Astro JS: what the Astro framework changes for your business website
Partner · Web development, SEO and GEO
Astro JS (officially just Astro) is a free, open source web framework for building content-driven websites: business sites, blogs, documentation and landing pages. Its key idea fits in one sentence: the page reaches the visitor already built as HTML, and the browser only receives JavaScript for the few elements that need to react. Introduced in June 2021 and at version 1.0 since August 9, 2022, Astro was serving sites for Porsche, IKEA and Michelin in October 2026. Cloudflare took in its team in January 2026 without changing its licence. For a business, the Astro framework can deliver a site that is faster, less exposed to attacks and fully in its own name. It is not the right fit for every project, though.
- Astro is an open source web framework (MIT licence) designed for content sites: it produces ready-made HTML pages and only sends JavaScript to the interactive parts.
- According to HTTP Archive, 71% of Astro sites passed Core Web Vitals on mobile in September 2026, compared with 48% of WordPress sites and 81% of Wix sites.
- Cloudflare took in the Astro team on January 16, 2026: the framework stayed open source and can still be deployed with the host of your choice.
- Five Astro 7 releases came out between June and October 2026, with faster builds and more precise security settings.
- Astro is not built for applications (client portal, dashboard with login) or for a team that wants to edit its site in a dashboard.
On this page
Astro JS
Astro JS refers to Astro, an open source web framework from the JavaScript ecosystem, designed for content-driven websites. A framework is a code toolkit that gives every page of a site a common structure. Astro produces each page as HTML on the server or when the site is built. It then sends the browser only the code for interactive elements, which it calls islands. Astro is neither a page builder nor a content management system: an Astro site is changed in its code, by a developer or by an AI coding tool.
Where Astro comes from
Astro was introduced on June 8, 2021, by Fred Schott and Nate Moore, two developers from the team behind Snowpack, a web development tool. The announcement boiled down to three words, “just ship less”: send less JavaScript to the browser. The bet was that a content site does not need to be built like an application.
Version 1.0 came out on August 9, 2022. Its announcement mentioned 30,000 early users and already named Firebase (Google), Trivago, The Guardian and IKEA among the sites in production. A 1.0 release means something specific for a business: the core features are stable, and you can build on them without fearing a full rewrite at the next change.
Thoughtworks, a consulting firm that publishes a technology radar, placed Astro in its Assess ring in October 2022. In April 2024, it moved Astro to Trial, noting the rendering performance of its pages and its gentle learning curve.
The official name is Astro. “Astro JS” or “astrojs” comes from the way people search for it: the “JS” signals that the framework belongs to the JavaScript ecosystem. Its official modules carry the @astrojs prefix as well.
How Astro works, in plain language
Picture two ways to serve a meal. The first prepares each plate to order: it is flexible, but it needs a working kitchen for every visit. The second prepares the plates ahead of time and only keeps warm what needs to be. Astro follows the second approach. Its documentation sums up its choices in five principles: content-driven, server-first, fast by default, easy to use and developer-focused. Four ideas translate into something concrete for you.
Server first
Astro produces pages on the server, most often once and for all when the site is built. The browser receives a complete page that is readable as soon as it arrives, rather than an empty page waiting for its code to display the text. Astro's documentation puts it this way: the framework favours server rendering over client rendering as much as possible.
Zero JavaScript by default
JavaScript is the code that makes a page interactive. It makes the visitor's phone work: it has to download it, read it and run it. Astro strips this code out of every component at build time, unless the developer asks to keep it. An oversight therefore cannot weigh a page down: adding code takes a deliberate choice.
Islands
A page is mostly text and images. The few parts that need to react (a form, a carousel, a calculator) become islands: each one loads its own code at the chosen moment. A form at the bottom of a page can wait until it is visible on screen before it loads. The term comes from Katie Sylor-Miller, a front-end architect at Etsy, in 2019. Jason Miller, the creator of Preact, expanded on it in 2020, and Astro made it popular. Astro has since added server islands: content that changes from one visit to the next is computed separately, without delaying the rest of the page.
Content collections
Articles, service pages or product sheets are stored in collections, with a list of fields to respect: a title, a date, a description. If a field is missing or a date is malformed, Astro reports the error when the site is built. On falia.co, such an error stops the build: a page without a title or a misdated article cannot go live by accident.
