Note: This article was originally published on November 12, 2018. Some information may be outdated.

Serverless is a way to run backend code without managing servers. Instead of maintaining a backend service, you write small functions that are deployed to the cloud and run on demand.

This approach works great for front-end developers who need to:

• Send form data
• Store emails
• Call third-party APIs
• Run small tasks

What Is Serverless?

You write a function and deploy it to a provider like:

• AWS Lambda
• Netlify Functions
• Vercel Functions

The function runs only when it’s called. You pay only for usage. There’s no always-on server.

Example: Form Submission with AWS Lambda

Let’s say we want to send a contact form.

1. The Lambda Function

Save this insubmitForm.js:

exports.handler=async(event)=>{const{name,email,message}=JSON.parse(event.body);// Do something with the data (e.g., send email, store in DB)console.log(name,email,message);return{statusCode:200,body:JSON.stringify({success:true}),};};

2. Deploy with AWS CLI

zipfunction.zip submitForm.jsaws lambda create-function--function-name submitForm--zip-file fileb://function.zip--handler submitForm.handler--runtime nodejs12.x--role YOUR_IAM_ROLE_ARN

3. Call from Front-End

fetch('https://your-api-endpoint/submitForm',{method:'POST',body:JSON.stringify({name:'Luiz',email:'luiz@example.com',message:'Hello!',}),}).then(res=>res.json()).then(data=>console.log(data));

Benefits of Serverless for Front-End Devs

• Easy to add backend logic without full server setup
• Scales automatically
• Cheap for low-traffic or personal projects
• Works well with static sites and JAMstack

Serverless lets you stay in the frontend but still build powerful full-stack features. It’s a practical way to extend what your app can do with minimal setup.