Jamstack and WordPress are usually seen as opposed to each other and there are many debates about whether you should go with a WordPress or a Jamstack website, with each of them offering certain benefits. However, there is a way to utilize the best of both worlds.
In this article, we will explain in more detail what WordPress and Jamstack are. We will also talk about ways in which you can use them both to create a highly-functional, reliable website.
What Is Jamstack?
Jamstack is a modern architecture that allows web developers to use multiple building tools to create efficient static websites for users.
The term itself comes from the fact that Jamstack is based on JavaScript, APIs, and Markup (JAM), hence the commonly used form for it - JAMstack.
Without getting too technical about it, Jamstack uses core principles like pre-rendering and decoupling to create reliable, resilient websites. This architecture is designed to provide a faster and more secure web experience and websites that are easier to scale.
What Is WordPress?
Even if you aren’t familiar with web development, you probably heard of WordPress. Launched in 2003, WordPress grew from a simple blogging platform to become the most popular content management system (CMS) worldwide.
In addition to content management, WordPress is also used as a website builder. This ensures that its users have everything they need to run a website in one place. Most importantly, it is an open-source platform, which means that anyone can add to it and improve the overall experience.
With WordPress, you can build your website from scratch or use pre-designed themes. You can also use a wide variety of tools that help you make your site the way you envisioned.
On top of that, WordPress is quite simple to use as a CMS. WP makes updating your content and doing regular maintenance quick and easy.
Can You Use Both WordPress and Jamstack?
Jamstack WordPress Synergy
Can these two platforms be used in tandem? Yes, they can.
Each is robust on its own, with Jamstack often utilizing APIs for enhanced capabilities. However, their combination unlocks significant potential.
Strategic Integration
Utilizing Jamstack for your website's development and WordPress as the content management system is a smart approach. This strategy splits your site into two main components.
Jamstack takes the lead on the frontend, offering a dynamic user experience. Meanwhile, WordPress, as part of this Jamstack WordPress ecosystem, excels in backend management, streamlining content handling.
The Headless CMS Advantage
In a Jamstack WordPress setup, WordPress functions as a headless CMS.
This model is increasingly popular due to its numerous advantages. It decouples content management from presentation, enhancing flexibility and scalability.
We craft our Headless WordPress Development Services to integrate WordPress's robust content management seamlessly into the Jamstack framework.
WordPress in a Jamstack Environment
As a CMS within the Jamstack WordPress framework, WordPress brings its powerful content management capabilities.
This enriches the functionality and efficiency of your website.
Advantages of WordPress as a CMS for Jamstack
As we mentioned earlier, this unique pairing gives you the opportunity to use the best of both worlds. So, let’s check out these benefits in more detail:
Scalability
One of the main advantages of using Jamstack in the first place is scalability. Coupling that with a headless WordPress for a CMS will allow you to grow your website as much as you want. After all, WordPress is a highly scalable, flexible, and customizable CMS.
This is particularly important if you have an enterprise website. If your business grows, your website will likely have to follow suit. So, having the ability to scale quickly and easily can be crucial for your business.
Of course, if you reach this point, you might need to get professional help to scale your website. Still, there are many benefits of outsourcing WordPress development.
Privacy and Security
Another common reason for choosing Jamstack is security. Separating the frontend from the backend of your website provides an additional layer of security. This is one of the main reasons why Jamstack is so popular.
So, pairing Jamstack with a headless WordPress that will serve as a CMS offers great protection for your website. After all, WordPress is a secure and reliable platform, so it works very well with Jamstack.
Easy to Use
When we said that you can get the best of both worlds with this pairing, ease of use is one of the main things that we considered.
While Jamstack is not so easy to use and you need a professional developer for the frontend, the backend part of your website, i.e. the headless WordPress, is straightforward to use.
That is one of the main advantages of using WordPress compared to any other CMS. WordPress can easily be used even by beginners since it is easy to learn, navigate, manage, and overall extremely user-friendly.
Highly Customizable
WordPress is well-known for many things, and being highly customizable is one of them. You have many different themes, tools, and plugins at your disposal that allow you to customize your site as much as you want to get the look and feel you envisioned.
All of these can make your website more functional as well and more interactive to keep the visitors interested in your content.
This is important if you decide to use WordPress as a CMS for your Jamstack website because it provides enough flexibility to make the two compatible and work in perfect harmony.
Cost-Effective
We already mentioned that WordPress is free, so using it as your CMS for a Jamstack website is a great way to cut your costs.
Yes, you will still have to hire someone to handle the frontend of your website, but with WordPress as your CMS, you can keep the overall expenses down.
SEO-Friendly Website Development
Another advantage of WordPress is that the code is clean and uncomplicated, making it more accessible to search engines, including Google, to read content on sites much faster, which also speeds up indexation.
Another reason why WordPress is good for SEO is the fact that many developers contribute to its code, making it very customizable and up to Google’s high standards. Your on-page SEO can benefit from things WordPress provides to its users, like using keywords and tags, headings, meta descriptions, alt text for your inmates, etc.
On top of all that, WordPress offers various SEO plugins to boost your SEO performance, including RankMath and Yoast SEO.
Multilingual Capability
If you're aiming for a multilingual Jamstack website, opting for WordPress as your CMS is a smart choice, even though it doesn't have a native translation feature.
While WordPress lacks native translation capabilities, you can augment it with established plugins. These have already earned their reputation in the WordPress community, allowing you to build upon a proven foundation. This approach ensures efficient and potentially more precise translations, streamlining the adaptation of your site into multiple languages.
Convenient Updates and Maintenance Management
Another big advantage of using WordPress as your CMS is the maintenance. WordPress makes maintenance easy by providing constant updates to its various tools and plugins, so that you can keep your website running without a hitch.
Obviously, some of this will require time and effort on your part, but a lot of that is also done automatically, without you having to do anything.
For those times when you need extra assistance, consider our WordPress retainers.
These services are designed to handle both maintenance and development tasks, offering you peace of mind and expert support.
Great Support System and Community
By using WordPress as a CMS for your Jamstack website, you will have a great system of support from the active and substantial WordPress community.
Since WordPress is an open-source platform, many developers constantly contribute to its code, add new plugins, and do everything they can to make WordPress as good as possible.
The WordPress community has an abundance of forums where you can find answers to many of the issues you may come across. They are very helpful and will always be there to help you understand the platform better.
WordPress Can Be Used for Any Kind of Website
Lastly, WordPress can be used as a CMS for any kind of website. And since the same goes for Jamstack, the two work well together regardless of the type of website you have.
Of course, you might not want to use Jamstack for a simple blogging site, but if you have a small business or even a large enterprise, headless WordPress and Jamstack are a great combination for an enterprise website.
Conclusion
We hope that our article was useful to you and that you were able to see the advantages of using WordPress as a CMS for your Jamstack website.
Headless WordPress is becoming increasingly popular for a reason and pairing it with Jamstack frontend can be a winning combo if you want to have a robust and reliable site for your business or any other need.
Of course, if you need help with WordPress in any way or want to know more about headless WordPress and its applications, get in touch with us.