Exploring Netlify + NetlifyCMS + Gatsby Solution

[jnoowin]

Overview

Pros and cons of Netlify, NetlifyCMS, and Gatsby as a static website solution

Resources/Instructions

Gatsby - https://www.gatsbyjs.com/
Netlify - https://www.netlify.com/
NetlifyCMS - https://www.netlifycms.org/

[jnoowin]

Overview

Gatsby - A React framework + static site generator. Pages are created during build time and are served to users. Good for performance and search engine optimization. The ecosystem has many plugins, widgets, and templates.

Pros:

• Uses modern technology (React) and well-used/ clean documentation
• Lots of community created plugins and support
• Full flexibility compared to website builders. Data analytic integration would be free, flexible, and much more comprehensive.
  Cons:
• Code-intensive, comes with the associated costs (development and maintenance?)

Netlify - Cloud-based website hosting service. Each change to the website is managed by Git (similar to github pages)

Pros:

• Simple Git-based workflow
• Free tier is very generous. Hosting is free. https://www.netlify.com/pricing/

NetlifyCMS - Free open source content management system. Made from the same company but separate from Netlify. Serves as an admin system for the site. Can create custom plugins and editors.

Pros:

• Easy integration into any website. Uses simple configuration files.
• Less bloat than a traditional web builder
  Cons:
• Documentation is okay-ish
• Not as well used as something as something like WordPress

Many of these services can be swapped for others (e.g hosting a WordPress site on Netlify)