What is the most effective method to create static sites using Gatsby and other tools? (r) (r)

Dec 17, 2023

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A demo site showing what you can build after reading this guide
Demo sites to show the possibilities of what you can create after you've completed this course.

The ability to understand static sites

  1. Performance: Static sites load quick since there's not any server-side processing.
  2. Security Since there isn't a running software that could be run via servers. Therefore, static sites are safer from security threats.
  3. Scalability It's very easy to share static web pages via Content Delivery Networks (CDNs).
  4. Easy: They are easier to create, use and keep up.

When you've a good idea of what static sites provide and what benefits they provide, we can look at Gatsby.

What exactly does it mean to be Gatsby?

  1. Rapidly Fast Gatsby improves the speed of your website through techniques such as code splitting and lazy loading. This improves the speed of loading of your webpages.
  2. Flexible data sourcing It has the ability to obtain data from a variety of data sources like Markdown databases, Markdown files, APIs and others.
  3. Rich Plug-in Ecosystem Gatsby's large assortment of plug-ins lets you extend the functionality of your application quickly.
  4. Performance SEO and HTML0: Gatsby automatically creates optimized HTML that is optimized for SEO and can improve efficiency.

The Beginning of the Journey by Gatsby

To be able to comply to the directive in order to meet this directive, you should have:

  • A basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • A basic understanding of React

If you're looking to start your journey at Gatsby and develop a plan of action, look over one of the many examples that are available in Gatsby Starter Library. Gatsby Starter Library as well as create an starting project. Then, follow up until the project is complete.

In order to do that, we'll benefit from GatsbyJS' Hello World starter for GatsbyJS as it gives us an easy to use project that does not include extra extensions or other documents.

  1. Before you begin, install Gatsby's Command Line Interface on your personal computer following these instructions:
NPM install -G gatsby Cli

It is time to start the version of gatsby to check whether it was successful or not.

  1. Once you have done that, locate the directory in which you want to build the project in, and then run the next command:
npx gatsby new https://github.com/gatsbyjs/gatsby-starter-hello-world

Modify the name of your project above to display the project's name. you're working on.

  1. When you have completed that, go to the folder of your project, and start the server for development.
CD gatsby by cd-create

The local development server will start at http://localhost:8000, where you can access your Gatsby site.

The Gatsby hello world theme
This is the Gatsby Hello World theme.

Learn Gatsby File Structure

When you open the project with an editor for codes, you'll notice the following structure:

/ |-- /public |-- /src |-- /pages |-- index.js |-- /static |-- gatsby-config.js
  • publicly available: This directory contains the results of your Gatsby method of making. The directory is where made HTML, CSS, JavaScript and various other data files are kept.
  • (or SRC): This is the core of Gatsby. Gatsby project. This is where you'll have to devote the majority of the day. There are many subdirectories with documents:
  • pages: This is where each page of your site is stored. Every JavaScript document in the folder is attached to the spot you've picked for your site.
  • static This folder can be used to store static files that need to be uploaded to your site. They include fonts, images and downloadable files. These files are provided at no cost and haven't changed by Gatsby.
  • gatsby-config.js: This configuration file lets you define various settings to your Gatsby site. It lets you specify the your metadata or plugins that you want to integrate into your website using various configurations.

What are the processes involved in creating Pages and Components

In Gatsby the creation of pages on the web is a simple process. Every JavaScript documents you write in the directory pages/src pages/src directory is automatically transformed into pages by using the proper method, due to Gatsby's automated pages generation.

It is possible to create the pages you want to include to your site through the inclusion of other JavaScript documents. These pages are then converted into pages. They are kept within the pages folder inside the pages folder in the /src/pages folder. It is possible, for instance create your own about.js file for the "About" page.

If you're able to make separate JavaScript files for each page directly in the folder pages/src/pages, you can also make subfolders for each page within the pages/src/pages folder. This way, you're competent to arrange your pages according to the specific way. Create subfolders that are devoted to particular pages. If you choose to make this a reality such as, for instance creating a blog folder. This will be able to organize the blog related web pages.

