Jamstack in the time of Coronavirus.
A year ago, I shared some thoughts while returning home from the Jamstack conference in New York City.
The Jamstack is going to be as disruptive as the blockchain, but much more sustainable. It can bring huge benefits to your business while keeping the planet green.
Those words take on a stronger meaning today after our world has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Planet Earth has issued yet another warning call, one we cannot ignore anymore. We — the Jamstack lovers — have been promoting a more sustainable Web for a while. This year is no exception; the Jamstack Conf is going virtual and we will make our message heard stronger than ever.
It's all about reducing CPU cycles
In the so-called dynamic web, every time a user requests a web page, a web server loads some code that analyzes the HTTP request, makes some database queries, and populates a logical model that reveals itself through an aggregate of templates, generating an HTML response.
This process happens for every single request, using CPU cycles — and ultimately burning carbon — to render each pageview. Caching strategies can reduce the need to re-generate the same page when its content doesn't change between subsequent requests. But we all know by now that cache invalidation is one of the two hardest things in Computer Science — the other is naming things.
The Jamstack shifts the complexity of assembling a web page from the production environment to the integration process. This way, the power consumption for each HTTP request/response cycle becomes much lower.
Even without precise data to back this claim, I feel confident in saying that building content once and serving it from the edge is reasonably more eco-friendly than serving it many times from dynamic web servers.
Now — will this new way of building websites save the planet? Not on its own. But each of us can contribute to a communal goal in building a more sustainable planet.
According to Forbes, data centers globally account for 2-3% of total power use in recent years, and while relatively a low percentage, energy is a rapidly growing problem we shouldn't underestimate. And serving web pages without web servers is a good place to start.
Jamstack ecommerce provides a sustainable path in a time when sustainability is no longer optional and can't be postponed. And the cornerstone of a Jamstack solution continues to be faster site speed, greater security, and improved scalability.
Maybe saving the planet is not a priority when you're struggling to save your business, but the good news is that by (re)building a sustainable business for yourself, you will do good for everyone else.
How can we help you?
While this has been a time of so much uncertainty, it has also reinforced our commitment to what we’re building. Commerce Layer provides the most global, scalable, and adaptable commerce API in the market. Our solution is the natural choice for brands that want to build ecommerce on the Jamstack, embracing the next decade of web development and contributing to our planet’s sustainability.
Not only for global brands
Given the fortunate position we’re in, we want to do our part to support small businesses that are hurting right now. We will be giving our product away for free and providing digital know-how to a number of small businesses to help them through this time, prioritizing independently owned family shops that deliver their products locally. To apply, fill this form and tell us your story.