Introduction

When the term Jamstack was introduced around 2016, it promised a simpler, more performant, more secure way to build websites. The original model was:

• JavaScript
• APIs
• Markup

A static-first architecture powered by:

• CDNs
• serverless functions
• pre-rendered pages

This approach was revolutionary.
But the web has changed dramatically.

Modern applications require:

• server-side rendering
• dynamic personalization
• authenticated dashboards
• streaming content
• real-time collaboration
• AI-powered interactions
• distributed databases
• edge compute

The original Jamstack was simply not designed for these needs.

Introduction

The web is becoming global by default.
Users expect pages to load instantly—regardless of where they are. But traditional server architectures are built around central regions:

• A single server (or cluster) in Virginia
• A CDN to cache static assets
• A backend thousands of kilometers away

This model can’t match the expectations of 2025:

• interactive pages must render quickly
• authenticated content must not be slow
• dashboards must maintain consistent latency
• APIs must remain responsive worldwide

Edge computing solves this.

Cloudflare offers a suite of distributed storage products that extend its serverless platform far beyond simple compute. KV, R2, and D1 each serve a different purpose — from configuration and caching to object storage and relational data.

This guide provides a calm, structured look at Cloudflare’s storage ecosystem and explains how to use each service with Workers and Pages Functions. The goal is clarity, not complexity.

1. The Philosophy of Cloudflare Edge Storage

Cloudflare’s storage model follows a simple idea:

Cloudflare Workers allow developers to run JavaScript and TypeScript directly at the edge — close to users and without maintaining servers. Pages Functions provide the same compute model inside Cloudflare Pages projects, giving static sites like Hugo access to dynamic capabilities such as authentication, APIs, routing logic, and integrations.

This tutorial offers a calm, practical introduction to Workers and Functions with examples that fit naturally into Hugo and JAMstack projects. No prior serverless experience is required.