Unlock the Power of Gridsome: A Comprehensive Guide

What is Gridsome?

Gridsome is a free and open-source Vue-powered static site generator (SSG) that allows you to build fast, modern websites and apps. It uses GraphQL to fetch data from different sources, dynamically generates pages, and provides automatic routing, code-splitting, and asset optimization.

Getting Started with Gridsome

To get started with Gridsome, you’ll need to make sure you have:

• Node v8.3+
• npm or Yarn
• A basic understanding of how to use the Terminal
• Knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Vue.js (knowing how GraphQL works is a plus)

Installing Gridsome

To install Gridsome, simply run the following command in your Terminal:

yarn global add @gridsome/cli

Or, if you prefer npm:

npm install --global @gridsome/cli

Creating a Gridsome Project

Once you’ve installed Gridsome, you can create a new project by running:

gridsome create my-gridsome-site

This will create a new project directory with the basic file structure.

Directory Structure

A basic Gridsome project consists of five major files and folders:

• package.json: stores dependencies for the project
• gridsome.config.js: serves as a configuration file for the Gridsome site
• gridsome.server.js: optional file used to hook into various parts of the Gridsome server
• /static: files in this directory will be copied directly to dist during build
• /src: contains most of the code, including main.js, layouts, pages, and templates

Working with Layouts

Layouts are used to wrap pages and can be made global or imported into specific pages. To make a layout global, simply import it in src/main.js and make it global inside the export function.

Gridsome Plugins

Gridsome has a thriving ecosystem of plugins that enable additional functionalities. You can install plugins using npm or Yarn, and then configure them to your project’s needs.

Building a Blog with Markdown

To build a blog with Markdown, you’ll need to:

1. Create a Gridsome project
2. Install the @gridsome/source-filesystem and @gridsome/transformer-remark plugins
3. Configure them in gridsome.config.js
4. Create Markdown files in the blog folder, which will be transformed into content that can be fetched with GraphQL

Querying Data with GraphQL

Gridsome allows you to query data from the GraphQL data layer into any page, template, or component. You can use <page-query> or <static-query> blocks to add queries to your pages and templates.

Deploying Your Site

Gridsome sites can be deployed to:

• A CDN like Netlify, AWS Amplify, or Vercel
• A traditional hosting via FTP

To deploy to Netlify, simply push your code to GitHub, visit your Netlify dashboard, and select the repository to deploy.