WordPress supports REST API and WPGraphQL for headless CMS functionality.
Next.js can compile WordPress data into static HTML sites.
Static sites offer performance, scalability, and cost benefits over traditional server-based sites.
Jamstack architecture enhances site reliability and speed by serving static content.
WordPress remains a popular CMS due to its familiarity and extensive ecosystem.
WordPress has long been a dominant force in the content management system (CMS) landscape, powering a significant portion of the web. Despite the emergence of various new technologies, WordPress continues to evolve, offering new capabilities that enhance its flexibility and utility. One of the most exciting developments in recent years is the integration of REST API and WPGraphQL, enabling WordPress to function as a headless CMS. This opens up a world of possibilities, allowing developers to decouple the front-end from the back-end, providing more control over how content is served and displayed.
The concept of headless CMS has gained traction due to the rise of Jamstack architecture, where static site generators like Next.js compile data into static HTML files. This method contrasts with traditional server-side rendering, where each page request results in a call to the server. By pre-rendering pages, static sites can offer significant improvements in performance, as they can be served directly from a content delivery network (CDN) without the overhead of server processing.
Next.js is a powerful tool for building static sites, and when combined with WordPress, it allows developers to create fast, scalable websites. By leveraging APIs at compile time, developers can generate static pages that include the latest content from WordPress without the need for server-side processing. This approach not only enhances performance but also improves site reliability, as static files are less prone to downtime compared to server-hosted solutions.
One of the critical advantages of using static sites is the cost-effectiveness. Traditional server-based sites incur costs proportional to the traffic they receive. As a site's popularity grows, so does the cost of maintaining the necessary server infrastructure to handle the increased load. Static sites, on the other hand, are served from inexpensive storage solutions, like AWS S3, and can scale effortlessly with increased traffic, thanks to CDNs.
WordPress's extensive ecosystem remains a compelling reason for its continued use. Many clients and content creators are already familiar with its interface, reducing the learning curve associated with adopting new CMS solutions. Moreover, WordPress offers a wide range of plugins and themes, providing flexibility and customization options that can meet diverse requirements.
While newer headless CMS solutions often cater to developers, offering advanced features and customization, they can be intimidating for non-technical users. WordPress, however, strikes a balance by providing a user-friendly interface alongside advanced capabilities for developers. This makes it an attractive option for projects that require both ease of use and technical flexibility.
Incorporating WordPress into a Jamstack architecture with Next.js not only modernizes the development process but also maximizes the strengths of both platforms. It enables developers to build sites that are not only fast and responsive but also capable of handling large volumes of traffic without compromising performance.
Ultimately, the integration of WordPress and Next.js demonstrates the potential of combining traditional CMS platforms with modern development practices. This synergy allows developers to create websites that offer a seamless user experience while benefiting from the scalability and cost savings of static site generation.
As modern as the web is, WordPress is still king. It’s not the most scalable, but is still compelling with its long history and UX. How can we leverage Next.js to bring WordPress to the modern web? We’ll walk through the tools that Next.js provides us to scale WordPress to the world. We’ll talk about what APIs we can use to easily wrangle WordPress content and how we can make the dynamic bits static.
This talk has been presented at React Summit Remote Edition 2021, check out the latest edition of this React Conference.
According to Build with Trends, WordPress is used by 40% of the top 1 million websites.
In a headless approach, the backend content management system (CMS) like WordPress is decoupled from the frontend presentation layer, meaning the server-side processes are handled separately from the frontend user interface.
Jamstack refers to a modern web development architecture based on client-side JavaScript, reusable APIs, and prebuilt Markup. When combined with WordPress, the CMS can provide content APIs that Jamstack applications consume at build time to generate static sites.
Using a static site generator like Next.js with WordPress can improve site performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency by pre-building pages into static HTML, reducing server load and enhancing speed.
Using WordPress as a headless CMS allows developers to leverage its powerful content management capabilities while using modern web technologies for the frontend, resulting in a more flexible, scalable, and performant web architecture.
WPGraphQL is a plugin for WordPress that allows data to be accessed via GraphQL, enabling developers to query the data they need in an efficient and flexible way, enhancing the integration with modern web applications.
Next.js compiles WordPress content into static pages and paths, which can be served directly from a CDN, significantly improving load times and scalability compared to traditional server-rendered WordPress sites.
WordPress is still widely used, with over 800 million installs. The Jamstack is a modern approach to building static HTML websites that utilize JavaScript and APIs for dynamic content. Serving static HTML files is faster than server-based solutions like WordPress. Serving static files from storage or a CDN allows for infinite scalability. WordPress is a compelling option for nontechnical users due to its familiarity and thriving ecosystem.
We're going to talk about WordPress and how we can scale it with Next.js. WordPress is still widely used, with over 800 million installs. Let's discuss how we can leverage WordPress to power static Jamstack sites. Headless architecture allows for asynchronous client-side requests and the use of Static Site Generators. The Jamstack is a modern approach to building static HTML websites that utilize JavaScript and APIs for dynamic content.
2. WordPress and the JAMstack
We would compile the site to a static site using Next.js or another tool, which is a static site generator. JAMstack sites have built-in features for performance, reliability, and cost. Serving static HTML files is faster than server-based solutions like WordPress. Load balancing and auto scaling are not perfect solutions for handling traffic. Serving static files from storage or a CDN allows for infinite scalability. Storage is cheap, and managing servers can be expensive. WordPress is a compelling option for nontechnical users due to its familiarity and thriving ecosystem.
3. Leveraging WordPress APIs for Static Websites
WordPress is available as a headless API with the support of the REST API and the WPGraphQL plugin. We can leverage APIs at compile time to produce static websites. With Next.js, a WordPress site can be statically compiled, providing flexibility and powerful solutions for a great user experience. Next.js WordPress Starter is open source on GitHub, and for more about the Jamstack, check out the book at jamstackhandbook.com.
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In this workshop, you’ll learn how to build a Next.js app that uses Apollo Client to fetch data from a headless WordPress backend and use it to render the pages of your app. You’ll learn when you should consider a headless WordPress architecture, how to turn a WordPress backend into a GraphQL server, how to compose queries using the GraphiQL IDE, how to colocate GraphQL fragments with your components, and more.
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