When we rebuilt the HRIM Technologies website, the framework choice came down to Next.js and Astro. Both are excellent. We chose Astro because our site is content-first, and Astro is built for exactly that.
Zero JavaScript by default
Astro ships zero client-side JavaScript unless you explicitly add it. Every page is static HTML and CSS. Interactive components - the contact form, the industry switcher, the ROI calculator - use Astro islands: isolated JavaScript that loads only where needed.
The result is a site that scores 95+ on Lighthouse performance without any optimization effort. The architecture is the optimization.
Content collections for the journal
Our journal articles live in a JSON data file today, with a path to move to Astro Content Collections when we need individual article pages with full markdown content. The migration path is clean because Astro was designed for this evolution.
Component model that makes sense
Astro components use a familiar HTML-first syntax with scoped styles and frontmatter for data. There is no virtual DOM, no hydration complexity, and no client-side routing overhead. For a marketing site, this simplicity is a feature.
Deployment on Cloudflare Pages
Astro generates a static `dist/` directory that deploys anywhere. We use Cloudflare Pages for global CDN distribution, automatic HTTPS, and serverless functions for the contact form. The build takes under a second for 14 pages.
When not to choose Astro
If your site is a web application with heavy client-side interactivity - dashboards, real-time collaboration, complex state management - use Next.js or a SPA framework. Astro is for content sites that need islands of interactivity, not applications that happen to have content.