It’s been a while. Seven years, in fact, since my last blog post. A lot has changed, and this site was long overdue for an update. More on that in a moment.
Why Blog Again?
I’ve been meaning to get back into blogging, and this time, I want to make it a habit. I don’t expect a huge audience, but writing helps me clarify ideas, document projects, and create a snapshot of my thinking at a given time. Looking back at old posts is always fun.
I’m also reminded that when you put something out there, whether it’s a product, an open-source library, or a blog post, people find it. I’d like more of that!
A Change of Platform
I’ve migrated from WordPress to Astro. WordPress served me well, but hosting costs had crept up, and I was ready for something lighter. No databases, no constant security updates.
I explored a few static site generators (SSGs) and liked the idea of keeping the complexity on my laptop while serving only static files. The result? Simpler hosting, better security, and much faster page loads.
Why Astro?
Astro ticked all the right boxes:
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Familiar stack (Node/TypeScript)
- I use TypeScript heavily at work, so staying in familiar tooling means more time writing, less time tweaking build systems.
- I haven’t worked with PHP in a while, but I almost went with Jigsaw to get reacquainted with the PHP ecosystem.
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Established community
- I wanted something with an active development cycle for the long haul.
- I was tempted by Hydrogen. It’s simple and reminds me of lit-html, but its community is still small.
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It’s fast
- Quick to spin up locally.
- Quick in development.
- Quick to build.
- Quick to serve content in production.
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Flexible deployment
- Static content can be hosted just about anywhere.
- I chose Vercel—fast, cheap, and easy.
- GitHub Pages was a contender, but the Pro plan’s cost for private repo pages pushed me toward Vercel.
The Migration Process
Rather than clone my old WordPress site, I used ChatGPT to convert my blog posts into Astro Markdown files.
With Astro set up locally and a prebuilt theme (to avoid disappearing down a self-styled rabbit hole), I picked the posts I wanted to keep and had them reformatted within 30 minutes.
Since my blog URL structure changed, I added a vercel.json file to handle redirects from the old posts to the new ones.
First Impressions & Next Steps
So far, I’m enjoying Astro. It let me launch a new site quickly, and now I can focus on writing rather than maintenance.
Next up:
- Implement some form of analytics (GA4?)
- Actually write another blog post in 2025! 🙏