What and Why Gatsby? (Build your site blazing fast)
Tags: webdev, javascript, beginners, programming
Published: 2023-01-27 16:12:49

Hello World !

Today let me talk a sometime old and this technology is pretty much hyped even know. Yeah it's about Gatsby. I know most of you are already familiar with it but still I want to share my experience with it. So let's get started. 

## What is [Gatsby](https://gatsbyjs.com/)?

![Gatsby](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/8zy4ryxq4fc1yjnomdhw.jpg)


- [Gatsby](https://gatsbyjs.com/) is a free and open-source framework for building fast and modern websites.
-  It is based on the popular JavaScript library React, which allows developers to build user interfaces using a component-based approach. 
-  Gatsby is designed to make it easy to create fast, static websites that are easy to maintain and scale.
-  Gatsby is a static site generator, which means that it takes your content and renders it into HTML files.
-  Gatsby is a React-based, GraphQL powered, static site generator. It’s a tool that helps you build blazing fast websites and apps.
-  Gatsby is a static site generator that uses React.js (among other things) to build a static HTML site. It’s a great tool for building fast, SEO-friendly websites.


## Benefits of Gatsby

![Benefits of Gatsby](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/l8sggphioju05mpuj8cd.jpeg)


- One of the main benefits of Gatsby is its speed. 
- Gatsby websites are pre-built and served as static files, which means they can be delivered to users quickly and with minimal load on the server. 
- This makes Gatsby ideal for building websites that need to be fast, such as blogs, portfolios, and landing pages.
- Another benefit of Gatsby is its flexibility. 
- Gatsby websites are built using React, which means that developers can use any React library or component to build their websites. 
- This allows for a lot of customization and makes it easy to add features such as forms, search, and analytics to a website.
- Major benefit is it's very large community base.They have a very active community on their slack server and also on their github repo.They reply to your queries very quickly and also help you out with your issues.
- In addition to its technical benefits, Gatsby also has a strong focus on developer experience. Gatsby is designed to be easy to use and understand, making it a great choice for developers who are new to web development or are just getting started with React.

## Difference between Gatsby and Hugo

![Gatsby vs Hugo](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/yz06rd6lxs4qsz9l0klj.png)


<b>Gatsby and Hugo are both popular frameworks for building static websites, but they have some key differences.</b>    

Gatsby is built on React, a JavaScript library for building user interfaces, and it uses GraphQL to retrieve data from various sources. This allows for a highly flexible and customizable development experience, and it enables developers to use React libraries and components to build their websites. Gatsby also focuses on performance and developer experience, making it easy to create fast, modern websites that are easy to maintain and scale.  

Hugo, on the other hand, is built on the Go programming language and is a static site generator. It uses a template-based approach to building websites, which allows developers to write their own templates or use existing ones. Hugo is designed to be fast and easy to use, with a simple directory structure and a minimal set of features. It's a popular choice for blogs and documentation sites.

In summary, Gatsby is a JavaScript-based framework that is highly customizable and focuses on performance and developer experience, while Hugo is a Go-based static site generator that is designed to be fast and easy to use with a focus on blogs and documentation sites. Both are great options for building static websites, but the choice between them will depend on the specific needs and preferences of the developer.

## Why Gatsby?

Gatsby is a popular choice for building static websites because it offers a number of benefits, including:

1. Speed: Gatsby websites are pre-built and served as static files, which means they can be delivered to users quickly and with minimal load on the server. This makes Gatsby ideal for building websites that need to be fast, such as blogs, portfolios, and landing pages.
2. Flexibility: Gatsby websites are built using React, which means that developers can use any React library or component to build their websites. This allows for a lot of customization and makes it easy to add features such as forms, search, and analytics to a website.
3. Large and active community: Gatsby has a large and active community, which means that there are a lot of resources available to help developers get started. There are many tutorials, plugins, and starter templates available that can be used to quickly set up a new Gatsby website.
4. Robust ecosystem of plugins: Gatsby has a robust ecosystem of plugins that can be used to add functionality to a website, such as SEO, analytics, and social media integration.
5. Good developer experience: Gatsby is designed to be easy to use and understand, making it a great choice for developers who are new to web development or are just getting started with React.
6. Progressive Web App (PWA) support: Gatsby is built with the goal of making Progressive Web App (PWA) development easy. PWAs are web applications that can be installed on a user's device and work offline.
7. Security: Gatsby websites are static, which means they can't be hacked as easily as dynamic websites. They are also served over HTTPS, which ensures that all data transmitted between the user and the website is secure.

In summary, Gatsby is a powerful framework that allows developers to build fast, modern, and flexible websites. Its focus on performance, flexibility, and developer experience, along with its large and active community and robust ecosystem of plugins, make it a popular choice for building static websites.

## How to get started with Gatsby?

Getting started with Gatsby is relatively straightforward and can be done in a few steps.

1. Install Gatsby CLI: The first step is to install the Gatsby CLI, which is a command-line tool that allows you to create and develop Gatsby projects. To install the Gatsby CLI, you can use the following command:

```
npm install -g gatsby-cli
```
2. Create a new Gatsby project: Once the Gatsby CLI is installed, you can create a new Gatsby project using the following command:

```
gatsby new my-gatsby-site
```
This command will create a new directory called "my-project" and will initialize a new Gatsby project inside it.

3. Start the development server: Once the project has been created, you can start the development server using the following command:

```
cd my-gatsby-site
gatsby develop
```
This command will start the development server at http://localhost:8000. You can now open this URL in your browser to view the default Gatsby homepage.

4. Customize the project: Once the development server is running, you can start customizing your project by editing the files in the src directory. The main entry point of your app is src/pages/index.js. This is where you'll start building your pages.
5. Deploying the website: Once you have finished building your website, you can use the following command to build your website for production:

```
gatsby build
```

This will generate a production-ready version of your website in the public directory, which can be deployed to a hosting provider of your choice.

And you are all set! Gatsby offers a lot of flexibility to customize and add features to your website and its active community offers a lot of resources and support.

Note: The above steps assumes that you have Node.js and npm installed on your machine. You can download and install Node.js from the official website.

## File structure of Gatsby

Gatsby uses a file structure that is similar to other React-based frameworks, such as Next.js and Create React App. The main entry point of your app is src/pages/index.js. This is where you'll start building your pages. You can also create additional pages by creating files in the src/pages directory. For example, if you create a file called src/pages/about.js, you'll be able to access this page at http://localhost:8000/about.

```
/  
|-- /.cache  
|-- /plugins  
|-- /public  
|-- /src  
|-- /pages  
    |-- /static  
|-- gatsby-config.js  
|-- gatsby-node.js  
|-- gatsby-browser.js  
|-- gatsby-ssr.js
```

## Conclusion

Thank You for reading this article. I hope you found it useful. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below. I would love to hear your feedback.

Note : For Collaboration on projects or anything mail me varshithvh@gmail.com 

Have a Good and Awwesome Day!!!