Astro

Astro is the modern framework for content-driven websites. It ships almost no JavaScript by default, which makes sites exceptionally fast and easy to find in search engines — this very website is built with it, as are the sites we build for our clients.

Why Astro?

• Fast by default — Astro renders pages to static HTML in advance and only loads JavaScript where it’s actually needed. Visitors get near-instant page loads, even on an older phone or a slow connection.
• Built for SEO — clean HTML, fast loading and a built-in sitemap give search engines exactly what they need. Speed is a ranking factor at Google as well.
• Secure and low-maintenance — there is no CMS with plugins that go stale or get hacked. What you see is plain HTML.
• Low hosting cost — the output is static files that run on any web server or a free CDN, without a database or heavy runtime.

When should you choose Astro — and when not?

Astro is the right choice for sites where content comes first and visitors mainly read: corporate websites, practice websites, marketing pages, multilingual sites and documentation. Anything that needs to be findable and load fast.

If users need to work in the site instead — logging in, filling out forms, mutating data, roles and permissions — a real web application with Angular is the better choice. Many projects combine the two: a fast Astro website as the front, with a separate application behind the login.

What we use Astro for

We build fast, findable websites with Astro. For two healthcare practices we replaced outdated websites with statically generated sites: faster, more secure and without a vulnerable CMS. The website of Avondwinkel Nijmegen runs on Astro too.

Multilingual support is baked into the framework. This site serves Dutch and English from one codebase, including the correct hreflang references between both language versions.

Astro and findability

Because Astro produces clean HTML and pages load extremely fast, an Astro site starts with an advantage in both Google and AI search engines. We build on that deliberately with structured data, a well-considered content structure and files such as llms.txt — part of our SEO & findability in AI service.

Curious what a new website would cost? Read our article on the price of a website or get in touch.