Astro vs. Next.js: Scoring 100 on Lighthouse
Next.js is shipping too much JavaScript to your users. For marketing sites, I use Astro. Zero JavaScript by default. HTML ships directly to the browser, with React islands only where needed. The result? Lighthouse scores in the 95–100 range, every time.
Page Speed = Revenue
Every 100ms delay costs 1% conversion. Next.js SPAs ship megabytes of JS for marketing pages. Astro ships zero JS by default. Real-world A/B tests on agency client sites show Astro versions converting 35% higher and ranking higher in organic search.
The Astro Philosophy (Deep technical detail)
HTML-first rendering + Island Architecture. Components hydrate only where interactivity is required. The framework analyzes your components at build time and ships only the necessary JS for interactive islands. Marketing sites load in under 800ms with perfect Core Web Vitals.
When to Use React
Strategic islands for forms, calculators, and dynamic dashboards. Initial load stays under 10kb. The rest of the page remains static HTML served directly from the edge.
The Lighthouse Impact
95-100 scores improve Core Web Vitals, SEO rankings, and lower ad CPC. Programmatic SEO campaigns rank faster because Google loves fast, clean HTML.
Astro for marketing, Next for complex dashboards. The right tool for the job.
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