3 Best Astro Modern Website Examples

Best Astro websites to inspire your next project

You’re building with Astro because you want performance without compromise. You know the platform delivers blazing-fast sites with minimal JavaScript, but now you need to see what’s actually possible when developers push it to its limits.

These best Astro websites showcase the full spectrum of what this framework can create. From marketing sites that load in milliseconds to content-heavy documentation platforms and e-commerce storefronts, these examples prove that choosing zero JavaScript by default doesn’t mean sacrificing design quality or user experience. Each site in this gallery demonstrates how real development teams leveraged Astro’s Islands Architecture to build something exceptional.

Astro excels at content-first websites where speed directly impacts conversions and SEO. The framework’s ability to generate fully static HTML while selectively hydrating interactive components means you get the performance of a traditional static site generator with the flexibility of modern component-based development. Whether you’re building a portfolio, blog, documentation site, or marketing page, these examples show how Astro’s approach creates confidence with both users and clients.

Building better Astro sites: Expert tips from the community

• Master Content Collections for type-safe content management. Define your content schema in the frontmatter, and Astro automatically validates and provides TypeScript types. This prevents broken links and missing fields before deployment, saving hours of debugging.
• Use client:visible instead of client:load for below-the-fold components. Your interactive elements will hydrate only when they enter the viewport, shaving seconds off initial page load. This single directive change can improve your Lighthouse score by 10-20 points.
• Leverage the View Transitions API for SPA-like navigation without the JavaScript overhead. Add a single line to your layout, and Astro handles smooth page transitions that make your static site feel like a modern web app. Users perceive the site as faster even when metrics stay the same.

Common mistakes when building with Astro

Don’t over-hydrate your components. I see developers adding client:load to everything out of habit from other frameworks, which defeats Astro’s core purpose. Start with static HTML and add interactivity only where users actually need it. Also, avoid treating Astro like Next.js. It’s not designed for highly interactive dashboards or complex SPAs. If your site needs constant real-time updates and heavy client-side logic, you’re working against the framework’s strengths. Finally, don’t skip the image optimization tools. Astro’s built-in <Image> component automatically handles responsive images and lazy loading, but only if you use it instead of plain <img> tags.

Understanding Astro’s development workflow and ecosystem

Let me break this down… Astro’s local development experience centers on instant hot module replacement and a component structure that feels familiar if you’ve worked with any modern framework. You write .astro files that look like simplified JSX, but the magic happens at build time when everything compiles to static HTML. The platform connects seamlessly with headless CMSs like Contentful, Sanity, and Strapi, giving you the content management workflows your clients expect without the WordPress performance issues.

The framework’s UI-agnostic approach means your team can continue using React, Vue, or Svelte components they’ve already built. This flexibility matters when you’re working with existing codebases or when different team members have different framework preferences. You’re not locked into a single ecosystem, which creates real value for agencies managing multiple client projects.

Deployment is straightforward with adapters for every major hosting platform. Whether you’re running on Vercel, Netlify, Cloudflare Pages, or a Node server, Astro provides official adapters that handle the configuration. The build process generates optimized static assets that you can host anywhere, and if you need server-side rendering for specific pages, you can enable it without rebuilding your entire site architecture.

The Astro community has grown rapidly, which means you’ll find quality integrations and tools for most common use cases. The documentation is exceptional and genuinely helpful for both getting started and solving advanced problems. When issues arise, the Discord community typically responds within hours with substantive answers, not generic suggestions to read the docs.

Questions to ask before starting your Astro project

Does your site prioritize content over complex interactivity? Astro shines for blogs, marketing sites, documentation, and portfolios where information delivery matters more than real-time user interactions. Can your team work with code-first tools, or do you need visual editing for non-technical stakeholders? There’s no drag-and-drop interface here. Are you comfortable with Git-based workflows and CLI commands? This is essential for day-to-day development. Will you need to edit content frequently, and if so, can you integrate a headless CMS? The platform doesn’t include a native admin panel, so content management requires either direct file editing or third-party CMS integration.

What you can create with Astro’s architecture

Astro handles marketing sites exceptionally well. The combination of fast page loads, excellent SEO out of the box, and the ability to create sophisticated layouts makes it ideal for businesses that need to convert visitors quickly. Every month, more agencies are switching their client work to Astro specifically for the performance advantages that directly impact conversion rates.

Documentation platforms are another sweet spot. The Content Collections API makes it simple to organize and query large amounts of structured content, while the static generation ensures readers get instant page loads. Technical writers appreciate the Markdown and MDX support, and developers love that they can add interactive code examples exactly where they’re needed using the Islands Architecture.

E-commerce storefronts work surprisingly well, especially for product catalogs and marketing pages. You’ll still need to connect external tools for cart functionality and checkout, but the product browsing experience can be lightning-fast. Some of the most impressive examples in this gallery show how creative developers have integrated Shopify or Snipcart while maintaining Astro’s performance benefits.

Portfolios and personal sites are where you can really explore what Astro enables. Without the constraints of client requirements or complex business logic, these examples often showcase the most innovative uses of view transitions, creative component composition, and thoughtful performance optimization. They’re worth studying even if you’re building something completely different, because they demonstrate techniques you can apply to any Astro project.

Quick win: Add <ViewTransitions /> to your layout component right now for instant SPA-like page transitions with zero configuration.

Start exploring these examples to see how other developers solved the same challenges you’re facing with your Astro site.

About this collection

This is a collection of websites organized by the platform they are built on, category, and sometimes tags and the creator. They're here for inspiration. Most websites made it into this collection because they have beautiful designs, while others showcase exceptional copywriting or information architecture.

What this page contains

This page showcases 3 website examples built with Astro tagged as "Modern". Each website includes a tall screenshot, a link to the live site, the platform it was built on, and a description (generated with AI).

Quality may vary by category or platform

Some sites aren't an absolute 10/10, but they shine relative to their categorization. For example, categories like Notary or HOA don't reach the same design heights as Designer or SaaS sites. They're still included so people in those industries have relevant references when building their website.

How these websites are picked

While I won't reveal the exact details of my curation process (so competitors can't copy), I can share that:

• They are all organically sourced (i.e., I don't copy other inspiration galleries)
• It's an arduous process to find these gems. I typically review 10,000 sites to discover just 10 worthy additions.

The purpose of this collection

There are two primary reasons people view these website examples:

• To find design, copy, or general website inspiration from similar businesses in their industry
• To explore the capabilities of website platforms before making a decision

Oh yes, and affiliate marketing. I'm part of affiliate programs for some of the platforms, so if you purchase after clicking a link, I may earn a commission.

Want to suggest a site?

Reach out to me on LinkedIn.