Parse + Sendgrid == Contact forms for static sites
Having started the process of migrating to predominantly static websites, the one very obvious issue is that there's no easy way of adding a contact form…
I've been using Parse.com a fair bit recently for iOS work, and recently for an iOS/Android/web project.
One of the recent additions to Parse is the cloud code system which allows you to run code on their servers, included in that are a number of modules for interacting with other web services.
By defining a very simple function and uploading it the Parse Cloud, we can do server-side validation of form elements and then send an email using Sendgrid.
Then a super simple javascript application on the client side, embedded in a page of a website and we've got ourselves a contact form!
If we decide down the line to extend it to do push notifications, call or SMS with Twilio, etc, this is all just a matter of adding a few more lines to our CloudCode.