Gatsby Development

What is Gatsby?

Gatsby is a React-based static site generator built around a GraphQL data layer. It pulls data from any source -- Markdown files, headless CMSes, REST APIs, databases -- normalises it into a single GraphQL schema at build time, and generates static HTML pages. The result: pre-rendered content that loads instantly from a CDN, with React hydration only where interactivity is needed.

Where Gatsby stands out is the data unification model. If you have blog posts in Contentful, product data from Shopify, and author profiles in a Google Sheet, Gatsby pulls all three into one GraphQL schema. Your components query what they need with a single language.

The GraphQL data layer

Most frameworks treat data fetching as a component-level concern. Gatsby centralises it. Gatsby Source Plugins connect to external systems and transform their data into GraphQL nodes at build time. This means:

• Zero runtime data fetching for static content -- all data is embedded in the HTML at build time
• Unified querying -- one GraphQL interface for Contentful, WordPress REST, local Markdown, CSV files, or any custom source
• Gatsby Image plugin -- automatic image optimisation, lazy loading, and blur-up placeholders built directly into the GraphQL pipeline
• Gatsby Link -- prefetching of linked pages so navigation feels instantaneous

The GraphQL layer is Gatsby's biggest differentiator and its steepest learning curve. If your team does not know GraphQL, there is a ramp-up cost. We handle that for you.

What we build on Gatsby

Content-heavy marketing sites

Gatsby is the go-to framework when you have large amounts of structured content from multiple sources. A marketing site pulling from a CMS, a blog, a product catalogue, and a press kit -- all unified into one build -- is exactly what Gatsby was designed for.

What we deliver: Source plugin configuration, content modelling, component architecture, Gatsby Cloud or Netlify deployment, and ongoing CMS integration.

Documentation sites

Documentation sites have structured content, fast search requirements, and navigation depth that benefits from prefetching. Gatsby handles all three natively. We use it alongside MDX (Markdown + React components) for interactive documentation.

E-commerce with headless CMS

Gatsby's Shopify source plugin pulls product data at build time for product listing pages and detail pages. Cart and checkout remain client-side React. This hybrid -- static product pages, dynamic cart -- is the most performant e-commerce architecture for SEO-sensitive storefronts.

Migration from WordPress or Ghost

If you are running a WordPress or Ghost blog and want to eliminate server costs and improve performance, Gatsby is one of the cleaner migration paths. We export your content, map it to Gatsby's data model, and rebuild the frontend in React.

Performance characteristics

Static HTML served from a CDN is inherently fast. Gatsby layers on top:

• gatsby-image: Next-gen image formats (WebP/AVIF), srcset, lazy loading, and LQIP (low-quality image placeholders) out of the box
• Code splitting: Each page's JavaScript bundle is split automatically -- visitors only download the code for the page they are on
• Prefetching: Gatsby prefetches linked pages when a link enters the viewport. Clicking a link is near-instant
• Tree shaking and minification: Webpack configuration is pre-optimised
• Lighthouse 95-100: A well-built Gatsby site routinely scores 95-100 on Lighthouse performance with no additional tuning

Gatsby vs Next.js -- when to use which

Both are React frameworks. The choice depends on your content model and rendering requirements.

Choose Gatsby when:

• Your data comes from multiple external sources (CMS + APIs + flat files)
• You want the GraphQL data layer
• The site is predominantly static content (blog, marketing, docs, portfolio)
• Build-time data fetching covers your use cases
• You need the mature Gatsby plugin ecosystem (1,000+ plugins)

Choose Next.js when:

• You need server-side rendering or incremental static regeneration
• You have user-specific, authenticated, or frequently-changing content
• Your team is already comfortable with Next.js
• You need fine-grained control over rendering strategy per route

We build both. We will tell you which is better for your specific project.

Plugin ecosystem

Gatsby has one of the largest plugin ecosystems in the static site world -- over 2,500 plugins on the Gatsby Plugin Library. Source plugins, transformer plugins, and utility plugins cover most integration requirements without custom code.

We have production experience with: gatsby-source-contentful, gatsby-source-wordpress, gatsby-source-shopify, gatsby-source-filesystem, gatsby-source-prismic, gatsby-plugin-mdx, gatsby-plugin-sharp, gatsby-plugin-image, and gatsby-plugin-sitemap.

Our Gatsby builds

Every Gatsby project we deliver includes:

• TypeScript throughout
• ESLint and Prettier configuration
• Gatsby Image for all media
• gatsby-plugin-sitemap and robots.txt
• gatsby-plugin-react-helmet for meta tags
• Deployed to Netlify or Gatsby Cloud with preview deployments
• Incremental builds configured where supported