Staff Augmentation
Add React and Gatsby engineers to your own team to shorten build times, fix preview, or replace aging plugins.
What is Gatsby, and how does it turn content into a site?
What is Gatsby? It's an open source framework built on React that generates a website ahead of time. At build time it pulls content from a headless CMS, Markdown files, or APIs into a GraphQL data layer. Then it runs that data through React page templates and writes out static HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
In one line, it's a static site generator that acts like a React app once the page loads. Visitors get prebuilt HTML first, which loads quickly. Then the page hydrates, and later clicks feel instant because linked pages are prefetched.
Every Gatsby JS project takes the same path from content to page. Most delivery problems trace back to one of its steps.
The build pipeline in four steps
- Source plugins fetch content. Each plugin connects to a CMS, a folder of files, or an API and adds the content to the data layer.
- Pages query what they need. Templates use GraphQL to ask for only the fields they render.
- The build writes static files. Every page becomes HTML plus the JavaScript needed to hydrate it.
- The browser hydrates the page. React attaches to the HTML so links and forms start working, and nearby pages are prefetched.
When a build breaks, the error usually points at one of these steps. Most often it's a source plugin that got data in a shape it didn't expect.
Is Gatsby just a React app with extra steps?
Not quite. A plain React app usually renders in the browser, so the first response is a nearly empty HTML page that fills in once JavaScript loads. Gatsby renders every page at build time. Visitors and crawlers get finished HTML first, and React takes over after that.
The data layer is the bigger difference. Gatsby pulls all content into a GraphQL layer during the build, and page templates query it. A plain React app fetches data at run time from whatever API it likes. Gatsby's way makes pages fast and predictable, but it ties publishing to the build and adds one more concept to learn.
Because the components are ordinary React, teams with React JS development services experience can usually read a Gatsby codebase fast. The learning curve sits in the data layer, the plugin config, and the build itself.
Is Gatsby still a good default for every content site?
No, and that's a belief worth updating. Gatsby fits sites whose content changes on an editorial schedule, not every minute. Think marketing sites, docs, and blogs. It struggles when a site has a huge number of pages that change often, or when most pages depend on the signed in user.
History matters too. Gatsby was backed by a company of the same name that Netlify later acquired, and core development has been much quieter since. It's still a usable Gatsby static site generator, but it's no longer the obvious default it once seemed.
Fit depends on content volume and how often editors publish. Here's how the site types we see most in audits and rebuilds tend to compare.
How different site types tend to work out
- Marketing sites usually work well. Page counts are modest, content changes a few times a week, and prebuilt pages load fast from a CDN.
- Documentation sites work well with care. Markdown sourcing is a strength, but search, versioned navigation, and very large page sets need planning.
- Large catalogs often struggle. Rebuilding thousands of product pages for every price change is slow, so teams lean on deferred or server rendering, which needs hosting that supports it.
- News sites with constant updates struggle most. Editors expect a story to appear within moments, and a full build gets in the way.
- Logged in dashboards are a poor fit. The static layer adds little when every view depends on the user, so a client rendered app or a server rendered framework is simpler.
Search visibility was another reason teams picked Gatsby. Prebuilt HTML is easy for crawlers to read. Titles, structured data, internal links, and page speed still need work, and that's where search engine optimization services come in.
Is upgrading an old Gatsby site just a version bump?
Rarely. Custom workarounds break first. Sites built during Gatsby's peak often carry code written around old plugin limits, and that code leans on internals that later releases changed. Find it before you estimate, because it won't show up in the plugin list.
Plugins cause the second wave of trouble. A major Gatsby upgrade often needs matching plugin releases, and one unmaintained plugin can block the whole thing. The usual fixes are to replace it, fork it, or rewrite the small part the site really uses.
The build setup shifts as well. Newer releases expect a newer Node.js runtime, and image handling has moved to newer plugins over time, so image heavy templates may need rework. Run the upgrade on a branch with a full build and a visual check of key templates before anyone commits to a date.
Do Gatsby builds stay fast as a site grows?
They usually don't, and that's the biggest lesson. Build time becomes the main limit as a site grows. A Gatsby JS site that builds in a few minutes at launch can take far longer once editors add years of content and images. Every published change waits for that build.
Plugins are the second lesson. Much of what makes Gatsby productive comes from community plugins, and some now see few updates. Before we inherit or start a project, we list every plugin, check when it was last maintained, and note which ones would block an upgrade.
Notes on build times
Image processing is usually the slowest part of a large build. Moving image work to a CDN or image service, instead of generating every size during the build, often cuts the load sharply.
