The Major Providers
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Google Firebase
Relevant Capabilities
Auth Realtime Database Media Storage Cloud FunctionsQuick Overview
Google Firebase is very powerful while being very easy to use. For example, you can run cloud functions, but you don't even need to for most data storage and retrieval or auth. It might be expensive to scale on though.
Google Cloud Platform
Relevant Capabilities
EverythingQuick Overview
More of a major infastructure provider in vein of Amazon Web Services than a toolkit for building out an app like Firebase is.
Amazon Web Services
Relevant Capabilities
EverythingQuick Overview
Lambda, API Gateway, S3, and Cognito (auth) are probably the most relevant things to front-end developers. AppSync is a bit like Firebase. There are frameworks that help you deploy to Lambda, like Claudia and Functional Fleet.
Microsoft Azure
Relevant Capabilities
EverythingQuick Overview
A major infrastructure provider with solutions for about just everything, and generally considered the cheapest. For working with cloud functions, there is an online editor, but it also allows GitHub sync and integrates directly with VS Code. Data storage is through Cosmos DB.
StdLib
Relevant Capabilities
Cloud FunctionsQuick Overview
StdLib is based on Function as a Service ("server-less") architecture, popularized by AWS Lambda. You can use StdLib to build modular, scalable APIs for yourself and other developers in minutes without having to manage servers, gateways, domains, write documentation, or build SDKs. They also offer Code.xyz, and online code editor for working with the APIs.
Webtask
Relevant Capabilities
Cloud Functions Basic JSON data storeQuick Overview
An in-browser editor for creating and testing cloud functions. Seems like the nicest experience for this particular job. It's kinda of an elaborate demonstration of Auth0 Extend, which is essentially a way to take Webtask and put it in your own app.
Backendless
Relevant Capabilities
Realtime Database AuthQuick Overview
All-in-one kind of service similar to Firebase, including the realtime database. Has a PRO version you can host yourself, if you're, ya know, into running servers.
There is a bunch more like Kinvey, Syncano, Hoodie, Para, Stamplay, and Dadi. They are all different of course, from how Hoodie is aiming to be offline data storage, to how you'll pay for Dadi's decentralized services with it's own crypto currency.
Juan Anibal Micheli maintains Awesome Serverless, another (pretty massive) list of services and resources).
Static File Hosting
Any host can serve up static assets. These hosts specialize in it.
Netlify
Relevant Capabilities
Hosting + CDN Cloud Functions GitQuick Overview
Netlify offers essentially very fancy static file hosting. They have many bonus features like form handling and a CLI. Here's two videos on using Netlify. Part 1: Setting Up, Deploying, and Poking Around & Part 2: Forms & API, Notifications, and Configuration.
Amazon S3
Relevant Capabilities
HostingQuick Overview
S3 is normally mostly used for media files, but you can use a bucket as a website. Take a look at Up to help with deploying serverless apps to it.
Zeit
Relevant Capabilities
HostingQuick Overview
A command-line based deployment tool for any framework.
Surge
Relevant Capabilities
HostingQuick Overview
A command-line based deployment tool for any framework.
Aerobatic
Relevant Capabilities
HostingQuick Overview
Built for static sites, but extensible through "plugins" for stuff like redirects and form submissions.
Firebase Hosting
Relevant Capabilities
HostingQuick Overview
Firebase Hosting is production-grade web content hosting for developers. With Hosting, you can quickly and easily deploy web apps and static content to a global content delivery network (CDN) with a single command.
Forms
Form builder apps tend to work one of two ways. Either they host the form and you embed with an iframe, or you host the form and point the submission to them.
Wufoo
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
Secure forms. API access to data. Reporting. Logic & Branching. Integrations.
Typeform
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
Forms with a novel UI/UX where each question is essentially a full page view that slides by.
Pageclip
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
Point the `action` attribute at a pageclip URL and it saves all the data for you. It can trigger an email notification, or makes the data available as JSON or CSV.
Formcarry.
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
Point the `action` attribute at Formcarry and it'll handle the form processing for you. Notably, it has integrations with services like Zapier, Salesforce, Intercom, and Slack. It also has Webhooks to notify other services (which is nice for serverless architechtures).
Formkeep
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
Point the `action` attribute at Formkeep and it'll handle the form processing for you. Integrates with services like Zapier, MailChimp, Slack, and Trello. Notable features include spam filtering and auto responders.
Formspree
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
You point `action` attribute like many of the other services, but the hook here is that you use your own email address in the URL, so you don't even have to register.
Basin
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
Point the `action` attribute at Basin and it'll handle the form processing for you. Basin features include Zapier integration (which connects to loads of other services), spam filtering, response emails, file uploads, and more.
Formaholic
Relevant Capabilities
FormsQuick Overview
Their tagline: Send your form to our URL and we'll save it & send it to your email. No server side code required - perfect for static sites!
Payments
Processing payments is sensitive stuff, but modern providers largely abstract that difficulty away.
PayPal
Relevant Capabilities
PaymentsQuick Overview
The most relevant PayPal service is probably their Buy Now buttons, which send buyers to PayPal to check out, and then back to the website.
