BeerJS gets a new website

Considering that BeerJS has been around for a while, it’s about time we got a website. To date, the number one question I get whenever I mention BeerJS is: “Does BeerJS have a website?”

Well, now we do! 🎉

Why a new website?

While GitHub may be a good place to organize a meetup, websites are more discoverable and feel more user-friendly to most. If we are to grow the community, we need to make it easier for people to find us.

I feel the idea behind BeerJS deserves much more attention than it currently gets. It’s cool that every BeerJS branch does its own thing, but it can be confusing to newcomers. I hope this website will help people understand what BeerJS is and how they can get involved. On top of that, I hope that it will help people start new BeerJS branches in their cities.

Since BeerJS is as good as its community, I invite every BeerJS organizer to contribute to the website. Branch news, events, and blog posts relevant to BeerJS are welcome. If you’d like to contribute, please submit a PR on the website repo.

Features

Besides being an “info board” for all things BeerJS, the website also has some cool features:

Branch Locator - A simple search that will help you find a BeerJS branch nearby.
Starter Kit - A guide on how to start a BeerJS branch in your city. It aims to be a one-stop shop for everything you need to know to get started.

What’s next?

I’m glad you asked! Here are some of the things I’d like to see on the website in the future:

An improved branch locator that will allow for more sophisticated searches.
An interactive map showing all BeerJS branches so that people can easily find the one closest to them.
Your idea? PRs are welcome!

Stack

The website is built with Astro, with Tailwind, some SolidJS and a bit of Shoelace thrown into the mix. It’s hosted on CloudFlare Pages. You can find the source code on GitHub. PRs are welcome, as well as ideas for new features and improvements.

Credits

Ivana Rangelova Nikolova - for the amazing website design.
Darko Bozhinovski - yours truly, development.