This is the way in which the structure of the page appears as follows:

|-- /src |-- /pages |-- about.js |-- index.js |-- /blog |-- index.js

Utilizing JSX for Pages

If you choose to do that it, you may create the contents on your home page ( index.js) with the following steps:

Import React from'react";the most popular method for exporting React is home() and returning ( You can enjoy a static web hosting experience using StSH. Secure, fast and dependable Hosting Solutions. > );

To create a hyperlink on other websites, you could utilize the Link option. How to accomplish this is as follows:

Integrate React with the react integrate React into the react Link by using the  default function "gatsby" export default function to returning() return ( Locate Static Web Hosting using StSH. Secure, quick and fast Hosting Solutions. to="/about">About Us to="/blog">Blog > );

In this illustration in the above illustration, we've incorporated Link parts that we discovered on the website of gatsby and utilized it to make links for our "About Us" page and blog. On the "About Us" page, as an example, has a hyperlink about. When visitors click on"About Us,"" like"About Us" or" upon clicking on"About Us," and then click on"About Us," and then click on the "About Us" button, they're taken into"About Us" page/about page.

To build links to other websites, you may use anchor tags that are normal ( ) tags that include an attribute that is known as HREF attribute:

to import React using'react";Export the default home functions() return ( Find Static Website Hosting through StSH. Fast, secure, and reliable Hosting service. Get the benefits of static web hosting using StSH. Safe, quick reliable, and long-lasting Hosting service. Find out more about );

This is because it will open the external website in an entirely different browser because it can use features like target="_blank" and rel="noreferrer" attributes.

Manufacturing of the essential components to make Gatsby

Gatsby's modular layout allows you to build reusable elements for your website. Instead of having duplicated code on several pages, you're being able to organize elements you utilize to carry out your day-to-day activities into components that makes your base of code more flexible easily manageable and effective.

The code that you use to display your website's homepage includes the navigational area as the main content as well as the footer

Import React with the help of the react import Link "gatsby" export standard function that defaults to the function the home() home() return ("home" back"home" back to ="/">Home to="/about">About to="/blog">Blog Earn profits from static web hosting with StSH. Secure, fast and dependable Hosting Solution. Read more Hosted with by 's' ' href="https://.com/static-site-hosting"> Static Site Hosting . > );

Imagine having to copy and paste the footer, navigation bar and the code for every page of your website. Components could be used. They may be made by reusing components that could be employed to build the footer, navigation bar, or any other part of code that could be used on various parts and websites.

In order to be able to use components from Gatsby for making use of these elements, you need to create folders with parts of Gatsby. Make components folders in Gatsby. Within Gatsby, create an component folder in the src folder. The folder should include all the components. Next, create your components, e.g. Navbar.js and Footer.js. In inside the Navbar.js file, cut the code to the following format:

Import Link 'gatsby' import React using'react";const navigationbar () = return ( Home About Blog ) Export default Navbar

Additionally, Footer.js:

import React from 'react'; const Footer = () => return ( Hosted with by 's' ' href="https://.com/static-site-hosting">Static Site Hosting . ); ; export default Footer;

It is then possible to attach documents to components or pages and apply this procedure:

import React from 'react'; import Navbar from '../components/Navbar'; import Footer from '../components/Footer'; export default function Home() return ( Enjoy Static Site Hosting With StSH. Secure, quick and reliable web hosting. Learn more about );

Design elements and layout

The most popular method of making websites is to create the layout component that reflects the overall appearance of the site. Layout components usually include elements that are displayed on every page, such as the footer, header, sidebars, navigation menus and many more.

Make a new file called Layout.js in your component's components/src/components directory. Once you have that file, you'll be able identify the layout's style. In the following guide, we will clarify the layout's design. It must include the footer as well as the navigation bar

import React from 'react'; import Navbar from './Navbar'; import Footer from './Footer'; const Layout = ( children ) => return ( className="content">children ); ; export default Layout;

This component of the layout could be utilized that wrap the content of pages (provided through children). If you wish to use the layout component on the pages you design, you need install it. Once you have done that, you are able to utilize it to wrap the content of your pages it. In this instance, for instance, you may have the index.js page:

import React from 'react'; import Layout from '../components/Layout'; export default function Home() return ( Enjoy Static Site Hosting With StSH. Fast, safe and reliable Hosting service. Find out more );

Utilizing a layout feature allows you to ensure the exact layout and style throughout your site and also keep your website's codes up to date and neat. It's an excellent option to manage the elements that are most commonly used for your site successfully.

Styling Pages as well as other elements of Gatsby

The theme you pick for your Gatsby website can be flexible since it permits you to utilize different strategies, including simple CSS as well as CSS-in JS and CSS preprocessors like Sass. This guide will demonstrate how you can build simple as well as mod-styled websites.

CSS Styling

In Gatsby there's an option to make Gatsby allows you to create a CSS file. Then, you can connect it to any other site or component you'd like to be linked to, and it will be flawlessly working. You could, for instance, create an styles folder inside the folder referred to as the src folder. You then make a global.css. global.css file with the CSS code.