Astro also accepts components written with React, Vue or Svelte. A business that already has interactive elements built with one of these technologies can therefore reuse them.
What the Astro framework changes for a business
Loading speed
HTTP Archive's technology report compares the share of sites that pass Core Web Vitals (Google's signals for a page's speed and stability), based on real visits measured by Chrome. In September 2026, on mobile: 71% for Astro, 48% for WordPress, 44% for Gatsby, 36% for Next.js and 29% for Nuxt. Hosted platforms do as well or better: 71% for Webflow and Squarespace, 81% for Wix. They tune every site they host themselves, but a site built with them cannot be moved elsewhere in full.
These figures compare real sites of every size and quality. They describe a trend, not a promise for your site. A well-built WordPress site can pass Core Web Vitals. Conversely, an Astro site loaded with advertising scripts can fail them. Google also points out that good results do not guarantee top positions: it aims first to show the most relevant content. Speed mostly serves your visitors, especially on mobile, where a slow page can cost you a lead.
Security
An Astro site published as pre-built pages has no database or application server exposed to visitors. That reduces the attack surface (the possible entry points for an attacker). The risk does not disappear: forms go through a small function at the host, and accounts with access to the code must be protected. The project's dependencies also need updating.
Since Astro 6, released on March 10, 2026, the framework can generate a Content Security Policy itself (CSP, the list of scripts a browser is allowed to run on the page). Astro 7.1 made it more precise in July 2026. A well-maintained WordPress site protects itself too: our article on the WordPress business website describes that upkeep.
Maintenance
Fewer moving parts means fewer updates to track: a pre-built Astro site has no plugins and no PHP version to monitor. Maintenance does not drop to zero. A major version sometimes calls for adjustments: Astro 7 rejects unclosed HTML that earlier versions silently fixed. In October 2026, Astro 7.4 also raised the minimum version of Node.js (the environment that builds the site) to 22.22.0. These updates are planned, as with any technology.
Code ownership
Astro is open source software under the MIT licence. Your site's code lives in a versioned repository in your name: each change is dated and can be undone. The site deploys to Cloudflare, Netlify, Vercel or AWS. If you change providers, another developer or agency can pick up this standard, publicly documented code.
Editing with AI
An Astro site is made of readable text files. It therefore lends itself well to the work of an AI coding tool such as Claude Code (Anthropic's coding tool) or ChatGPT Codex (OpenAI's coding agent). Astro 7.0, released on June 22, 2026, added tools designed for these agents. The development server can run in the background, and Astro turns this on by itself when it detects an AI agent. The framework's messages can also come out in a structured format that the agent reads without errors.
AI executes, a senior signs off: the request is written in your own words, AI changes the files, automatic checks verify the result, then a person approves the release. The site served to your visitors does not depend on AI to run. Our article on what Claude Code and ChatGPT Codex change in website development describes this shift in detail.
A bilingual site in Quebec
Astro handles several languages without an add-on: a default language, addresses specific to each language and links that lead to the right version of a page. For a Quebec business that publishes in French first, the bilingual structure is decided once, in the code, rather than page by page. Astro 7.4 also added, as an experiment, a customizable redirect page that can be translated and carry your brand. Finally, fewer third-party scripts means fewer tools to declare in your privacy policy under Law 25.
Who uses Astro in 2026
On October 31, 2026, we opened the code of several major sites to check that they are served by Astro. Porsche's Canadian site, in French, was running version 7.4.1, as was Cloudflare's documentation. IKEA, Michelin, Unilever, Ricola, Proton and NordVPN were too, along with the design systems of Visa and Microsoft.
In its January 2026 announcement, Cloudflare also named OpenAI among Astro's users. Webflow Cloud and Wix Vibe, two products from site builders, also rely on Astro for their customers' sites. What stands out is the variety: a carmaker, a retailer, an industrial group, design systems, technical documentation. The common thread is content. The full list, with a link to each site, is on our Astro agency page.
