What is Jamstack? - Explanation & Meaning
Learn what Jamstack is, how the JavaScript/APIs/Markup architecture works, and why Jamstack is the standard for fast, secure, and scalable modern websites.
Definition
Jamstack is a web architecture based on JavaScript, APIs, and Markup, where pages are pre-generated and served via a CDN, with dynamic functionality provided through APIs and serverless functions.
Technical explanation
The Jamstack architecture fully decouples the frontend from the backend. During the build process, pages are generated as static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that are placed directly on a CDN. This eliminates the need for a traditional web server rendering pages on every request. JavaScript adds client-side interactivity while APIs (both first-party and third-party) deliver dynamic data. Static site generators like Astro, Next.js, and Eleventy build the site during a CI/CD pipeline. Incremental Static Regeneration (ISR) enables regenerating individual pages without a full rebuild. Edge functions execute serverless logic at CDN locations close to the user, enabling personalization and dynamic content with minimal latency. The architecture offers inherent security advantages since there is no running server to attack. Git-based workflows make rollbacks trivial: every deployment is an immutable snapshot. Atomic deploys guarantee that a new version only goes live when all files have been successfully uploaded, preventing broken intermediate states.
How MG Software applies this
MG Software builds Jamstack sites with Next.js and Astro, deployed on Vercel or Cloudflare Pages. We combine headless CMS solutions with ISR so content is served lightning-fast via a global CDN. Our clients benefit from excellent Core Web Vitals scores, strong security, and minimal hosting costs.
Practical examples
- A marketing agency building their website with Astro and Sanity, with pages loading in under 100ms via Cloudflare's CDN while editors independently publish content.
- A documentation portal built with Next.js and Markdown files, where every commit automatically generates and deploys a new version via GitHub Actions.
- An e-commerce startup statically generating product pages with ISR while handling shopping cart functionality via serverless API routes for the ideal mix of speed and dynamism.
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
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