Why do we use Astro?

’Astro.js’ has transformed our approach to web development, providing significant performance improvements and flexibility for creating client websites. We decided to make full use of Astro.js to build fast, SEO-friendly websites that outperform traditional JavaScript frameworks. With the latest Astro 5.4 release introducing remote image optimization, enhanced security, and new features, we’re confident in our choice of technology. We’ve used various web frameworks over the years, from WordPress to React with Next.js. But since we switched to Astro.js as our main framework for content-heavy sites, we’ve seen huge improvements in development efficiency and performance.

Astro.js - A modern web framework

Astro.js is a cutting-edge framework optimized for static site generation and supports server-side rendering. Unlike traditional frameworks that require client-side interactivity for every page, Astro prioritizes delivering content quickly and efficiently. This is important for our clients, who often need high-performance, content-rich websites.

Unique features of Astro.js

A defining feature of Astro.js is its "zero JavaScript by default" philosophy. Most frameworks send large amounts of JavaScript to the browser, but Astro serves pure HTML and CSS unless otherwise specified. This leads to faster page loads and better core web vitals. For many clients, this means every millisecond of loading time can affect customer retention and engagement.

Astro's component-agnostic nature allows the use of multiple UI frameworks, such as React, Vue, or Svelte, within the same project. This flexibility helps development teams maintain existing skills while transitioning to new technologies.

Astro.js evolution to version 5.4

Since we started using Astro, it has rapidly evolved, with the current version 5.4 introducing significant enhancements like remote image optimization and improved security for development environments. These features have simplified our processes, particularly in content management. Each release has brought meaningful upgrades that tackle real-world challenges we face at Lucky Media, reinforcing our confidence in Astro as a long-term tech partner.

Performance benefits for our clients

Astro-built websites offer significant speed advantages, which Google rewards in search rankings. Our sites typically achieve Lighthouse performance metrics in the 90s without the optimizations needed for JavaScript-heavy alternatives. By eliminating unnecessary JavaScript, we've seen initial page load times decrease by up to 65% compared to equivalent Next.js implementations. This translates to lower bounce rates and higher conversion rates. For example, one e-commerce client experienced a 23% increase in conversion after switching to an Astro-based site.

Astro also offers SEO benefits, as it generates static HTML, allowing search engines to crawl and index content more efficiently. This has proven crucial for clients who rely on organic search traffic.

Astro.js vs. Next.js

Before adopting Astro, we mainly used Next.js. While Next.js is still great for some apps, we found that Astro's setup is better for content-heavy projects, which make up about 70% of what we do. Astro uses a server-first model with traditional page loads, eliminating unnecessary client-side JavaScript without sacrificing user experience. We've written a detailed comparison of Astro vs Next to analyze their differences. If you're interested for more you can read about the comparison of Astro vs Nuxt and a comparison of Astro vs Jekyll.

Implementation and best practices

Our development process with Astro is structured for efficiency. We focus on component-driven architecture, clear file organization, and reusable components to optimize performance. Beyond just speed, Astro offers big SEO benefits that boost our clients' search visibility. Since Astro generates static HTML by default, search engines can easily crawl and index content without running JavaScript. This means faster indexing, more accurate rendering, and better search rankings.

File organization strategy

Our typical Astro project structure organizes files into logical groups:

This setup provides clear boundaries while keeping the intuitive file-based routing that makes Astro so developer-friendly.

Component design philosophy

One of Astro's strengths is its compatibility with design systems and component libraries. We've successfully integrated Tailwind CSS (including the latest Tailwind 4 support in Astro 5.2) and our own custom design system into our Astro workflow. This combo lets our designers and developers collaborate efficiently while maintaining consistency across projects.

Ideal use cases for Astro

Content-rich websites and blogs

Content-focused sites are perfect for Astro.js. For blogs, news sites, and documentation, Astro's built-in support for Markdown and MDX, along with its performance optimizations, is unbeatable. One media client saw their average time on page jump by 35% after switching to Astro, thanks to the better loading and reading experience.

E-commerce storefronts

For e-commerce clients, Astro's approach is great for product listing and category pages where content doesn't change often. By statically generating these pages while using islands of interactivity for shopping carts, we create shopping experiences that load instantly but still offer all the expected e-commerce features. This hybrid approach is especially effective for boosting conversions.

Interactive maps

We recently used Islands Architecture for a tourism site. The homepage had an interactive map needing React's capabilities, along with mostly static content about destinations. With Astro, we only loaded React for the map, keeping the rest of the page JavaScript-free. The result was a page that loaded in under 1 second while still offering rich interactivity where it mattered most.

Corporate and marketing sites

Corporate sites and marketing landing pages get a lot from Astro's performance benefits. These sites focus on conversion and info delivery, making Astro's content-first approach ideal. For one enterprise client, we cut page load time from 4.6 seconds to 1.2 seconds while keeping all functionality, leading to a 42% increase in lead form submissions.

When we don't use Astro.js

Even though we love Astro, we know it's not the best fit for every project. For highly interactive apps where almost every component needs JavaScript-like dashboards, admin interfaces, or real-time collaborative tools, we still recommend Next.js or similar frameworks designed for those cases. We believe in using the right tool for the job, and our tech selection process always starts with the client's needs rather than our preferences.

Conclusion

Astro's innovative approach to JavaScript delivery and continuous updates make it a top choice for modern web projects. Though it may not be suitable for every scenario, Astro remains our preferred solution for most client projects. As proud Gold Sponsors, we are committed to supporting the development of Astro as an open-source solution, contributing to a strong community that drives web innovation forward.

This article is part of the "Which technologies do we use and why?" series where we explain the technologies that we use daily.

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