One of the first questions we work through with every new client is which platform to build on. At Red Web Cambridge, we primarily work with two: WordPress and Astro. They’re very different tools, and choosing the right one makes a real difference to the finished product.
WordPress: the flexible workhorse
WordPress powers roughly 40% of all websites on the internet, and for good reason. It’s mature, well-supported, and incredibly flexible. For businesses that need to regularly update content, manage a blog, run an online shop, or give multiple team members access to edit pages, WordPress is hard to beat.
WordPress is a great fit when:
- You need a content management system your team can use without technical knowledge
- The site requires e-commerce, membership areas, or complex forms
- You want access to a huge ecosystem of plugins and integrations
- Multiple people need to manage content
Astro: the performance specialist
Astro is a newer framework that generates static HTML at build time, resulting in websites that are extraordinarily fast. Because there’s no database or server-side processing on each page load, Astro sites are also inherently more secure and cheaper to host.
Astro is a great fit when:
- Performance and page speed are top priorities
- The site content doesn’t change frequently (or changes are managed by a developer)
- You want the best possible Core Web Vitals scores
- The site is primarily informational — a brochure site, portfolio, or landing page
How we decide
We don’t have a favourite — we have a process. We look at what the client needs today, what they’re likely to need in the next few years, who’ll be managing the content, and what kind of budget and timeline we’re working with. Sometimes the answer is obvious; sometimes we’ll talk through the trade-offs together.
The Red Web Cambridge website you’re reading right now is built with Astro. Many of our client sites — including school websites, clinical trial platforms, and membership organisations — run on WordPress. Both are excellent choices when used for the right project.
The wrong question
The platform matters less than the quality of what’s built on it. A well-built WordPress site will outperform a poorly built Astro site every time. What matters most is clean code, thoughtful design, fast hosting, and ongoing maintenance — and that’s what we focus on regardless of the technology underneath.
If you’re unsure which platform is right for your project, we’re happy to talk it through.