Building this Astro Template
Behind-the-scenes case study of building a production-ready Astro starter template focused on performance, accessibility, and developer experience.
Tech Stack
Project Details
Behind-the-scenes case study of building a production-ready Astro starter template focused on performance, accessibility, and developer experience.
🚀 Project Overview
This case study documents building the Astro Performance Starter Template—a production-ready foundation that enables teams to ship blazing-fast, accessible websites with zero configuration overhead.
The Challenge
Most Astro starters prioritize features over fundamentals. We created a different approach: performance and accessibility by default, with developer experience as a first-class citizen.
Our Solution
A comprehensive starter template that delivers:
- 🚀 Performance: 99+ Lighthouse scores out of the box
- ♿ Accessibility: WCAG AA compliance with automated testing
- 🎨 Design System: Semantic tokens with atomic component architecture
- ⚡ Zero-JS Baseline: Progressive enhancement with strategic islands
- 🛠️ Developer Experience: TypeScript strict mode, comprehensive tooling
Architecture & Stack
Core Technologies
- Framework: Astro 5.x + Vite 6.x
- Styling: Tailwind CSS 3.x with design tokens
- TypeScript: Strict mode throughout
- Content: MDX with Content Collections
- Image Optimization: Sharp with AVIF/WebP
- Code Quality: Biome 2.x (20x faster than ESLint)
Design System
- Semantic token pipeline:
tokens/base.json→tokens/dist/tokens.css - Atomic component architecture (atoms → molecules → organisms)
- WCAG AA color contrast validation
- Comprehensive keyboard navigation
Key Features
Performance Optimizations
- Sharp-based image optimization with responsive images
- Zero-JS baseline with strategic hydration
- Optimized font loading and lazy loading
- Bundle size: <50KB JS, <20KB CSS
Developer Experience
- TypeScript strict mode with comprehensive types
- AI-optimized documentation structure
- Automated performance budgets and accessibility audits
- Pre-commit hooks with Biome formatting
Content Management
- Type-safe Content Collections with Zod schemas
- MDX support with custom components
- SEO-optimized meta tags and structured data
Results
Performance Metrics
| Metric | Target | Achieved |
|---|---|---|
| Lighthouse Performance | 95+ | 99/100 |
| Lighthouse Accessibility | 95+ | 100/100 |
| Bundle Size (JS) | <100KB | 47KB |
| Build Time | <30s | 14.6s |
| First Contentful Paint | <1.8s | 0.9s |
| Largest Contentful Paint | <2.5s | 1.3s |
Impact
- Developer Onboarding: <5 minutes from clone to productive development
- Production Sites: Successfully deployed to multiple client projects
- Performance Consistency: All sites maintain 95+ Lighthouse scores
Lessons Learned
What Worked
- Zero-JS baseline: Sites load instantly with minimal client overhead
- Design tokens: Easy to update brand/system-wide colors in one place
- Content collections: Type-safe, flexible, and scalable
Challenges
- Semantic tokens: Required standardized naming to avoid build errors
- MDX integration: Needed careful schema design for type safety
- Documentation sync: Manual version-aware approach proved more reliable
:::success[Summary] This template demonstrates that with the right architecture and discipline, it’s possible to deliver a beautiful, accessible, and performant site—without sacrificing developer experience or maintainability. :::