Astro for content-first sites.
Zero JavaScript by default. When a site is primarily content and the performance budget is strict, Astro delivers the leanest possible output.
astro.build ↗Astro is our choice for content-heavy sites where performance is the primary metric. Documentation sites, blogs, portfolios, and marketing pages that don't need client-side interactivity ship with zero JavaScript by default. When a component does need interactivity, Astro's island architecture hydrates only that component; the rest of the page stays static HTML. We use Astro with MDX for content authoring, Tailwind for styling, and deploy on Vercel for the same CI/CD workflow we use everywhere else.
Astro ships less JavaScript than any other framework. For content sites where the goal is fast page loads and strong SEO, that matters. A blog post doesn't need a React runtime. A documentation page doesn't need client-side routing. Astro gives us the component-driven development experience we want with the minimal output the project needs. The island architecture means we can still use React or Svelte components where interactivity is required; we just don't pay the cost for the entire page.
Astro development for content-first sites
Content-first sites are exactly what Astro was built for, and it is where most of our Astro development work lands: documentation, blogs, marketing sites, and portfolios whose job is to load fast and rank well. Astro ships zero JavaScript by default, so a page that is mostly text and images arrives as clean HTML with none of the runtime weight a framework normally drags along. As an Astro web design agency we treat that constraint as a feature: every interactive element has to earn its JavaScript, which keeps pages lean and Core Web Vitals green without a separate performance pass at the end. We author content in MDX with typed frontmatter, compose the design in reusable components, and still reach for React or Svelte on the rare island that genuinely needs to be interactive. The result is a site that looks bespoke and measures like a static page.
When we choose Astro over Next.js
Astro and Next.js solve overlapping problems, and choosing between them comes down to how much of the site is genuinely interactive. We reach for Astro when the site is content-first: a marketing site, blog, or docs where most pages are static and the interactive bits are isolated. Astro island architecture hydrates only those pieces, so the rest ships as plain HTML and the JavaScript budget stays near zero. We choose Next.js instead when the product is an application: authenticated dashboards, real-time data, complex client-side state, and server logic that lives next to the UI. The dividing line is the ratio of static content to app behavior. A brochure site with a contact form is Astro; a SaaS platform with a logged-in experience is Next.js. Because both deploy the same way on Vercel and share our component conventions, moving between them on a roadmap is straightforward rather than a rewrite.
How we build with Astro
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Model content
We define content collections in MDX with typed frontmatter, so every post and page has a validated shape. Authors get structure and autocomplete, and a missing or malformed field fails the build instead of shipping broken.
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Compose islands
We build the page as static components by default and mark only the genuinely interactive pieces as islands. Astro hydrates those and nothing else, so a page carries the minimum JavaScript its interactions actually require.
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Style
We style with Tailwind and scoped component styles, shipping only the CSS a page uses and no unused runtime. The design stays consistent with the rest of a client stack while the output stays lean.
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Deploy
We deploy through the Astro Vercel adapter on the same CI/CD pipeline as everything else we build. Every push gets a preview URL, so content and design changes are reviewed live before they reach production.
Content & Documentation Sites
Static sites with MDX content, automatic table of contents, and search. Shipping zero client-side JavaScript.
Marketing Landing Pages
High-performance landing pages where every millisecond of load time affects conversion rates.
Portfolio & Showcase Sites
Visual portfolio sites with island-hydrated image galleries and lightboxes on otherwise static pages.
Systems we pair Astro with
TypeScript
Astro is TypeScript-native, and we type content collections end to end. Frontmatter has a validated schema, so a renamed or missing field surfaces as a build error rather than a broken page in production.
Vercel
Astro sites deploy through the Vercel adapter on the same pipeline as the rest of our stack. Preview deployments and edge delivery come standard, so content sites ship and scale with zero extra infrastructure work.
Sanity
For content-first sites that still need non-technical editing, we pair Astro with Sanity. Editors manage structured content in the Studio while Astro renders it as static HTML, keeping the page fast and the workflow friendly.
Cloudflare
We put Astro sites behind Cloudflare for DNS, edge caching, and DDoS protection. Static output caches aggressively at the edge, so pages are served from a nearby node and the origin barely gets touched.
