Journal
Static Sites
I used to build my blog using Jekyll, a popular static site generator built with Ruby. While Jekyll is a great tool, I found that it was becoming increasingly complex to manage, especially as I wanted to add more interactive features and components to my blog.
On the other hand, React is a powerful JavaScript library for building user interfaces, but it can be overkill for a simple blog. React requires a lot of setup and configuration, and it can be challenging to optimize for performance and SEO.
For me, maintaining a simple blog with either Jekyll or NextJS felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. I wanted a solution that was lightweight, easy to use, and allowed me to focus on writing content rather than managing complex tooling.
Enter Astro, a modern static site generator that allows you to build fast, optimized websites using a variety of frameworks and libraries, including React, Vue, and Svelte. Astro is designed to be lightweight and easy to use, with a focus on performance and SEO.
While it seemed too good to be true at first, I decided to give Astro a try for my blog after reading a manifesto? about not overingineering content sites. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to get started. The documentation is clear and concise, and the community is friendly and helpful.
I’ts amazing how Astro allows you to build a blog without the overhead of a full React application. With Astro, you can write your content in Markdown or MDX, and easily add interactive components using your favorite framework. Astro also includes built-in optimizations for performance and SEO, so you don’t have to worry about configuring everything yourself.
Overall, I found that Astro was the perfect solution for building my blog. It allowed me to focus on writing content while still providing the flexibility to add interactive features when needed. If you’re looking for a lightweight and easy-to-use static site generator, I highly recommend giving Astro a try!
Here are some of my experiments with Astro would you like to give them a try.