Below are a selection of the most well-known designs of the parts developed in the past:

@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Poppins:wght@300;400;500&display=swap'); * margin: 0; padding: 0; box-sizing: border-box; body background-color: #ddd; font-family: 'Poppins', sans-serif; width: 1200px; margin: 0 auto; a text-decoration: none; img width: 100%; nav display: flex; justify-content: space-between; height: 200px; align-items: center; nav .logo-img width: 100px; nav .nav-links a padding: 0 20px; font-size: 18px; @media (max-width:700px) body width: 100%; padding: 0 20px; nav .nav-links a padding: 0 18px; .footer width: 100%; text-align: center; margin: 100px 0 20px; 

You can then include the CSS document to the elements that you'd like to style. This is the case where you are able to incorporate it into the Layout component. Make sure that it is applied to each component.

import React from 'react'; import Navbar from './Navbar'; import Footer from './Footer'; import '../styles/global.css'; const Layout = ( children ) => return ( className="content">children ); ; export default Layout;

Module CSS Styling

CSS Modules let you scope the style of your site to particular elements, or even websites. This helps avoid clashes between styles, aswell being a way to manage your CSS code. In the styles folder, create your CSS modules with the structure (pageName>.module.css and add the specific style into the files.

In this instance, you can make home.module.css for the homepage, and then include the following code:

.home_hero display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; flex-direction: column; text-align: center; .home_hero h1 font-size: 60px; width: 70%; .home_hero p color: #6E7076; font-size: 20px; .btn background-color: #5333ed; padding: 20px 30px; margin-top: 40px; border-radius: 5px; color: #fff; @media (max-width:700px) .home_hero h1 font-size: 40px; .home_hero p font-size: 16px; 

In order to use the module CSS styles on your Gatsby website or other component which utilizes the CSS module, you will need to load the CSS styles used by the CSS module as part of an object at the top of the webpage or inside the file before using it in these ways:

import React from 'react'; import Layout from '../components/Layout'; import * as styles from '../styles/home.module.css'; export default function Home() return ( Enjoy Static Site Hosting With StSH. Quick, Safe, Reliable Hosting Solution. More information on and the );

Utilizing Static Files in Gatsby

Gatsby static files Gatsby static files refer to resources like images, fonts and CSS files and a variety of additional files that directly uploaded to the web browser used by the user without the need for servers to process. Then, they are added to your static directory in the root directory of your project.

For instance, if for example, you publish your picture -logo.png to the directory that is located in the static directory, and it's displayed on your component as follows:

Link imports from the "gatsby' React" by "react'. It replaces with navigation bar () = return ( home to ="/"> home ="/">Home to="/about">About to="/blog">Blog ) Export the default Navbar

Gatsby transforms these relative routes to the correct URL when your site is built. In this course, you'll learn how to enhance the quality of images on Gatsby.

Plug-ins and integrations

Gatsby offers a range of plugins to allow users to enhance the functionality of. These plugins aid with search engine optimization, analytics images, markdown optimization, image transformation, and many more. Configuring these plugins is a breeze and will significantly improve the performance of your website.

In this video lesson we'll make the most of four plug-ins.

  1. gatsby-transformer-remark: This plugin allows you to transform Markdown files into HTML content, making it easy to create and manage blog posts, documentation, or any text-based content.
  2. gatsby-transformer-sharp and gatsby-plugin-sharp: These plugins work together to optimize and manipulate images in your Gatsby project.
  3. gatsby-source-filesystem: This plugin enables you to source files from your project directory and make them available to query with GraphQL.

In order to install these plugins into the Gatsby project, execute this command in the directory root of your project to complete installation:

npm install gatsby-transformer-remark gatsby-transformer-sharp gatsby-plugin-sharp gatsby-source-filesystem

After that, you are allowed to modify them inside the gatsby-config.js file. This file is an example of the way to configure plug-ins

module.exports = plugins: [ // ...other plugins // Transform Markdown files into HTML 'gatsby-transformer-remark', // Optimize and manipulate images 'gatsby-transformer-sharp', 'gatsby-plugin-sharp', // Source files from your project directory resolve: `gatsby-source-filesystem`, options: name: `posts`, path: `$__dirname/src/posts/`, , , resolve: `gatsby-source-filesystem`, options: name: `images`, path: `$__dirname/src/images/`, , , ], ;

Two gatsby-source-filesystem configurations are created, pointing to two folders: posts and images. Posts will store some markdown files (blog posts) that would be transformed with gatsby-transformer-remark, and images will store images for the blog and other images you wish to optimize.

