Astro vs WordPress: Developer nên chọn gì cho Blog/Website?

Giới thiệu

WordPress thống trị 43% websites trên internet. Astro là framework mới nổi cho static sites. Câu hỏi đặt ra: Developer nên chọn gì cho blog và website?

Hai công nghệ này có philosophies rất khác nhau. Bài viết này sẽ so sánh từ góc nhìn developer - không phải end-user.

Tổng quan

WordPress

• CMS full-featured với 20 năm lịch sử
• PHP + MySQL backend
• Plugin ecosystem khổng lồ (60,000+)
• Visual editor cho non-developers

Astro

• Static Site Generator (SSG) từ 2021
• Modern JavaScript/TypeScript
• Zero JavaScript by default
• Markdown-based workflow

So sánh chi tiết

1. Performance

WordPress:

Typical WordPress Blog:
- TTFB: 200-800ms (depends on hosting)
- Page Size: 2-5MB (with plugins)
- Requests: 50-100+
- Lighthouse: 40-70

Cần nhiều optimization: caching, CDN, plugin management.

Astro:

Typical Astro Blog:
- TTFB: 50-100ms (CDN)
- Page Size: 50-200KB
- Requests: 5-15
- Lighthouse: 95-100

Fast by default - no optimization needed.

Winner: Astro 🏆

2. SEO Capabilities

WordPress:

• SEO plugins: Yoast, RankMath
• Meta tags management
• Sitemap generation
• Schema markup

Astro:

• Full HTML control
• Built-in sitemap integration
• Manual meta tags (full control)
• Schema: manual implementation

Feature	WordPress	Astro
Meta tags	Plugin-based	Code-based
Sitemap	Plugin	Integration
Speed (SEO factor)	Medium	Excellent
Structured data	Plugin	Manual
Canonical URLs	Automatic	Manual

Winner: Tie (WordPress dễ hơn, Astro nhanh hơn)

3. Development Experience

WordPress:

<?php
// functions.php
add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', function() {
    wp_enqueue_style('theme-style', get_stylesheet_uri());
});

// Template: single-post.php
<?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
    <h1><?php the_title(); ?></h1>
    <?php the_content(); ?>
<?php endwhile; ?>

• Template hierarchy phức tạp
• Hook system learning curve
• PHP + WordPress APIs

Astro:

---
// src/pages/posts/[slug].astro
import { getCollection } from 'astro:content';
const { post } = Astro.props;
---

<article>
  <h1>{post.data.title}</h1>
  <Content />
</article>

• Modern JavaScript/TypeScript
• Component-based
• Familiar frontend patterns

Winner: Astro 🏆 (cho modern developers)

4. Content Management

WordPress:

✅ Visual editor (Gutenberg)
✅ Media library
✅ User roles & permissions
✅ Scheduled publishing
✅ Revisions
✅ Non-technical authors

Astro:

✅ Markdown/MDX files
✅ Git-based workflow
✅ Content Collections (typed)
❌ No visual editor (by default)
✅ Can integrate headless CMS

Winner: WordPress 🏆 (cho team với non-developers)

5. Security

WordPress:

⚠️ 90% of hacked websites run WordPress
⚠️ Plugin vulnerabilities
⚠️ Brute force attacks
⚠️ Requires regular updates
⚠️ Database injection risks

Mitigation: Security plugins, managed hosting, regular updates.

Astro:

✅ Static files = no server to hack
✅ No database
✅ No login page to brute force
✅ CDN-served

Winner: Astro 🏆

6. Hosting & Cost

WordPress:

Hosting Type	Cost/month	Performance
Shared	$5-15	Poor
Managed	$30-100	Good
VPS	$20-50	Variable

Plus: Domain, SSL, backups, security plugins.

Astro:

Service	Cost/month	Performance
Vercel	Free-$20	Excellent
Netlify	Free-$19	Excellent
Cloudflare Pages	Free	Excellent

Static hosting = giá rẻ hoặc miễn phí.

Winner: Astro 🏆

7. Ecosystem & Plugins

WordPress:

60,000+ plugins cho mọi thứ:
- E-commerce: WooCommerce
- Forms: Gravity Forms, WPForms
- SEO: Yoast, RankMath
- Page builders: Elementor, Divi

One-click install, nhưng plugin bloat là vấn đề.

Astro:

Growing ecosystem:
- Integrations: ~100
- Component libraries
- Headless CMS support

Smaller, nhưng quality over quantity.

Winner: WordPress 🏆 (số lượng)

8. Learning Curve

WordPress for Developer:

• PHP basics
• WordPress template hierarchy
• Hook system (actions, filters)
• WordPress APIs (REST, query)

Astro:

• HTML/CSS/JS fundamentals
• Component concepts
• Markdown
• Basic Node.js

Skill	WordPress	Astro
Frontend devs	Learning curve	Easy
PHP devs	Easy	Learning curve
Beginners	Medium	Medium

Winner: Depends on background

Use Case Recommendations

Chọn WordPress khi:

✅ Non-technical team

• Content writers cần visual editor
• Multiple authors với roles khác nhau

✅ E-commerce

• WooCommerce is powerful
• Payment integrations ready

✅ Quick launch

• Theme marketplace
• Không cần development skills

✅ Client projects

• Client có thể tự manage
• Familiar dashboard

✅ Dynamic features

• Comments built-in
• User registration
• Membership sites

Chọn Astro khi:

✅ Developer-managed blog

• You write content in Markdown
• Git workflow preferred

✅ Performance critical

• Want 100 Lighthouse score
• SEO competitive niche

✅ Portfolio / Landing pages

• Static content
• Maximum speed

✅ Documentation sites

• Starlight theme
• Technical writing

✅ Low maintenance

• No security updates
• No database backups

Hybrid Approach

WordPress as Headless CMS + Astro Frontend

// Fetch from WordPress REST API
const response = await fetch(
  'https://yoursite.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts'
);
const posts = await response.json();

Benefits:

• WordPress admin for editors
• Astro performance for visitors
• Best of both worlds

Considerations:

• Two systems to maintain
• API latency
• More complex setup

Migration Considerations

WordPress → Astro

# Export WordPress content
wp export

# Convert to Markdown
npx wordpress-export-to-markdown

# Import into Astro content collections

Tools available, nhưng cần review manual.

Astro → WordPress

Ít phổ biến, nhưng possible:

1. Import Markdown vào Gutenberg
2. Recreate templates as themes

Cost Comparison (1 year)

WordPress Blog

Item	Cost
Managed Hosting	$300/year
Premium Theme	$60 one-time
Essential Plugins	$100-200/year
SSL (usually included)	$0
Total Year 1	$460-560

Astro Blog

Item	Cost
Vercel/Netlify Hosting	$0-240/year
Domain	$12/year
SSL	Free
Total Year 1	$12-252

Astro có thể miễn phí cho personal blogs.

Real-world Examples

Sites using WordPress:

• TechCrunch
• The New Yorker
• BBC America
• Sony Music

Sites using Astro:

• Google Firebase Docs
• Porsche Design System
• Trivago Engineering
• IKEA (parts)

Kết luận

Criteria	WordPress	Astro
Performance	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SEO	⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
DX (Modern)	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Content Editing	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Security	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ecosystem	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐
Cost	⭐⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Maintenance	⭐⭐	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Final Verdict:

Developer building own blog? → Astro

• You control the code
• Maximum performance
• Minimal maintenance

Building for clients/team? → WordPress

• They can edit content
• Familiar interface
• Plugin solutions ready

Bottom line: WordPress không dying - still có use cases mạnh. Nhưng cho developers muốn performance và control - Astro là future.