Braintree
Relevant Capabilities
PaymentsQuick Overview
Braintree is owned by PayPal, so it is the one other payment service that can take PayPal. The appeal of Braintree is that it makes taking multiple forms of payments (e.g. credit cards and PayPal and Apple Pay, for example) much easier, and through just one set of APIs.
Media Storage
Honestly these services are pretty useful whether your website is using Serverless tech or not, but particularly useful when it is.
Cloudinary
Relevant Capabilities
Images VideoQuick Overview
Cloudinary does fancy image/video stuff like manipulation and optimization, but will also directly host for you, making it a good Serverless fit.
Filestack
Relevant Capabilities
File storageQuick Overview
Offers an all-JavaScript file picker that integrates with other serices. The host the uploaded files.
Kloudless
Relevant Capabilities
File storageQuick Overview
Integrates multiple file storage solutions with one API.
Uploadcare
Relevant Capabilities
File storageQuick Overview
Full featured file uploader and file storage.
Email / SMS / Notifications
Twilio
Relevant Capabilities
SMS Voice Push Notificaitons WebRTCQuick Overview
Twilio offers powerful APIs for text messaging, voice, and video.
Sendgrid
Relevant Capabilities
EmailQuick Overview
Email sending service. Has an email builder tool as well.
OneSignal
Relevant Capabilities
Push NotificationsQuick Overview
For sending Android, iOS, and Web push notifications.
PopcornNotify
Relevant Capabilities
SMS EmailQuick Overview
Email and text messages with one JavaScript API.
CMS's
You'd probably refer to these as "Managed Headless CMSs" in that they abstract both auth and database and UI for managing content away into a service and you access the content via API.
Contentful
Relevant Capabilities
CMSQuick Overview
A UI (and API) for managing/creating content, and APIs/SDKs for getting it out.
Butter CMS
Relevant Capabilities
CMSQuick Overview
A UI (and API) for managing/creating content, and APIs/SDKs for getting it out.
Prismic
Relevant Capabilities
CMSQuick Overview
A UI (and API) for managing/creating content, and APIs/SDKs for getting it out.
Netlify CMS
Relevant Capabilities
Hosting + CDN CMSQuick Overview
This is a React SPA that works with any static site generator.
DatoCMS
Relevant Capabilities
CMSQuick Overview
Hosted CMS that outputs all your data as a JSON API.
Shifter
Relevant Capabilities
WordPress CMSQuick Overview
WordPress sites automatically have a Rest API. But you still need to host the site somewhere and serverless isn't really gonna happen. Except... Shifter is the WordPress hosting solution that combines static site generation and serverless architecture with the world’s most popular CMS.
Sanity
Relevant Capabilities
CMSQuick Overview
Edit collaboratively, distribute over APIs and freely decide later how and where your content will be used.
Static Site Generators
There are lots of these out there too, like Hugo and Jekyll. They pair nicely with static hosting. For example, Netlify can run your build commands for these static site as you commit to a Git Repo, or Forestry can add a UI (while still being Git-backed) on top of them. Other static site generators: 11ty, Metalsmith, Gatsby.
Data Storage
This is covered by all the major providers, but sometimes you need something simpler. Webtask gives you a small JSON store. Airtable and Fieldbook are a wonderful spreadsheet/data apps with good JavaScript APIs. Even Google Spreadsheets has APIs, but can be improved with tools like Tabletop.js.
Search
Algolia
Relevant Capabilities
SearchQuick Overview
Put all your searchable data in Algolia, and you and query and get results through APIs incredibly fast.
Google Custom Search Engine
Relevant Capabilities
SearchQuick Overview
You create mini search engines that are scoped by URL and can then embed them onto your own site.
Real Time
WebSockets are the name of the game, but there are services to help. Imagine things like building your own chat or your own dashboards that update to new data without needing to be refreshed.
Google Firebase
Relevant Capabilities
Auth Realtime Database Media Storage Cloud FunctionsQuick Overview
The realtime database is very fast and ready to be used for realtime features. Check out projects like Firepad which use Firebase to make code editors realtime.
Auth
OAuth is the name of the game, but there are services to help. For sites that have users or adminstrators that need to log in to do things.
Auth0
Relevant Capabilities
AuthQuick Overview
Handles your own site's auth system or integrates with loads of other services.
Google Firebase
Relevant Capabilities
Auth Realtime Database Media Storage Cloud FunctionsQuick Overview
Handles auth entirely client-side with no cloud functions or anything required.
Netlify Identity
Relevant Capabilities
Auth HostingQuick Overview
Netlify Identity service brings a full suite of authentication functionality, backed by the GoTrue API.
Monitoring
When you run a server, there are a variety of services out there in which you can install software on to monitor it. When you're working serverless land, you may need/want a service that can work without you installing things onto a server.
Dashbird
Relevant Capabilities
MonitoringQuick Overview
Their tagline: AWS Lambda monitoring, alerting and debugging made easy. 2-min setup, no code changes!
IOpipe
Relevant Capabilities
MonitoringQuick Overview
IOpipe is a tool and service that helps you instrument and monitor your functions in dev and production. Free tier available for smaller projects.
Thundra
Relevant Capabilities
MonitoringQuick Overview
Their tagline: Full observability for AWS Lambda. Instrument and profile your functions with zero overhead. Gain visiblity to identify and resolve issues faster.