuilt at deploy time, utilizing a static site generator or a build tool for web apps.
Five benefits of the Jamstack
Performance
Your website is fast with Jamstack. Since Jamstack websites are served as prebuilt markup, there is no time wasted querying a database. Also hosting sites on a globally distributed CDN Inherently increases the site performance.
Secure
Server side processes are abstracted to microservice APIs, leveraging the domain expertise of specialists associated with the microservice. In addition, sites are prebuilt at deployment time so any type of databases or servers connection are only exposed on a controlled basis.
Less expensive
CDNs are mostly free. Because static websites are more secure, you are less likely to pay an extra maintenance fee to fix secury vulnerability. Microservices often charge based on what you use instead of monthly recurring fees so if you don’t use it you don’t pay it.
Scalability
If your product suddenly goes viral and has many active users, the CDN seamlessly compensates for the extra usage. Websites can quickly grow to hundreds of pages with experiencing any performance issues.
Jamstack websites are easily manageable
The Jamstack no longer thinks in terms of operating systems, specific web servers, backend programming languages, or databases. It utilizes the most popular web programming language and frameworks, which inherently creates an environment that most developers are comfortable with.