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Stig asks:March 5, 2023

Does my website fall under the Jamstack term?

I’m seeking some clarification on the term “Jamstack.” I’m still confused about whether my website falls under the Jamstack category. In short, I have a traditional monolithic WordPress site that I'd like to convert into a static site using an SSG like WP2Static. After generating the static site, I’m thinking of serving it from e.g. Netlify or my web server (statically, for testing).

From what I have read, Jamstack doesn’t exactly have a strict definition (anymore, that is) and is more of an architectural approach than anything. So, I’m wondering if my website can still be considered a Jamstack site, although it doesn’t use any sort of APIs or anything to bring dynamic-like content to the site.

I would appreciate it if you could help me understand if my site can be considered Jamstack or even “Jamstack-like.” Thanks so much for any clarification!

Thom Krupa

I think your website will still be considered Jamstack-like, here is why:- The content for users will be served 100% as static files, directly from the CDN- Request will not hit the server (in your case WordPress)- Even if WordPress for some reason will stop working, the website will still be available for the users.- There is some security risk, you could think of closing your WordPress from direct access, so no one except you will have access to it.

In general, you will benefit from the following:

  • Global distribution will make the website super fast for everyone across the globe.
  • Easy rollbacks
  • Low server workload

Usually, people tend to use a hosted CMS to increase security and availability. You don't have to worry about the server infra and maintenance. But self-hosted WordPress and content consumed by its API or some build process that generates and stores pages as static files I'd consider Jamstack too. Keep in mind that some features (like WP comments) won't work this way.

Answered by

Thom Krupa

Co-founder of Bejamas. Focuses on helping people create faster and better websites and apps. Never bet against the Web.

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