Caching between builds helps, but only when the build environment keeps the cache folders. Some hosting setups throw the cache away on every deploy, which quietly turns each build into a full rebuild.
Check how many pages each template creates. One template that makes pages for every tag, author, and date archive can multiply the page count without adding much for readers.
Notes on editor preview
Editors want to see a draft before they publish. With a static build, preview needs its own setup, usually a separate preview environment that reads draft content from the CMS. Plan it early, because editors judge the whole platform by how fast preview shows their changes.
Content can also come from enterprise platforms. Teams using AEM development services sometimes pull content from AEM through its headless APIs. Authoring stays in AEM, while Gatsby handles the front end.
Why static doesn't automatically mean fast
The usual line is that a static site is fast and secure by default, so performance takes care of itself. Half of that holds. Static hosting removes a server rendering step and shrinks the attack surface, since no app server sits on the request path.
Speed is another story. A Gatsby page still ships React and hydrates on load, and a heavy bundle can delay the moment a visitor can tap a button. We check how much JavaScript each template sends, remove unused plugins, and rein in third party scripts before calling a static site fast.
Security has fine print too. Forms, search, and comments still call outside services, and those need the same review as any back end. Keep build time API keys as secrets in CI, never in the repo. Keep dependencies current, since the bundle still runs in every visitor's browser.
Should you start on Gatsby, keep it, or move on?
There's no blanket answer, despite strong opinions online. Keep a working Gatsby site if its builds are fast enough, its plugins are maintained, and editors are happy with preview. Start a new project on Gatsby only after you've checked recent project activity and confirmed that your content model and page count suit a static build.
Move away when build times block publishing, a plugin you rely on has stopped getting updates, or new features need server rendering on most pages. Next.js and Astro are common destinations, and React components often carry over with modest changes.
How Pattem Digital approaches Gatsby work
The question clients bring has changed. They now ask whether their Gatsby site has a future. We answer with the assessment below, measured on their own content and hosting, not with a general opinion about frameworks.
Our software product development services team then handles the work that follows. That might mean tuning an existing gatsbyjs codebase, rebuilding image handling, or moving templates one at a time to another framework.
When migration is the answer, we move shared components and data fetching first. Then we switch templates in order of traffic, keeping URLs and redirects stable for search engines.
How does the Build Clock Assessment decide whether to stay on Gatsby?
Few teams still need an answer to what is Gatsby. They need to know if it still fits. We use a short check called the Build Clock Assessment when a client asks whether to keep, start, or leave Gatsby. Each stage gives a yes or no answer, so the decision lands before anyone rewrites code.
- Time the build. Measure a full build and a typical content change. If editors wait longer than they will accept, note it.
- Audit every plugin. List each plugin, its last maintenance activity, and what breaks without it.
- Map rendering needs. Count pages that can be static, pages that change often, and pages that depend on the signed in user.
- Test editor preview. Have an editor change a page and time how long until the preview shows it.
- Price the alternatives. Estimate the effort to stay and improve, or to move components to another framework, including testing and redirects.
If most answers favor staying, we tune the build, replace unmaintained plugins, and set up reliable preview. If they favor moving, we plan a page by page migration so the site never goes dark.
We share the raw numbers with your team, not just a verdict. Engineers and content leads can then challenge the result.
Hire Gatsby JS Developers
Work with React engineers who have built, tuned, and migrated Gatsby sites. We measure your build, audit plugins, fix editor preview, and tell you plainly whether to stay on Gatsby or move on.
Build Operate Transfer
We build and run a front end team for your Gatsby or React sites, then transfer its people and code to you.
Offshore Development Center
A dedicated offshore team maintains your Gatsby sites, plugins, and content integrations to your standards.
Product Outsource Development
We design, build, and launch a complete static or hybrid website around your content model and speed goals.
Managed Services
We watch builds, update dependencies, and fix plugin issues so your Gatsby site keeps publishing reliably.
Global Capability Centre
Grow a front end practice in your global capability center, with shared React and web performance standards.
Capabilities of Our Gatsby JS Team
Build profiling and image pipeline tuning
Plugin audits and swaps for unmaintained plugins
Headless CMS sourcing and editor preview setup
Page by page moves from Gatsby to other frameworks
Gatsby developers who measure builds and plugins first, then tune your site or plan a clean move.
Does Your Gatsby Site Still Have a Future?
Ask us for a Build Clock Assessment and get a clear answer on whether to tune your Gatsby site, keep it as is, or plan a move.
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