Creating Faster, More Secure Websites with JAMstack

• What Exactly Is JAMstack? The Principles of JAMstack
• Real-World Applications of JAMStack
• Why Is JAMstack So Popular?
• Performance, Security, Scalability & Developer Experience
• Challenges and Limitations
• The Future of JAMstack
• Conclusion

What Exactly Is JAMstack? The Principles of JAMstack

JAMstack basically stands for JavaScript, APIs, and Markup, the key elements of this design paradigm. While traditional sites rely on servers to serve up pages for each visitor, JAMstack websites are pre-built and served as static files.

Component Description:

• JavaScript - This is the "J" in JAMstack. JavaScript does all the dynamic actions on the client side, for example in a user's browser. That may include such tasks as getting data from an API or implementing user interactions or even creating a complete one-page application. It is common to use Frameworks like React, Vue and Angular.
• APIs - The "A" is for application programming interfaces. The traditional back-end server is gone and with it any server-side processing power. JAMstack sites must therefore rely on APIs of some kind whenever this is necessary. Such APIs can be supplied by third-party services (Stripe for payments or Algolia in search) or they can be custom-built functions. This separation of the front end from the back end, allows each to be expanded and adapted on their own terms.
• A pre-generated Markup (M stands for "Markup") - Virtually your entire website is rendered into static HTML files during the build process in JAMStack projects. Normally static generators such as Next.js, Gatsby or Hugo are used for this work. These tools take your source files (in Markdown format for Textual content) and templates and compile them into a finished website ready to serve. The key difference from a traditional architecture (like one using WordPress or Drupal) is that there is no server side rendering step for each user request anymore. In the traditional model, when a user visits a page, the server queries a database, processes data, and builds the HTML page on the fly before sending it to the user. With JAMstack, the page is already built. It is simply waiting for a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to deliver it instantly to the user browser.

Real-World Applications of JAMStack

JAMStack is not just a vision: companies of all shapes and sizes are using it to drive high-traffic websites and applications. An example comes from Smashing Magazine, a popular web developer publication. They've gone over to JAMStack using Hugo and Netlify instead of the complex WordPress setup they had before. The results were impressive. For example, the time it takes to load a page shrank from 800 milliseconds down to just 80!

E-commerce is another area where JAMStack really shines. Presold products to be built into pages and such as those which require real-time access via APIs for inventory and checkout can take the most severe traffic peaks Black Friday can bring without any crashes at all.

This model is being adopted by the big SAAS design services. Collaborative design tool Figma has used a JAM stack approach for its marketing page in order to keep it fast and reliable. The robustness of JAMstack is elegantly shown by these examples, demonstrating that it can handle anything from a straightforward blog to a sophisticated, web application. It's clear how the dynamics are rapidly changing when considering this new architecture.

Why Is JAMstack So Popular?

One answer is that its many advantages address almost every traditional problem web development will face. The advantages are stark and importantly they meet many of the common sticking points of traditional web development.

Performance, Security, Scalability & Developer Experience

• Performance: The simple fact that JAMstack sites consist only of static files served from a CDN means they are incredibly fast. There is no need to query a database or run code in order display page. These files are located all around the world and so one's near you is served up with little if any latency. This makes them suitable for application scenarios where speed is of the essence such as forums or real estate listings.
• Security: The attack surface is dramatically reduced because the direct connection to a database, web server or other server-side software has been eliminated. With fewer vulnerabilities to exploit, JAMstack sites are inherently more secure.
• Scalability: It's easy and cheap to handle traffic surges. Since the site is being served up from a CDN, management of large-scale web servers is almost unnecessary. No matter how big your user base becomes, the CDN handles all the traffic automatically and invisibly. Whether you have ten visitors or ten million, there are users everywhere!
• Developer Experience: The experience of using JAMstack is often a delight for developers. They have access to a host of modern tools and workflows such as Git, can choose from the best frameworks and services to meet their specific needs. It divides front-end from back-end, allowing teams work more efficiently in parallel with each other at either end of that divide.

Challenges and Limitations

However, one of the biggest challenges can be what can seem like an impenetrable learning curve and tooling complexity. JAMstack starts with a new constellation of tools that must be comprehended, from static site generators to build systems and API integrations. This is a big step for teams who have grown accustomed to monolithic systems like WordPress. Managing dynamic content also involves greater complexity. While JavaScript and APIs can bring dynamism, real-time features e.g. a chat window or tailored webpage depend on careful thought. Besides, the APIs that are needed in order to keep track of all this can sometimes undermine the gains made in terms of simplicity at the front end. It can also be a bottleneck if there are long build times for fairly large sites (tens of thousands of pages), slowing up content updates.

The Future of JAMstack

JAMstack is more than a fad or a flash in the pan. It represents a radical change in the way we should think about building for the web. And as long as the internet keeps developing, demand for fast, secure and reliable experiences can only grow. JAMstack is well positioned to satisfy this demand.

To reach this point, we have a growing ecosystem of tools and services aimed exclusively at JAMstack. Headless CMS platforms, serverless functions and companies specialized in hosting are making it easier than ever to build and deploy complex JAMstack applications.

The future holds even greater integration with JAMstack principles. The emphasis: pre-build, decouple and leverage APIs fits in nicely with a move toward more modular and composable enterprise architectures. Ethically, JAMstack's efficiency even has good implications for sustainability. With fewer servers being called upon, static websites can help give the digital world a lighter carbon footprint.

Conclusion

With unprecedented performance, security and scalability, the JAMstack architecture provides a powerful way to deliver modern web experiences without the need for traditional web development models. This can be achieved by a combination of client-side JavaScript, reusable APIs, and pre-built markup. Although it has its own set of challenges, JAMstack offers advantages across a broad range of different project budgets. Everything from personal blogs to large enterprise applications stand the chance of taking full advantage of the benefits that this future holds out. As the web continues to develop, it is firmly believed that the principles of JAMstack will play a pivotal role in shaping its future.

In the coming years, how will JAMstack change the way we build websites and applications?