Make sure you reboot your local development server whenever you modify your gatsby-config.js file.

Creating Blog Posts

After you've installed the plugins create posts folders in the Post folder of the Src directory. Following that, you should make two Markdown documents with the following content:

post-1.md:

--- title: "Introduction to Gatsby" date: "2023-10-01" slug: "introduction-to-gatsby" description: "Learn the basics of Gatsby and its features." featureImg: ../images/featured/image-1.jpeg --- Welcome to the world of Gatsby! In this piece, we'll take you through the basic notions of Gatsby and the clever ways it can be used.

Additionally, post-2.md:

--- title: "Optimizing Images in Gatsby" date: "2023-10-05" slug: "optimizing-images-in-gatsby" description: "Explore how to optimize images in your Gatsby project." featureImg: ../images/featured/image-2.jpeg --- Images play a crucial role in web development. This blog will explore ways to improve images to enhance the look of Gatsby by using plugins.

They are Markdown files contain metadata as well as content for blogs. They include front matter information like names and dates as well as slugs, descriptions and even images.

To find Gatsby, GraphQL can query the Gatsby novel.

When you run gatsby develop in your terminal, you'll notice that, in addition to the link gatsby-source-filesystem, which opens your project on the web, you also see the http://localhost:8000/___graphql URL. The URL provides you with an access point to GraphiQL editor that you could use of to create your own Gatsby project.

When you open the editor, you will see the following user interface

The Gatsby GraphiQL playground
Gatsby GraphiQL is the Gatsby GraphiQL game space.

You'll be able to get most accurate information regarding your website from this editor. It's because you've created a markdown files and completed the necessary adjustments in the gatsby-config.js file. You can search for markdown documents as well as their contents. Markdown files as well as the information include by searching this query within the editor.

blogList query *

The query collects data from every Markdown document using the AllMarkdownRemark. It extracts data like names, slugs and name, slug and the details at the top of every Markdown document, and also their ID number..

When you've completed your query, make sure that you press the "Play" button immediately following the query. Then press"Play" "Play" button (a right-facing triangle) to start the query. The results will be shown in the upper-right corner in the editors.

Using the GraphiQL playground to get markdown information
Utilizing the GraphiQL playground to gather the data regarding the markdown.

It is then possible to use GraphQL to get access to the Markdown data on the pages within your application. To access this data blog/index.js as well as blog/index.js as well as on the blog/index.js page, first install graphql through the gatsby app. In the final section of JSX script, you should add the following data:

export const query = graphql` query BlogList allMarkdownRemark nodes frontmatter title slug description id `;

The code uses the graphql tag to build the GraphQL query. The expression GraphQL refers to the name of queries. How you want your blog/index.js file should be looking like is in the following format:

import graphql, Link from 'gatsby'; import React from 'react'; import Layout from '../../components/Layout'; import * as styles from '../../styles/blog.module.css'; const blog = ( data ) => const posts = data.allMarkdownRemark.nodes; return ( Blog posts.map((post) => ( post.frontmatter.title post.frontmatter.description )) ); ; export default blog; export const query = graphql` query BlogList allMarkdownRemark nodes frontmatter title slug description id `;

In the example code from earlier in the code for the program above in the above program, you use queries to obtain results using the info prop of the component. Following that, you search the contents' information using your JavaScript method. After that, you will be able display every blog's name as an array.

To prevent errors, make for yourself to avoid errors Create the blog.module.css file in the styles folder. Add the following code:

.blog_cont h2 font-size: 40px; margin-bottom: 20px; .blog_grid display: grid; grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr 1fr; gap: 20px; @media (max-width:700px) .blog_grid grid-template-columns: 1fr; .blog_card background-color: #bfbfbf; padding: 20px; border-radius: 5px; color: #000; transition: all .5s ease-in-out; .blog_card:hover background-color: #5333ed; color: #fff; .blog_card h3 margin-bottom: 15px; .blog_card p margin-bottom: 15px; 
Display of blog posts fetched via GraphQL
Blog post posts displayed via GraphQL.

Lerner's Templates, and creating interactive pages to Gatsby through GraphQL

in Gatsby the Gatsby template and dynamic websites are essential concepts to construct responsive and flexible websites that are powered with information. Templates allow you to define the design and style of your website pages. GraphQL aids you in collecting data to create templates so that it will be automatic.

