February 2019 Summaries

The Nike campaign site `justdoit.nike.com` is deployed on Netlify as a JAMstack site, featuring a decoupled content management system that uses Dato CMS for headless CMS at build time, and is built using GatsbyJS for its frontend.

After Medium removed its support for custom domains, many users have been looking for alternative platforms to host their content with more control over the user experience. Kent C. Dodds, a popular blogger, has migrated his blog from Medium to his own platform at kentcdodds.com/blog, citing the benefits of owning his domain and avoiding potential issues with links breaking. To ensure a seamless transition, Kent has implemented smart redirects using Netlify's API and serverless functions, allowing him to maintain all his existing URLs. His experience serves as an example for those looking to regain control over their online presence.

Git Large File Storage (LFS) is an open source extension to Git that uses pointers in your repository to point to assets managed on a remote storage server, solving the problem of managing large binary files within repositories. Netlify Large Media is a service built on top of Git LFS, allowing developers to remove heavy binary assets from their repositories and let Netlify take care of versioning, storage, and resolution. By using Netlify Large Media, developers can reduce repository size, increase build speed, and transform image assets on the fly without needing JavaScript shims or third-party plugins. The service also supports specifying multiple representations of an asset for responsive images, making it a great option for developers who want to streamline their builds and simplify their projects.

The company has launched Netlify Large Media, a new feature that allows for the management of large assets in Git repositories. This is accompanied by improvements to asset management and bandwidth packaging, including more generous amounts of included bandwidth for non-enterprise customers. The company also offers the option to purchase extra bandwidth in blocks of 100GB/mo for $20 each, with no charges applied until 30 days after usage exceeds plan limits. Sensible pricing aims to allow the company to continue developing and scaling its platform while keeping costs low for users.

React, a popular JavaScript library, can be used to build accessible web applications. While there are valid concerns about React's accessibility, it is not inherently inaccessible, and its state management and reactivity can be leveraged to provide context for all users. Key best practices include using semantic HTML structuring, grouping elements with Fragments, and managing focus using refs. Additionally, leveraging React's lifecycle events and event listeners can help toggle ARIA states and properties in response to changes in the virtual DOM. By mastering the fundamentals of web accessibility and utilizing React's features, developers can build accessible React apps that provide a good user experience for all users.

This post discusses the importance of role-based authorization in web applications, specifically using Netlify as an authentication provider. It explores two strategies for setting user roles: directly from the Netlify dashboard and via a serverless Lambda function. The author creates a custom Lambda function to manage user roles based on their email domain, assigning a role of "editor" for trusted company domains and "visitor" otherwise. This allows for more granular control over access to sensitive content, enabling developers to build robust web applications with Netlify's authentication features.

Gridsome is a static site generator that draws inspiration from Gatsby but is built on top of VueJS instead of React. Its website showcases some of its performance optimizations and leverages Algolia for search functionality, highlighting the benefits of a JAMstack architecture. If you prefer Vue to React and appreciate features like development pipelines, templating, PWA helpers, and GraphQL support offered by Gatsby, Gridsome is worth exploring.

HTTP View from HTTP Toolkit allows you to visualize and interact with HTTP traffic, enabling rapid prototyping of APIs or services. The tool is hosted on Netlify and utilizes Netlify Functions for accounts and purchasing flows, as well as Sentry and Paddle for error tracking and payment processing. The makers of HTTP Toolkit have also shared insights into the use of Netlify Functions in debugging errors, with a blog post detailing the process.

We evaluated multiple community platforms to find the best fit for Netlify, considering factors such as simplicity, ease of use, integrations with existing software architecture, technical requirements like searchability and single sign-on, and user experience. After gathering input from various teams, we compiled a comprehensive list of requirements, which helped us narrow down the options and eventually choose Discourse as our Community platform due to its powerful API, customizable UI, and strong SSO compatibility.

Netlify has implemented Akismet, a spam detection service, to filter out unwanted submissions from its forms. This change aims to improve the user experience by minimizing latency impact on form submissions and providing better security against phishing attacks, malware, and other malicious content. The new system will notify site owners only when valid messages are received, while keeping the submission process simple for users. CAPTCHA is no longer required after the implementation of Akismet filtering.