The Cloudflare acquisition: what changes and what does not
On January 16, 2026, Cloudflare announced that the Astro team was joining it: the full-time employees of the company that developed Astro became Cloudflare employees. For a business choosing Astro, the question is simple: is the framework still a safe choice?
| What does not change | What changes |
|---|---|
| Astro remains open source software under the MIT licence, open to contributions, with a public roadmap and open governance. | The Astro team works at Cloudflare, with its resources. |
| An Astro site can still be deployed to the platform of your choice: Cloudflare committed to supporting Astro developers everywhere. | Since Astro 6, the development server can run code in the same environment Cloudflare uses in production. |
| The people who developed Astro keep doing so. | Cloudflare-specific tools are moving fast: Astro 7.3 added one in September 2026. |
A framework owned by a host could, over time, favour that host. In October 2026, we saw no sign of it: Astro 7.0 launched its experimental cache providers for Netlify and Vercel at the same time as for Cloudflare. The MIT licence remains the real guarantee. If the project's direction changed, others could take over the code and keep it alive.
Astro 7: what the 2026 releases brought
Astro 6, released on March 10, 2026, opened the year with built-in font management, live collections (content updated without rebuilding the site) and Content Security Policy support. Astro 7 followed three months later. Here is what its five releases brought, in a business owner's terms.
| Version | Date | What it brings | What it changes for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | June 22, 2026 | A compiler rewritten in Rust, faster rendering, page caching, tools for AI agents | Builds 15% to 61% faster on the sites Astro measured. Malformed HTML is rejected instead of being silently fixed. |
| 7.1 | July 16, 2026 | Finer Content Security Policy settings, less memory for large collections | More precise security without blocking needed styles. Large content sites build more easily. |
| 7.2 | August 6, 2026 | Incremental builds, as an experiment: only changed pages are rebuilt | Releases that could become faster on sites with thousands of pages |
| 7.3 | September 3, 2026 | Several preview servers in parallel, a tool for sites served by Cloudflare | Automated tests that are easier to run before release |
| 7.4 | October 15, 2026 | Detailed build timings, a customizable redirect page (experimental), Node.js 22.22.0 minimum | A redirect page that can be translated. An environment update to plan for. |
On October 31, 2026, the most recent version published on npm was 7.4.4. From October 23 to 29, 2026, the Astro package was downloaded 10.8 million times. The principles do not change from one version to the next: HTML first, JavaScript only where it helps.
Our own site, falia.co, is built with Astro and edited with Claude Code. Work began on August 20, 2026, and the site has been live since September 22, 2026, hosted on Cloudflare Pages. On October 31, 2026, it had 843 pages in French and English, including 240 articles in each language. It was running Astro 7.2.4 at the time. Every release passes 30 automatic checks before going live: links, structured data, language, accessibility.
When Astro is not the right choice
Astro's documentation says so itself: highly interactive applications, such as an inbox or a dashboard with login, are better suited to other frameworks. The choice depends on what the site has to do and on who will update it.
| Your project | Is Astro a fit? | What may serve you better |
|---|---|---|
| Business or services site, B2B and B2C | Yes | Astro is built for this. |
| Blog, resource centre, documentation | Yes | Content collections protect page quality. |
| Campaign landing pages | Yes | Speed on mobile directly helps conversion. |
| Online store (cart, payment, inventory) | Not on its own | Shopify keeps the cart, payment and inventory. Astro can display the storefront (headless Shopify). |
| Client portal, member area, dashboard | Rarely | A framework designed for applications |
| A team that wants to edit the site in a dashboard, with plugins | Not without a connected CMS | WordPress, which is also opening up to AI |
| A site of a few pages, rarely changed, that works well | Not necessarily | Keep the current site |
Astro is not a page builder: without a developer or a well-supervised AI coding tool, it cannot be changed. A team attached to its dashboard will find another way to save time in our article on AI in WordPress 7. For a store, our headless Shopify with Astro page describes how the two work together.
A poorly supervised Astro site can lose its advantages. Advertising scripts, chat windows and embedded videos add code that comes from elsewhere: Astro cannot remove it. Speed is kept by deciding, script by script, what deserves to load.
CMSs, SEO and alternatives, in brief
CMSs. An Astro site can pull its content from files, from a headless content management system or even from a WordPress site kept as a writing tool. We prefer written requests to AI, which replace the dashboard. The right choice depends on who writes content in your team.
SEO and GEO. The HTML of an Astro page arrives complete: a crawler that does not run JavaScript still reads the text, the headings and the structured data. That is a good foundation for SEO and for visibility in AI answers, not a guarantee. Content, structure and links remain decisive, as our article on website design for visitors, search engines and AI explains.
