2023-10-15 –, Tutorial Track B
Fully static sites have clear benefits – and limitations. Rather than going fully static, let’s use Next.js in combination with a Django/Wagtail API backend, so we make the most of both platforms.
In the JavaScript world, a new breed of frameworks are reinventing how websites are built and hosted. With Next.js, you can create sites that are both static and dynamic across different routes, rendered client-side and server-side, all with one framework.
You don’t have to switch over fully to JavaScript to benefit from those innovations. In this workshop, we’ll combine Next.js with Wagtail, a tried-and-tested CMS based on Django. We’ll get the best of both worlds: the delight of Python in the backend for business logic, and the advanced dynamic UIs powered by React.
In this workshop, we will cover:
- Initial project setup for Next.js and Wagtail
- Connecting Next.js to the backend via a GraphQL API
- Implementing common website requirements in this architecture
- Deployment!
Aside from an initial introduction, all steps of the workshop will be hands-on. We expect attendees to come with Node and Python installed on their system, and to already have some experience with Django and JavaScript. No pre-existing knowledge is required for Next.js, React, Wagtail, GraphQL.
Meagen Voss began her journey into content management nerdery with a WordPress website in the early 2000s and is now a Wagtail Community Manager and Editor of Wagtail.org at Torchbox. When she’s not coding or writing, you can find her hiking in the mountains of North Carolina.