Discover JAMstack's enchanting world with this witty guide to technical terms. Effortlessly decode headless, composable, JAMstack, and more, as we unravel the magic behind modern web development.

Too many TLA's?

Welcome to the magical world of JAMstack, where developers bring websites to life with a powerful blend of cutting-edge technologies. But before you dive headfirst into this fascinating realm, it's crucial to understand the language spoken here. In this blog post, we'll break down some of the specific technical terms used within JAMstack, making them as easy to comprehend as the friendly wave of a magician's wand. So, let's begin our enchanting journey with some simplified explanations of "headless," "composable," "JAMstack," and more!

Let's start with the star of the show, "JAMstack." This acronym stands for JavaScript, APIs, and Markup. Think of JAMstack as a powerhouse trio that joins forces to create faster, more secure, and scalable websites. They're like the superhero team of web development, saving the day with their unique set of skills:

: The muscle behind dynamic web experiences, handling user interactions and data management.

: The connectors, acting as bridges between the front-end and various back-end services.

: The architect, creating the structure and design of the website through HTML and CSS.

Together, these three elements form the backbone of the JAMstack architecture.

"Headless" might sound like a spooky Halloween decoration, but in the JAMstack world, it's actually an innovative approach to web development. A headless architecture decouples the front-end (the visible part of the website) from the back-end (where data is stored and processed). Picture a website as a body, with the front-end being the head and the back-end being the rest of it. Now, imagine these parts working independently, like a well-orchestrated dance performance. That's headless architecture in action!

By going headless, developers can focus on crafting delightful user experiences while letting external services handle content management, databases, and more. This flexibility leads to faster websites, improved scalability, and smoother developer workflows.

"Composable" is a term that makes you think of a beautiful symphony, where each instrument comes together in perfect harmony. In JAMstack, it refers to a modular approach to building websites. Instead of relying on monolithic systems, developers can pick and choose different services, APIs, and components to create a unique web experience. Each part of the website is like a puzzle piece, designed to fit seamlessly with the others.

Composable architecture allows developers to easily swap out services, upgrade components, or add new features without disrupting the entire system. This adaptability leads to more efficient development and maintenance, as well as the ability to create highly customized web solutions.

Welcome to the world of Static Site Generators (SSGs), where JAMstack developers whip up websites that are blazing fast and delightfully simple. SSGs are tools that generate static HTML files from your source files, like Markdown, YAML, or JSON. These pre-built files are then served directly to users, bypassing the need for a traditional server to process requests.

Some popular SSGs include Next.js, Gatsby, Hugo, and Eleventy. Each of these tools comes with its unique flavor, but they all work to create websites that are lightning-fast, secure, and cost-efficient.

Unraveling JAMstack Jargon: A Guide to Technical Terms

We've compiled a list of benefits and disadvantages of using a headless CMS. Whether you're considering moving your architecture to headless or simply dipping your toes and seeing if it's the right choice for you. We've got you covered.

Thinking of using a headless CMS?

Want some help deciding?

As technology continues evolving, how we build and manage websites has also changed. One of the newest trends is using a "headless" CMS, which has become increasingly popular among developers and content creators. But what exactly is a headless CMS, and what are the benefits of using one? In this article, we'll explore everything you need to know about headless CMS, including its advantages and disadvantages.

A headless CMS is a content management system that allows you to create, store, and manage content, but without the traditional "head" or front-end that a typical CMS provides. Instead of having a built-in front-end, a headless CMS focuses solely on the back-end content management aspect. It separates the content creation from the presentation layer, which means that the content can be used on multiple platforms and devices, such as mobile, desktop, or IoT devices, without needing to modify the content for each specific device.

A headless CMS allows for greater flexibility and scalability in the development of your website or application. With a traditional CMS, the front-end and back-end are tightly coupled, making it difficult to make changes or scale the system without affecting the overall performance of the website. However, with a headless CMS, the front-end and back-end are decoupled, allowing for changes to be made to one without affecting the other. This means that as your business grows, you can easily scale the system to meet your changing needs without having to overhaul the entire website.

