10 Real-World Serverless Projects You Can Build Today
Serverless computing transforms how developers build and deploy applications. By eliminating infrastructure management, serverless projects accelerate development while reducing costs. In this guide, we explore practical serverless applications you can implement immediately using platforms like AWS Lambda, Azure Functions, and Google Cloud Functions.
Why Build Serverless Projects?
Serverless architectures offer automatic scaling, pay-per-execution pricing, and reduced operational overhead. These benefits make them ideal for:
- Event-driven applications
- Microservices implementations
- Rapid prototyping
- Batch processing workloads
- API backends
According to industry reports, organizations using serverless reduce infrastructure costs by 70% on average while accelerating deployment cycles.
Practical Serverless Project Ideas
1. Automated Image Processing Pipeline
S3 Triggers
Sharp.js
Problem: Need to automatically resize, watermark, and optimize user-uploaded images.
Solution: Create an S3 bucket that triggers Lambda functions on new uploads. Functions process images using Sharp.js library:
- Generate thumbnails
- Apply watermarks
- Convert formats
- Extract metadata
Learn more: Building Serverless File Processing Systems
2. Serverless REST API Backend
DynamoDB
JWT Auth
Problem: Building scalable APIs without managing servers.
Solution: Use API Gateway as entry point with Lambda functions:
- Each endpoint triggers separate function
- Stateless functions connect to DynamoDB
- Authentication via JWT tokens
- Auto-scaling under load
Implementation Tip: Use AWS SAM for infrastructure-as-code deployment.
3. Scheduled Social Media Automation
Twitter API
MongoDB Atlas
Problem: Automating social posts without dedicated servers.
Solution: Event-driven workflow:
- CloudWatch triggers function on schedule
- Lambda fetches content from database
- Posts to social platforms via APIs
- Logs results in CloudWatch
Cost: Runs for pennies/month vs $10+/month for traditional VPS.
4. Real-Time Data Processing
Lambda
Redshift
Problem: Processing high-velocity IoT data streams.
Solution: Serverless stream processing:
- Kinesis collects device data
- Lambda processes records in batches
- Results stored in Redshift/S3
- Real-time dashboards via WebSockets
Scaling: Automatically handles 100 to 100,000+ events/sec.
5. AI-Powered Chatbot
Lambda
Serverless-GPU
Problem: Building intelligent chatbots without maintaining AI infrastructure.
Solution: Hybrid serverless approach:
- NLU processing via managed services
- Custom logic in Lambda functions
- GPU-accelerated inference using serverless GPU providers
- Integration with Slack/Teams
Benefit: Only pay for actual conversation time.
6. Serverless Webhook Handler
SQS
DynamoDB
Problem: Reliably processing third-party webhooks.
Solution: Decoupled architecture:
- API Gateway receives webhooks
- Lambda validates and queues in SQS
- Separate functions process queue
- Idempotency handling for duplicates
Reliability: Survives downstream failures with retries.
Architecture Best Practices
When building serverless projects, follow these proven patterns:
Decoupled Components
Use queues (SQS) or streams (Kinesis) between functions to:
- Prevent cascading failures
- Enable independent scaling
- Simplify error handling
Stateless Design
Store session state in external services:
- Redis (ElastiCache)
- DynamoDB sessions
- JWT tokens
Cold Start Mitigation
Reduce latency spikes:
- Keep functions under 50MB
- Use provisioned concurrency
- Choose runtimes wisely (Node.js/Python fastest)
Implementation Guide: Building a Serverless Contact Form
Let’s walk through building a production-ready contact form:
Architecture
- Static website hosted on serverless hosting
- API Gateway endpoint
- Lambda form processor
- Spam check via Akismet API
- Store submissions in DynamoDB
- Notify via SNS email
Key Components
// Lambda handler pseudocode
exports.handler = async (event) => {
const formData = JSON.parse(event.body);
// Validate input
if (!validateEmail(formData.email)) return { statusCode: 400 };
// Check spam
const isSpam = await akismet.checkSpam(formData);
if (isSpam) return { statusCode: 200 }; // Silent fail
// Save to database
await dynamodb.putItem({
TableName: 'Submissions',
Item: { ... }
});
// Send notification
await sns.publish({
TopicArn: 'arn:aws:sns:...',
Message: `New contact from ${formData.name}`
});
return { statusCode: 200 };
};
Start Building Today
Serverless projects offer unprecedented agility for developers. By focusing on business logic rather than infrastructure, you can:
- Reduce time-to-market by 60-80%
- Lower operational costs by 70%+
- Eliminate server maintenance tasks
- Scale automatically with usage
Explore more advanced patterns in our Event-Driven Architecture Guide or learn about GPU-accelerated serverless computing.