What is gatsbyjs and why should you care?
“Gatsby is a free and open source framework based on React that helps developers build blazing fast website and apps.”
That’s their tagline and it’s true to a large extent. Basically Gatsby is a static site generator. It is built on top of React,webpack and Graphql.
What does Gatsby do ?
So let’s discuss the power of Gatsby.You just code your website using the modern web technologies like React,modern javascript etc which will provide a great experience to customers. Now gatsby will transform your code into a directory with a single HTML file and static assets.
But why choose gatsby to build a static website?
- You can use the hottest web technology i.e. React to build your website.(sorry vue people)
- Gatsby webapp is by default a PWA. (Progressive Web App)
- Gatsby websites are extremely fast which is one of the most crucial aspects of a website. Basically gatsby pre-build pages and lift them into a global cloud of servers — ready to be delivered instantly to your users wherever they are
- Because of Graphql you can pull your data in pages from anywhere.By anywhere i mean APIs,SaaS services,Headless CMSs,your filesystem etc.
Now coming to plugins
Gatsby plugins are open source anc very easy to use and literally there is a plugin for everything. Need a sitemap Need wordpress integration Need offline support Need Sass support Need SEO Need responsive images etc There are currently 2156 plugins in gatsby library.Yeah you read it right 2156 plugins.
Security and Deployment
Your website is converted into html file and static assets so there is no connection with the database involved. So yes you are safe.
Deployment is super easy.If you deploy your website on Netlify it just takes two clicks.That’s it.If your code is fundamentally right.
Community Support
Gatsbyjs was launched in 2017. It is fairly new but it has a large community. Even docs of plugins are concisely documented. Gatsby docs are the best i have ever seen.Even if you are a beginner you will understand it. Starter kits and themes are game changers. They will be very helpful after some expreience with gatsby.(By experience i meant 2–3 days) Community is highly active ,all questions are answered by members of the community.
How long will it take to learn Gatsby and what are its prerequisites?
For prerequisites you should have a good understanding of React.Other then that it will only take 3–4 hours to build a production ready website using Gatsby. It will take around 2–3 hours to understand the ecosystem of gatsby. Now coming to Graphql.Gatsby provides a playground tool for graphql.Using that you have to only select the data and query will be automatically generated.
Thank you
Originally published at https://moonsiteblogs.netlify.app.
