From WordPress to Astro: Why I Made the Switch

After years of building websites with WordPress and other PHP-based CMS platforms, I made a pivot that surprised even me: I moved to JavaScript.

Back in 2018, diving into the JavaScript ecosystem felt like stepping into an entirely different world. It was exciting, sometimes frustrating, and constantly evolving. But I didn’t make the leap just to chase trends—I did it because I wanted to grow. Repeating the same workflows day in and day out was beginning to box me in. I didn’t want to be seen as “just” a PHP developer.

(Not that there’s anything wrong with PHP—it’s a reliable workhorse. But it wasn’t the only label I wanted.)

Finding My Groove

Ironically, jumping into JavaScript sometimes made me feel the exact way I was trying to avoid: stuck. Outside of my work at GE Aerospace, where I contributed to their Auxiliary Design System, much of my Vue work began to feel repetitive—less flexible than my WordPress projects ever were.

Eventually, I found balance. I still love JavaScript, and I’ve come to appreciate the constant learning it demands. That curiosity is what drew me to a new tool.

I initially planned to build this site with Gatsby.js but somewhere along the way, Gatsby lost its spark. It felt like trying to plug into a party that had already moved to a better venue.

That better venue? Astro.

Why Astro?

Astro is a modern static site generator that feels tailor-made for developers like me: fast, lightweight, and refreshingly straightforward. The developer experience is top-tier, the documentation is solid, and the community is both active and welcoming.

This site you’re reading now? Built with Astro.

I’ll be sharing more soon. Design patterns, performance tweaks, content workflows, and lessons from building this platform. If you’re a WordPress developer curious about what’s next, Astro might just be your next stop, too.