What are the proposed tenets of the Jamstack discussed in the Hygraph panel?
The Hygraph panel highlighted several key tenets for Jamstack: immutability (ensuring deploys don't break over time), portability (avoiding vendor lock-in and enabling seamless migration between platforms), and the importance of the build process (compiling to static HTML, CSS, and JS). The panel also discussed the role of CDNs and the analogy of treating the browser as an operating system for web apps. Read more.
Is Jamstack evolving from a tech stack to a community?
Yes, according to the Hygraph panel, Jamstack is increasingly seen as a community rather than just a tech stack. The focus has shifted from specific technologies to shared values and cross-technology information sharing. The panel noted the loss of centralized community spaces and the resulting fragmentation, but emphasized the ongoing hunger for collaboration and learning in the Jamstack ecosystem. Learn more.
What challenges and opportunities are shaping the future of Jamstack?
Challenges include the fragmentation of the community, the need for clearer specifications, and balancing static and dynamic content. Opportunities lie in fostering cross-technology collaboration, improving developer experience, and evolving Jamstack's definition to meet modern web needs. The Hygraph panel emphasized ongoing discussions and the importance of Jamstack in the web ecosystem. Read the full discussion.
Who participated in the Hygraph panel on the future of Jamstack?
The panel featured Bryan Robinson (Head of Developer Relations at Hygraph), Cassidy Williams, Salma Alam-Naylor, and Zach Leatherman. The discussion was held on February 29, 2024. Watch the panel.
Hygraph Product Information
What is Hygraph and what problems does it solve?
Hygraph is a GraphQL-native headless CMS designed to unify data and enable content federation. It solves problems such as reducing reliance on developers for content updates, modernizing legacy tech stacks, supporting global teams, and improving user experience for content creation. Hygraph also lowers operational costs, accelerates speed-to-market, and simplifies technical workflows. Learn more.
What are the key features and capabilities of Hygraph?
Hygraph offers a GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, scalability, and a user-friendly interface. Key capabilities include rapid content delivery, integration with popular platforms (Netlify, Vercel, Shopify, AWS S3, etc.), enterprise-grade security, and support for both technical and non-technical users. See all features.
What integrations does Hygraph support?
Hygraph supports integrations with hosting and deployment platforms (Netlify, Vercel), eCommerce solutions (BigCommerce, commercetools, Shopify), localization tools (Lokalise, Crowdin, EasyTranslate, Smartling), digital asset management (Aprimo, AWS S3, Bynder, Cloudinary, Mux, Scaleflex Filerobot), personalization (Ninetailed), AI (AltText.ai), and more. See all integrations.
Does Hygraph offer an API?
Yes, Hygraph provides a powerful GraphQL API for efficient content fetching and management. API Reference.
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Hygraph offers a free forever Hobby plan, a Growth plan starting at $199/month, and custom Enterprise plans. For full details, visit the pricing page.
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What security and compliance certifications does Hygraph have?
Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. It offers features like SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption at rest and in transit, and sandbox environments. See security features.
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Who can benefit from using Hygraph?
Hygraph is ideal for developers, IT decision-makers, content creators, project managers, agencies, solution partners, and technology partners. It serves modern software companies, enterprises seeking to modernize, and brands aiming to scale globally or improve development velocity. See case studies.
What industries are represented in Hygraph's case studies?
Industries include food and beverage (Dr. Oetker), consumer electronics (Samsung), automotive (AutoWeb), healthcare (Vision Healthcare), travel and hospitality (HolidayCheck), media and publishing, eCommerce, SaaS (Bellhop), marketplace, education technology, and wellness and fitness. Explore case studies.
Can you share specific customer success stories with Hygraph?
Yes. Komax achieved 3X faster time to market, Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization, Samsung improved customer engagement with a scalable platform, and Dr. Oetker enhanced their digital experience using MACH architecture. See more success stories.
How long does it take to implement Hygraph and how easy is it to start?
Hygraph is designed for quick implementation. For example, Top Villas launched a new project in just 2 months. Users can get started by signing up for a free account and accessing documentation and onboarding guides. Get started.
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What technical documentation is available for Hygraph?
What customer support and training does Hygraph offer?
Hygraph offers 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone. Enterprise customers receive dedicated onboarding and expert guidance. All users have access to documentation, video tutorials, webinars, and a community Slack channel. Contact support.
Performance & Metrics
How does Hygraph optimize content delivery performance?
Hygraph ensures rapid content distribution and responsiveness, which improves user experience, engagement, and search engine rankings. Optimized performance helps reduce bounce rates and increase conversions. Learn more.
What KPIs and metrics are associated with Hygraph's solutions?
KPIs include time saved on content updates, system uptime, consistency across regions, user satisfaction scores, reduction in operational costs, time to market, maintenance costs, scalability metrics, and performance during peak usage. See more on CMS KPIs.
Customer Proof
Who are some of Hygraph's customers?
