Building a JAMstack Blog with Next.js

When I decided to create a new blog, I wanted something that was fast, simple to maintain, and easy to deploy. After considering various options, I settled on building a JAMstack blog with Next.js.

Why JAMstack?

JAMstack (JavaScript, APIs, and Markup) offers several advantages:

  • Performance: Pre-built pages serve instantly
  • Security: No server-side vulnerabilities
  • Scalability: CDN distribution handles traffic spikes
  • Developer Experience: Simple deployment and version control

The Tech Stack

Here's what I used to build this blog:

Core Technologies

  • Next.js 14: React framework with static site generation
  • TypeScript: Type safety and better developer experience
  • CSS-in-JS: Component-scoped styling with styled-jsx

Content Management

  • Markdown: Simple, portable content format
  • Gray Matter: Parse frontmatter metadata
  • Remark: Transform markdown to HTML

Deployment

  • Static Export: Generate static files for any hosting
  • Vercel/Netlify Ready: Deploy with git push

Key Features

File-Based Routing

Next.js automatically creates routes based on the file structure:

pages/
  index.tsx          → /
  about.tsx          → /about
  posts/[slug].tsx   → /posts/my-post

Markdown Processing

Posts are written in markdown with frontmatter:

---
title: "My Post Title"
date: "2024-01-10"
excerpt: "Brief description"
---

# Content here

Static Generation

At build time, Next.js:

  1. Reads all markdown files
  2. Generates static pages for each post
  3. Creates an optimized, fast-loading site

Performance Benefits

This setup delivers excellent performance:

  • Fast Loading: Pre-generated HTML loads instantly
  • SEO Friendly: Server-side rendered content
  • Mobile Optimized: Responsive design and fast loading
  • No Database: File-based content eliminates database queries

Simple Deployment

Deployment is straightforward:

  1. Push to GitHub
  2. Connect to Vercel/Netlify
  3. Automatic builds and deploys

No servers to manage, no databases to maintain.

Conclusion

Building a JAMstack blog with Next.js provides an excellent balance of simplicity, performance, and developer experience. The static generation approach ensures fast loading times while keeping the development process simple and enjoyable.

If you're looking to build a blog that's fast, maintainable, and easy to deploy, I highly recommend this approach!