Another benefit of using a headless CMS is that it can significantly improve website performance. By decoupling the front-end and back-end, a headless CMS allows developers to optimize the content delivery and server response times, leading to faster page loading times and better user experience.

Security is an essential aspect of any CMS, and a headless CMS can provide better security for your website. By separating the front-end and back-end, headless CMS removes the vulnerabilities associated with the presentation layer, reducing the risks of cyber-attacks, and data breaches.

A headless CMS is designed to integrate seamlessly with third-party tools and technologies, such as CRM, e-commerce platforms, or marketing automation software. This makes it easy to add new functionalities to your website, such as social media feeds, contact forms, or chatbots.

With a headless CMS, content creators can focus solely on creating and managing content, without worrying about how it will look on different devices or platforms. This results in a better user experience, as the content is optimized for each device, without any extra work required from the content creator.

Because of the removal of media management, you no longer need to have a huge amount of hosting memory to store all of the website's media. It's usually abstracted to the headless CMS, which can be optimised on the fly. 

A headless CMS also offers a better user experience for your audience. With a traditional CMS, the front-end is often limited by the capabilities of the back-end, leading to a less-than-optimal user experience. With a headless CMS, the front-end can be designed and developed to meet the specific needs of your target audience, providing a more personalized and seamless experience.

In conclusion, investing in a headless CMS agency can significantly benefit your business. With its improved flexibility, scalability, security, and integration capabilities, a headless CMS can help you reach your target audience effectively and improve your overall online presence.

The most important question for us is less so whether you 

Moreso, what headless content management system you should use?

Not all CMSs are built equal, but for our two cents - it's probably Sanity CMS you want, and 

What are the benefits of using a "headless" CMS?

Want to get yourself online in record time, we've got just the guide for you. In our opinion it's the best way to start if you're looking at testing the waters.

Finished the guide?

 a generic guide, it's the way we would advise most people to get online with the best possible cost, input & time ratio. 

We have already covered an overview of platforms in this article

. If you're looking for e-commerce, we wouldn't advise Wordpress, just use 

Let's start with what you will have by the time we've finished this guide:

A hosting environment for a Wordpress website

I've kept these next steps as concise as possible, read the paragraph ahead before actioning each section, as it's packed full of useful info to stop you from falling into any pitfalls

. You can register through other domain registrars, but I would advise using Siteground so you don't have to deal with domain pointing on your first website (it simplifies a lot).

This is important because if you choose a name you don't like you will have to pay for another domain name.

 if you're looking at going after a UK audience. If it's worldwide, pick 

 There's really no need to pick the other two unless you're planning on having a 

 of traffic on the first year. Pro-tip: It's unlikely.

 hosting, but it just means that one piece of hardware is hosting multiple websites. This does not mean it will be slow, by the time you've finished this guide you should have a site that's extra speedy.

Siteground offers a one-click installation option for Wordpress. It literally has a step by step process to click through. You 

 want to use WooCommerce and make sure you enable the 

We would highly recommend using one of the Wordpress native themes:

Don't pick the above for a colour, pick it for a very rough layout, all of the colours etc can be changed later

Once you've done this, you can really start working on the bells and whistles. What I would recommend is using fairly neutral colours and use them 

. As a rule of thumb it should be approximately 

 of the screen taken up with your accent color. You don't want your website looking like 

Yoast SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is essentially a "SEO for Dummies" for your first content. Sure, there are far more complexities to SEO than just keywords and content, but for the sake of this tutorial we'll keep simple.

Click on plugins inside of the Wordpress Dashboard

Because you're using Siteground the website is going to be pretty fast from the get-go, however you're still missing the one thing that will get you found out... 

The easiest way of doing this is by making "Posts"

Because nobody has the budget, nor the time to manage multiple copywriters, we're going to bypass all this with ChatGPT. 

Let me get a disclaimer out the way first.

IF YOU JUST USE CHATGPT AND DO NOT ADJUST ANY OF THE CONTENT, YOU WILL GET SHAFTED BY GOOGLE.