Alternatives. Astro is not the only way to modernize a site. WordPress remains an excellent choice for many businesses. For an existing site you like, our article on migrating a website to Astro as-is describes a move that keeps the design, the text and the addresses.
Is Astro right for your site?
Astro is probably a good choice if:
- your site mostly presents content: services, articles, campaign pages;
- loading speed on mobile matters for your sales;
- you want the code and the hosting in your name;
- you want to change your site by writing a request rather than clicking in a dashboard;
- your site is bilingual or will become so.
Another choice may serve you better if:
- the heart of the project is a cart, a portal or customer accounts;
- your team is attached to a dashboard and its plugins;
- your current site works well for you and rarely changes.
The right framework is the one that keeps pace with your business, not the one with the best demo.
We build Astro sites you can edit with AI as a website managed with AI, part of our web design expertise. We first look at your current site with you to tell you whether Astro is the right choice.
The framework, the major brands that use it and the way we work are presented on our Astro agency in Montreal page.
Frequently asked questions about Astro JS
Is Astro JS free?
Yes. Astro is open source software under the MIT licence: there is no licence to pay, even for commercial use. The cost of a project comes from design, content, hosting and maintenance, not from the framework.
Is Astro a CMS like WordPress?
No. Astro is a framework: it builds the site's pages. Content can come from files, from a headless CMS connected to the site or from a written request to an AI coding tool such as Claude Code.
Will my Astro site depend on Cloudflare?
No. Cloudflare took in the Astro team in January 2026, but the framework stayed open source under the MIT licence. An Astro site also deploys to Netlify, Vercel or AWS.
Is an Astro site better for SEO?
It starts from a good technical foundation: complete, fast HTML pages that can be read without JavaScript. Google points out, however, that good speed signals do not guarantee top positions. Content and structure remain decisive.
Can you build an online store with Astro?
Not with Astro alone. The cart, payment and inventory stay on a commerce platform such as Shopify. Astro can display the storefront: this is called headless Shopify.
Will I be able to edit my Astro site myself?
Yes, by writing your requests to Claude Code or ChatGPT Codex rather than clicking in a dashboard. Each change passes automatic checks, then waits for approval before going live.
- Fred Schott and Nate Moore, Astro, Introducing Astro, June 8, 2021, accessed October 31, 2026.
- Fred Schott, Astro, Astro 1.0, August 9, 2022, accessed October 31, 2026.
- HTTP Archive, technology report (share of sites passing Core Web Vitals on mobile, September 2026), accessed November 2, 2026.
- Astro documentation, Why Astro?, Islands architecture, Content collections and Internationalization (i18n) routing, accessed October 31, 2026.
- Astro documentation, Migrating from WordPress, accessed October 31, 2026.
- Cloudflare, Astro is joining Cloudflare, January 16, 2026, accessed October 31, 2026.
- Astro, Astro 6.0, March 10, 2026, accessed October 31, 2026.
- Astro, Astro 7.0 (June 22, 2026), Astro 7.1 (July 16, 2026), Astro 7.2 (August 6, 2026), Astro 7.3 (September 3, 2026) and Astro 7.4 (October 15, 2026), accessed October 31, 2026.
- npm, astro package downloads, week of October 23 to 29, 2026 and published version of the astro package (7.4.4 on October 31, 2026), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Thoughtworks, Technology Radar: Astro (October 2022 and April 2024), accessed October 31, 2026.
- Google Search Central, Understanding page experience in Google Search results, updated September 25, 2026, accessed October 31, 2026.
- Anthropic, Claude Code overview, official documentation, accessed October 31, 2026.
Geneviève puts the strategy for your engagement into action. She leads all our web development projects: Shopify, WordPress and the new ways of building a site with AI. She manages our team of developers and translates your business needs into technical language. She runs your organic search (SEO), your visibility in AI answers (GEO) and your site's conversion rate optimization (CRO). Her work is at the heart of three goals: Attract customers with SEO and AI, Improve your site's conversion, and Strengthen your visibility in AI answers. With Gabriel, she also builds the landing pages for your advertising campaigns. She writes mainly about SEO, AI visibility and web design.
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