A template is created that can be used to design Templates for Blog Posts

Imagine that you are creating a blog the sense that every post in your blog follows the same structure and includes an introduction and an explanation. You can create an BlogDetails template that will give you the same style. In the src folder, you'll find the ability to construct a Template folder. Then, create blog-details.js file: blog-details.js file:

import React from 'react'; import Layout from '../components/Layout'; import * as styles from '../styles/blog-details.module.css'; const BlogDetails = () => return ( Title className=styles.html dangerouslySetInnerHTML= /> ); ; export default BlogDetails; In this instance, the BlogDetails template defines the format for blog post. The next step is to use GraphQL to pull data from particular blog posts that can be used as props for the template. In order to create dynamic pages that build dynamic websites, it is necessary build the gatsby-node.js file in the root directory of your project. This file lets users define how the pages are made. The gatsby-node.js file, utilize GraphQL to get the information that you want to utilize for your dynamic website. In the case of, for instance, if you've Markdown blog posts, you can query their slugs: const path = require(`path`); exports.createPages = async ( graphql, actions ) => const data = await graphql(` query Articles allMarkdownRemark nodes frontmatter slug `); data.allMarkdownRemark.nodes.forEach((node) => actions.createPage( path: '/blog/' + node.frontmatter.slug, component: path.resolve('./src/templates/blog-details.js'), context: slug: node.frontmatter.slug , ); ); ; In this example in this example, we search the slugs for all Markdown posts and create dynamic pages for each article making use of this BlogDetails template. The context object could be utilized to add information that are in the form into the template. Data (slug) is what the template uses to obtain other data that's aligned with the information included within the slug. It is important to understand how image optimization works within Gatsby prior to including the GraphQL query on the template's website. Image Optimization in Gatsby Earlier, you installed and configured the gatsby-transformer-sharp and gatsby-plugin-sharp along with gatsby-source-filesystem for sourcing images. By using these plugins you are able to optimize and query images using GraphQL. Here's an example of how to query and display an optimized image using the gatsby plugin-sharp: export const query = graphql` query file(relativePath: eq: "example.jpg" ) childImageSharp fluid ...GatsbyImageSharpFluid `; In the code above in the above code, you're requesting an image named example.jpg from the images source and then using the fluid property of the image to show it in a the most responsive and optimized rendering. Images-gatsby can be used to load the image in order to display images optimized for. import React from 'react'; import graphql from 'gatsby'; import Img from 'gatsby-image'; const ImageExample = ( data ) => const fluid = data.file.childImageSharp; return ( ); ; export default ImageExample; Queuing Dynamic Pages Gatsby is using the template to build distinct pages for every blog post. Let's now include a GraphQL query on the template page to fetch the relevant data, based on the URL: import graphql from 'gatsby'; import Img from 'gatsby-image'; import React from 'react'; import Layout from '../components/Layout'; import * as styles from '../styles/blog-details.module.css'; const BlogDetails = ( data ) => const html = data.markdownRemark; const title, featureImg = data.markdownRemark.frontmatter; return ( title ); ; export default BlogDetails; export const query = graphql` query ProjectDetails($slug: String) markdownRemark(frontmatter: slug: eq: $slug ) html frontmatter title featureImg childImageSharp fluid ...GatsbyImageSharpFluid `; In the above code, you will notice it is querying for the optimized image and querying for the blog entry that matches the slug. Find the full source code for Gatsby on GitHub. Gatsby project is available on GitHub. Set up Gatsby static sites Once you've finished the repo, take these steps to create your static website. Log in to your account, or sign up for access to the dashboard of your account in My Dashboard. It is necessary to authorize your Git account using your account's provider. Select Static Sites from the left sidebar and then click Add Site. Add Site. Choose the repository you would like to be deployed from, as well as the branch you want to make deployment to. Assign a unique name to your site. My will be able to identify the parameters used to make your website, which are employed by Gatsby. Gatsby project will be able to detect the parameters and automatically. The following configurations have been set up to be used to build the project: Build command: NPM run build version of Node: 18.16.0 Publishing directory Public Click on the Choose a location.. Introduction This text covers the essential concepts of data source and routing and the appearance of images along with the image optimizing extensions, deployment, and so on. Gatsby's speed, flexibility and broad-ranging ecosystem makes it a perfect tool for building static websites. If you're looking to build your own portfolio, personal site or blog, or even a company site, Gatsby has you covered. It's time for you to put this expertise into action by creating your own Gatsby website. Did you use Gatsby when you were building an item? Do share your story or ideas with us by submitting a comment in the following form. Joel Olawanle Joel is an Frontend Developer at the firm that holds the Tech Issues Editor post. Issues. He is an avid educator with a love of JavaScript, which is an open source program. He has written more than 200 technical writings, primarily on JavaScript and the frameworks are used by it. Twitter LinkedIn

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