So now that's out the way, what you want to do is this:

Ask ChatGPT for an outline for an article in your sector

Write an outline of the best way for a sole trader to prepare their business for a mortgage application" 

Once you have done that, you can ask for the chatbot to expand on each section. See below

Once you have done this for each section of the outline, now is the tricky part. You may want to run it through 

, so that it's paraphrased and less likely to be flagged as AI.

After this, you want to expand out with your own words and start creating links to content on your own website and externally to ensure each article is well thought out.

Make sure you keep your Wordpress website updated. The longer you leave it without updating, the bigger pain it becomes and the more vulnerable to security issues. Don't say we didn't warn you.

If you keep hammering out posts in the method above, you will start to notice more and more traffic coming to your site.

If you've made it this far, we are more than happy to point you in a direction and give helpful tips. Although we are a Sanity agency, we've had years of experience with Wordpress and used the above method to onboard local businesses to their first experience of the web.

Getting online in the fastest way possible

We're hastily approaching 2023 and the one question is on everybody's lips... When are we going to move the company website to Sanity CMS? Well it's a great question and hopefully we can provide some astute answers.

Considering moving over?

So you're considering moving to Sanity CMS.

If you're looking for a powerful tool to help manage and maintain website content or a digital platform more efficiently, you've probably come across Sanity. However, getting buy-in from team members or stakeholders for implementing a new CMS can sometimes be challenging. Here are some tips for getting buy-in for a sanity CMS:

Clearly outlining the benefits of a sanity CMS can help persuade others to support its implementation. Some benefits might include:

Improved efficiency: Sanity CMS can streamline the process of updating and managing content, allowing teams to work more quickly and effectively. 

we've built entire parts of our own website with a block builder, some content and a smidgen of quickly generated images to create an entire sales funnel; it's that simple.

Enhanced collaboration: Sanity CMS can make it easier for teams to collaborate on content, providing a central location for storing and managing assets. It also means multiple people can work on the same document: 

think Google docs for CMS with multiple cursors and people on the same doc

Improved user experience: A well-designed CMS can improve the overall user experience of a website or digital platform, making it more user-friendly and easier to navigate. 

 everything is editable on mobile, and as a bonus point, it's easy to work with even there.

Involving key stakeholders in the decision-making process can help build support for the CMS. This might include getting feedback on the specific features and functionality that the CMS should have or involving them in the selection process.

If you're looking at key pointers, here's our quick-fire list:

really shines at Scaling (it's the last CMS you'll need)

The learning curve is really simple; it's literally just text boxes on a page for the most part.

so if the flavour of the month React framework is no longer relative

It's set and forget, everything is backed up in the cloud, and all your work is versioned, so you can go back to what you made changes with 5 mins ago or five days ago.

Providing concrete examples of how sanity CMS will improve the organization's workflow or bottom line. When it comes to Sanity CMS, we personally 

, which allows the user to see the full extent of the Content Management System. What is usually a crowd-pleaser is the real-time experience of watching text updates as it's typed side-by-side.

The real trade-off is ensuring you have blocks of content that can be built easily and scale well. That way, you can offset a lot of work that developers would usually handle and instead pass it on to marketers.

It's natural for people to have concerns about implementing a new tool or system. Make sure to address any concerns that stakeholders may have, and provide reassurance that the CMS will be well-supported and easy to use.

We've known quite a few people that have been burnt by other headless CMS'. What's worth highlighting is the distinct difference between a GUI drag-and-drop CMS vs a 

CMS. Sanity is the latter of the two and one of only a handful on the market. Why this matters is because the very nature of a 

 CMS means that Sanity will scale fantastically and can be customised to pretty much any configuration you can think of.

Considering moving to Sanity CMS?

Likes to read & play tennis. Serial cat cuddler. Eats tofu for breakfast, soup for dinner... Every day. Sometimes I write blogs about improving content velocity... But mostly about cats.

Sne

Unraveling JAMstack Jargon: A Guide to Technical Terms

What are the benefits of using a "headless" CMS?

Getting online in the fastest way possible

Considering moving to Sanity CMS?