JAMstack and Netlify

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#1

I am currently learning JAMstack and also building a website. After it’s finished, am I correct about the following:

  1. I can save the new website to Github.
  2. Using Netlify I can deploy and publish the site.
  3. Any content changes would be done with the Netlify CMS.
  4. With this approach, I don’t need to use Gatsby or another SSG?

I’m not suggesting that this is the best path to follow but am asking if it’s possible.

Thanks

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#2

You’re leaving out a couple of steps. The website you “save” in your first step must be built with an SSG such as Hugo or Gatsby or Jekyll to establish the structure. Once you have the correct structure, Netlify CMS can serve as the front end. If you don’t have an existing website, it would probably be easier to use one of the one-click installs from https://www.staticgen.com as a starting point.

#3

Thanks. For me, this is all about learning the required coding. So using one-click installs would defeat that goal. Apparently, Netlify requires an SSG structure. That’s fine. Gatsby stays on the “to do” list.

#4

No, it’s an oversimplification to say that Netlify requires an SSG structure. In your original post you indicated that you want to update and maintain your site using Netlify CMS, hence my recommendation that you start with one of the one-click SSG installations. There are other ways of generating a static site that are perfect for Netlify hosting, but which are not maintainable via the Netlify CMS.

One-click installs don’t mean you’re not learning anything. They simplify ONE of the steps involved, but there are still plenty of other steps – and plenty of learning necessary to get them working on anything but the most basic level.

To give one example, the approach of each of the SSGs is slightly different, and there may be some that don’t fit what you’re trying to do. With one-click installs, you can more quickly evaluate the various platforms, as opposed to having to learn each one from the ground up and then starting all over again with the next one, and so on until you find one that’s right for you.

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#5

Thanks…

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#6

Thanks for jumping in with some great responses @gregraven. Feel free to ask any questions @Engine44!

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