June 2020 Summaries

Gatsby Days, initially planned as a live virtual event, was transformed into a content series to respect the Black Lives Matter movement, providing community access to educational material at their convenience. This adaptation includes a series of videos featuring the original event's speakers, with further product and program announcements compiled in an introductory blog post. Among the highlights, Colby Fayock, Lead UX and Front End Engineer at Element 84, demonstrates how to create mapping applications using React Leaflet and Gatsby, emphasizing their simplicity and integration with JAMstack principles. He introduces a Gatsby Recipe and starter theme to streamline the development process, aligning with Gatsby's focus on enhancing website performance. The next Gatsby Days event is tentatively scheduled for October, with further updates available via Gatsby's Twitter account.

The WebAIM Million, an annual accessibility analysis, found that home pages built with Gatsby had significantly fewer accessibility errors compared to other technologies, with 34.3 detectable errors on average, which is 44% fewer than the average. Gatsby's commitment to accessibility is highlighted as exemplary, with the framework showing about half as many errors as sites built with React alone. Jared Smith from WebAIM praised Gatsby for fostering a culture of inclusion and recommended it as a model for other technologies. Gatsby has implemented improvements in its starters and themes and invested in client-side routing research to enhance accessibility. The company also emphasizes ongoing education through workshops, live streams, and conferences to address accessibility, acknowledging that automated tools can only detect a portion of issues. Despite their success, Gatsby recognizes the need for continued accessibility efforts and encourages public commitments to accessibility from other UI libraries and frameworks.

Gatsby Days, initially planned as a live virtual event, was transformed into a content series by the Gatsby team to avoid diverting attention from the Black Lives Matter movement. The series, now available as videos, shares insights from scheduled speakers, allowing the community to engage with the material at their own pace. Among the presentations is Derek Murr's experience transitioning from graphic design to web development, highlighting how Gatsby's user-friendly documentation and tools facilitated his learning process. Murr emphasizes Gatsby's role in simplifying web development, introducing GraphQL, and enabling continuous experimentation by focusing on building rather than configuring. Gatsby's approach to learning and its deployment ease made web development more accessible for him, showcasing the importance of documentation that evolves with a developer's journey. The team looks forward to the next Gatsby Days event in October, with details to be announced on their social media platforms.

Gatsby Days, initially planned as a live virtual event, was transformed into a video content series to maintain focus on the Black Lives Matter movement while still sharing valuable knowledge from scheduled speakers. The series features presentations like that of Makenna Smutz, COO of Meeshkan, who utilized Gatsby to launch an online apparel shop called "Just Be Freaking Kind" at no cost, integrating services such as Printful, GraphCMS, Stripe, and SendGrid. Makenna's presentation covers the selection of a tech stack for e-commerce, leveraging tools like Netlify for serverless functions, Stripe's pay-once-you-earn model, and Chakra UI for consistent website design. The Gatsby team plans to hold another event in October, with details to follow on Twitter.

In response to recent events and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, Gatsby decided to transform its planned live online event, Gatsby Days, into a series of videos and blog content. This reconfiguration allows the community to access the insights and presentations at their convenience, while also supporting the movement. The event featured several announcements, including the launch of the Gatsby Partner Program to foster collaboration with agencies and technology partners, and the introduction of Gatsby Admin, an alpha interface aimed at simplifying site management. Additionally, new tools and updates were unveiled, such as the Contentful Blog Recipe for quick blog setup, first-class Drupal integration, and upcoming enhancements like the Gatsby Blog Theme v2, Instant Builds, and Unified Routes. The event also included insights into ongoing projects aimed at improving the Gatsby ecosystem and enhancing user experience. The Gatsby team expressed gratitude for the community's understanding and support and encouraged continued engagement until the next Gatsby Days event.

The Gatsby CLI Survey results reveal insights into user satisfaction and the demographic benefiting from Gatsby's offerings. Conducted from April to June 2020, the survey indicates a slight increase in users who would be "very disappointed" if they could no longer use Gatsby, with a consistent goal of maintaining this sentiment above 60%. The survey highlights a distinction between those who find Gatsby indispensable, including developers, marketers, and end users, versus those who see its primary benefit for developers. The main advantage cited by users has shifted from Gatsby's fast setup to its ability to create high-performance websites, reflecting the tool's evolving capabilities. Although requests for incremental builds have decreased due to Gatsby's recent advancements, there is a growing demand for more CMS and MDX support. The survey, conducted quarterly, helps guide Gatsby's development focus, and users are encouraged to provide feedback through the CLI or by trying Gatsby for themselves.

Sam Larsen-Disney discusses innovative solutions for presenting slide decks without screen sharing, especially useful in environments with unreliable internet connections. Initially using minimalist PowerPoint slides, Larsen-Disney discovered gatsby-theme-mdx-deck, allowing slides to be hosted online for easy access and interaction. This method alleviates bandwidth issues by letting viewers directly access slides via a URL. To enhance user experience, Larsen-Disney added interactive elements and a "Follow Me" feature using Redux and Socket.IO, allowing real-time slide navigation. Additionally, he explored gesture control for slide navigation using PoseNet, enabling touch-free interaction. This approach offers a dynamic and bandwidth-efficient presentation method with potential for further innovation in digital storytelling.

In response to the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing protests against systemic racism, Gatsby acknowledges its shortcomings in promoting equity and inclusion within the tech industry, which is predominantly white and male. The company recognizes the need to address both conscious and unconscious biases that perpetuate inequality and commits to fostering a more inclusive environment. Gatsby outlines a comprehensive plan to challenge these biases, promote diversity, and ensure equitable hiring and career advancement practices. This includes initiatives such as partnering with diversity and inclusion leaders, implementing programs to deconstruct bias, creating safe spaces for team members, and refining recruitment processes. Gatsby emphasizes the importance of public accountability and transparency by committing to measurable objectives and regularly publishing progress updates. The company aspires to create a community where all individuals feel valued and empowered, underscoring the belief that everyone belongs at Gatsby.