Gatsby

Gatsby v5 focuses on Valhalla Content Hub and improved build speeds (Slice API). While Next.js has overtaken it, Gatsby remains strong for complex CMS-driven sites.

When to Use

• Data Integration: You have content in Contentful, Shopify, and WordPress and need to merge it.
• Static Sites: Extremely optimized static output (Image optimization).
• Plugin Ecosystem: Thousands of "drops-in" plugins.

Core Concepts

GraphQL Data Layer

Gatsby pulls all data into a local GraphQL schema.

Source Plugins

gatsby-source-filesystem, gatsby-source-contentful.

React Hydration

Generated HTML rehydrates into a SPA.

Best Practices (2025)

Do:

• Use Slice API: Updating a navbar shouldn't rebuild 10,000 pages.
• Use Gatsby Image: Unmatched image optimization features.
• Use Adapters: For zero-config deployment to Netlify/Vercel.

Don't:

• Don't use for Dynamic Apps: Use Next.js or Remix for dashboard-style apps.

References

• Gatsby Documentation