After 4 years of my website being inactive… I finally decided to update it. I’m using Astro and Netlify to host it.

Why I Chose Astro

As a content creator who focuses on web development, I needed a framework that would:

• Generate static files for fast loading times
• Support multiple frameworks if I wanted to add React components later
• Have excellent developer experience with hot reloading and modern tooling
• Be simple to deploy and maintain

Astro checked all these boxes perfectly.

The Migration Process

Moving from my old site to Astro was surprisingly smooth:

1. Content Structure

I converted my old blog posts to Markdown files with frontmatter, which Astro handles beautifully with its content collections feature.

2. Styling

I kept things simple with CSS and focused on clean, readable typography that matches my brand as “Coding with Lewis.”

3. Performance

Astro’s static generation means my site loads incredibly fast, which is important for both user experience and SEO.

Netlify for Hosting

I chose Netlify because:

• Automatic deployments from my Git repository
• Built-in CDN for global fast loading
• Easy custom domain setup
• Generous free tier for personal projects

The deployment process is as simple as connecting my GitHub repo and Netlify handles the rest.

What’s Next?

Now that my site is live and maintainable, I plan to:

• Write more technical blog posts about programming concepts
• Share behind-the-scenes content from my YouTube channel
• Document my learning journey with new technologies
• Create tutorials that complement my video content

The Tech Stack

// astro.config.mjs
import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
import sitemap from '@astrojs/sitemap';

export default defineConfig({
  site: 'https://lewismenelaws.com',
  integrations: [sitemap()],
  markdown: {
    shikiConfig: {
      theme: 'css-variables'
    }
  }
});

It feels great to have an active web presence again! You can expect regular updates with programming tips, tutorials, and insights from my journey as a developer educator.

Thanks for stopping by :)