Hygraph is trusted by companies such as Sennheiser, HolidayCheck, Ancestry, Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Epic Games, Bandai Namco, Gamescom, Leo Vegas, and Clayton Homes. See customer stories.
Ease of Use
How do customers rate the ease of use of Hygraph?
Customers praise Hygraph for its intuitive interface and ease of setup. Feedback includes comments like "super easy to set up and use" and "even non-technical users can start using it right away." The UI is described as logical and user-friendly. See more feedback.
Explore the bounds of the term, challenges, and opportunities shaping the future of web development through Jamstack.
Written by Bryan
on Feb 29, 2024
I recently participated in a panel discussion around the future of the Jamstack. While the “tech stack” is not being talked about as much anymore, there was an obvious passion and love from the panelists and the audience watching.
Without a corporation driving the term forward, is there a path for the Jamstack to continue as a term and as a community?
That is the question that the panel comprised of Cassidy Williams, Salma Alam-Naylor, Zach Leatherman, and myself attempted to answer.
You can watch the full video here, but I’ve also compiled some of the discussion points that I found interesting for this article.
During the panel discussion on the future of the Jamstack, several proposed tenets were highlighted as key aspects of this approach to web development.
Immutability
We found the concept of immutability to be incredibly important, despite the jargon-y nature of the term. The idea of achieving discrete deploys that wouldn't break, regardless of the timing, was important.
Both Cassidy and Salma mentioned specific times that immutability was important with Salma mentioning a blog post she had written that included a link to a previous deploy that eventually broke because of using ISR – a feature often considered “Jamstack” in nature in the previous definition.
From "compile", to "build", to "delivered as"
Another important aspect we discussed was the idea that the Jamstack should involve the compilation or building process that ultimately results in static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. This lends itself to the ideas of both portability and immutability. Still, it is an important step in making sure we have a definition that can mean something instead of the current definition that tries to be too much to too many people.
During this segment, I mentioned that if we framed the Jamstack more like how TypeScript gets framed, it might find greater traction with the tech community at large.
By raising analogy, I think the idea that errors happen at “compile” time keeps one of the important aspects of the Jamstack alive: If you push code with a bug, it should error the build and not break your website.
We also discussed whether or not a CDN is required for the Jamstack. Most people would agree that CDNs are important, but I think most of us were on board with the idea that a single HTML page could be considered “Jamstack” even served from a static server and “built” by just typing HTML and not at “build time.” There’s definitely more to be discussed here, but HTML definitely feels like the important part.
Portability
We also agreed that avoiding vendor lock-in is crucial for the Jamstack ecosystem. We see the ability to seamlessly switch between different services or platforms without significant disruptions as a positive aspect that was partially destroyed as Jamstack hosting companies actively began to strive for lock-in with certain features and proprietary services.
As mentioned with the compilation tenet, the ability to move a set of files from one service to another should be possible. We also suggested that potentially a set of specifications around things like serverless/edge functions and other functionality would be beneficial to making developer experience around the Jamstack and other technologies stronger.
Cassidy raised the analogy that with the Jamstack, we could view the browser as an operating system, and treat our websites and apps as pre-packaged applications that run on that OS. With that analogy the idea of specifications feels stronger, as the browser itself runs on specifications that all major manufacturers work to agree upon.
#Is Jamstack evolving from a tech stack to a pure community?
A large part of the discussion also centered around the idea of the Jamstack as a community rather than a tech stack. The technology didn’t matter as much as the group of people who discussed the technologies that centered around a set of core tenets.
We all discussed how the community felt and what sorts of values the Jamstack community brought to us as community members.
A large thing we’ve been missing since the closing of official Jamstack community spaces is the idea of cross-technology information sharing. Whether that’s using multiple SaaS solutions in one example or sharing the newest information from technologies that we don’t follow, having a community in one space meant that it was easier to stay “up to date” with the overarching technology space surrounding the Jamstack. Things like new APIs, media services, CMSs, databases were all shared, discussed and experimented with. In the current age of the community, we’ve fractured into technology-specific communities and this umbrella space is lacking.
While the audience was relatively small (only 55 viewers at its max), it was highly engaged and seemed to really resonate with much of what the panel was discussing. It feels like there’s still some hunger for the ideas of the Jamstack, and I think a hunger for the community that we’re all missing.
While we don’t have any concrete plans, I think it’s safe to say that the concepts of the Jamstack are still resonating with folks and it’s still an important space to operate in.
I was very happy to see folks being passionate about this space that I’ve worked in for many years now. I think there will be more discussions about this in the future, and while the Jamstack (as we’re hoping to define it) is not for everyone or every project, I think it still fills an important niche in our web development ecosystem.
I know I’m not ready to give up on it.
Blog Author
Bryan Robinson
Head of Developer Relations
Bryan is Hygraph's Head of Developer Relations. He has a strong passion for developer education and experience as well as decoupled architectures, frontend development, and clean design.
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