At Outsourcify, we have used the Astro framework for specific projects. Here are the reasons behind this decision, as well as its advantages and disadvantages!
What is Astro?
Astro is a JavaScript framework that can be combined with other JavaScript frameworks. For example, with Astro, we can integrate frameworks such as Vue.js, Svelte, and even React. This allows us to have .astro pages and .astro or .vue components in the same project, offering a wide range of evolutionary possibilities.
Astro is a server-side rendering framework, which means that pages are not built when they are viewed, as is the case with a website using WordPress, for example. To clarify, when a page is displayed on a “classic” website, it has to build the specific page for the visitor by fetching the data from the database and then creating the page, which can take a long time. With Astro, things are different: the framework doesn’t create the pages specifically for each user, but these have already been generated in HTML format, including data, structure, and style.
For example, for blog posts entitled “Integrating AI service for real estate” and “Outsourcify-company-trips-recap“, a website using WordPress (or another technology) will display the same page structure with different data. With Astro, two completely different pages will have been created during the generation process: an “integrating-ai-service-for-real-estate.html” page and an “outsourcify-company-trips-recap.html” page.
Examples of projects in which we used the Astro framework
Astro is a server-side rendering framework, thus we prefer to use it for projects that don’t require frequent content updates. Indeed, the website would have to be rebuilt each time data was modified in the database to display the updates. We therefore prefer to use it for showcase sites or blogs that don’t require frequent updates.
We also have the option of using CronJobs to rebuild the website at regular frequencies, for example, every day at 3 am.
The benefits of Astro framework
Astro’s advantages are numerous. As a server-side rendering framework, its greatest advantage lies in its performance. By avoiding a constant database connection and displaying “static” pages, Astro achieves performance close to 100%. High performance also means excellent Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which is not to be underestimated.
Astro’s ability to integrate other JavaScript frameworks such as Vue.js is also a strong point. Moreover, its community is very active and growing, which favors the regular addition of new features and frequent updates to the framework.
Here is a performance example with the Aroi website:
The disadvantages of the Astro framework
As a server-side rendering framework, Astro has both advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, it requires the website to be rebuilt each time data is modified. For example, if we modify a sentence in an article, this modification will not be immediately visible on the website. We’ll have to rebuild all the HTML pages to see the change.
Another drawback is that the Astro framework is still very young, which means that it can sometimes take a long time to perform simple tasks that we could have accomplished quickly with a more established framework.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Astro proves to be a promising framework with significant advantages such as its high performance thanks to server-side rendering, its ability to integrate with other JavaScript frameworks, such as Vue.js, and an active community with regular updates and evolution of the framework. However, it also has its drawbacks, with for example the need to rebuild the website each time data is modified, which can lead to delays, and the fact that this framework is young as it can take longer to complete simple tasks than more mature frameworks. Nevertheless, for suitable projects such as showcase sites or blogs requiring few updates, Astro can be a wise choice offering optimal performance and excellent SEO optimization.
