Missed Part 1? Read: The Rise and Fall of JAMstack: A Static Tragedy in Three Acts.
TL;DR
JAMstack is dead — the hype is gone, but the ideas evolved.
Stop chasing acronyms. Use hybrid rendering, edge functions, smart caching, and a CMS that fits your workflow.
Build adaptive sites that balance speed, cost, and maintainability. Forget dogma. Ship what works.
You’ve seen the memes, the clickbait, the rage tweets: Is JAMstack dead?
Short answer: yes — the hype cycle ended the usual way. It went mainstream, then got boring.
But mourning a marketing term is pointless. The real question is: What should you build instead?
1. The new “stack” is a strategy, not an acronym.
We don’t need a clever label. We need clear answers:
- Where does your content live?
- How does it reach the user?
- How do you balance speed, cost, and sanity?
Modern answers look like this:
- Hybrid rendering: mix SSG, SSR, ISR — use what fits.
- Edge functions & CDN logic: personalize without spinning up a monolith.
- Smart caching & incremental builds: forget full static rebuilds.
Frameworks like Next.js, Astro, SvelteKit, and Nuxt exist for this reality: static when it helps, dynamic when it must. Pick what fits your comfort zone — React, Vue, or no framework at all.
2. Treat your site like a product, not a file dump.
Static hosting is cheap. Updating static sites at scale is not. If your team wrestles builds and plugins, you’re paying a hidden tax.
Instead:
- Use a CMS or headless backend that matches your workflow.
- Automate previews and staging.
- Use edge caches and revalidation to keep content fresh without redeploys.
3. Be less dogmatic about APIs and pre-rendering.
JAMstack pitched a pure client-side API dream. Reality? It’s often slower than running simple server logic near the user.
Modern rule: push lightweight logic to the edge — auth checks, personalization, A/B tests — and don’t fear SSR if it’s faster.
4. What to use today — the shortlist
- Content-heavy sites: Next.js or Astro, hosted on Vercel, Netlify, or any edge-enabled CDN.
- Sites needing frequent updates, but not a full dynamic backend: ISR plus a CMS (Sanity, Contentful, TinaCMS — even WordPress works).
- Fully dynamic sites: Skip static. Build a proper server-rendered app. Node.js, Deno, Go — whatever runs fastest and cheapest.
5. Watch your costs.
JAMstack didn’t die from performance issues — it died from surprise bills: bloated build minutes, slow rebuilds, and dev headaches. Pick tools that don’t chain you to expensive pipelines. Use on-demand rendering where it saves money.
Bottom line
“JAMstack” is dead. Long live whatever works for your project. The future isn’t static or dynamic — it’s adaptive. Build smart. Ignore the dogma.
Catch up on how we got here: The Rise and Fall of JAMstack