Your Eleventy Site Hit the Ceiling. We Move You to Astro.
Why leave Eleventy (11ty)?
- Community plateaued while Astro's Discord hit 25,000 active developers
- Nunjucks templates break when your team tries to pass typed props
- Framework components require custom shortcodes and brittle passthrough
- Data cascade complexity spirals once you exceed 200 pages
- TypeScript support stops at config files -- templates stay untyped
- Plugin ecosystem stalled with 90% of packages unmaintained since 2023
What you gain
- Component boundaries with full TypeScript inference across props and slots
- Islands architecture drops React calendar into static pages without hydrating the rest
- Content Collections enforce Zod schemas on every Markdown file at build time
- Astro's community ships 40+ official integrations maintained by core team
- Image optimization, sitemap, RSS built-in -- no hunting for working plugins
- Zero-JS output preserved by default while opt-in hydration stays scoped per component
Eleventy to Astro: a philosophical alignment
Eleventy (11ty) and Astro are kindred spirits. Both default to zero JavaScript output. Both prioritise content. Both let you bring your own template language. The difference is that Astro adds a component architecture, TypeScript support, framework integrations (React, Vue, Svelte), and a rapidly growing ecosystem that Eleventy''s smaller community cannot match.
What makes the migration smooth
Eleventy uses Nunjucks, Liquid, or Markdown templates. Astro components are HTML-first with a script section for logic. The conceptual mapping is direct: Eleventy templates become Astro components, Eleventy data files become content collections, Eleventy filters become utility functions. Your Markdown content migrates with zero changes.
The ecosystem advantage
Astro has official integrations for Tailwind, MDX, sitemaps, RSS, image optimisation, and dozens more. The npm ecosystem is fully available. React, Vue, and Svelte components work inside Astro pages via islands. This ecosystem access is the primary reason Eleventy users migrate -- the philosophy is the same, but the tooling is richer.
The migration process
Discovery & Audit
We map every page, post, media file, redirect, and plugin. Nothing gets missed.
Architecture Plan
New stack designed for your content structure, SEO requirements, and performance targets.
Staged Migration
Content migrated in batches. Each batch verified before the next begins.
SEO Preservation
301 redirects, canonical tags, sitemap, robots.txt — every ranking signal carried over.
Launch & Monitor
DNS cutover with zero downtime. 30-day monitoring period included.
Eleventy (11ty) vs Astro
| Metric | Eleventy (11ty) | Astro |
|---|---|---|
| JavaScript shipped | Zero by default | Zero by default |
| Component system | Partials/includes | Full component architecture |
| TypeScript | Limited | First-class |
| Framework components | Not supported | React, Vue, Svelte via islands |
| Content typing | Untyped data cascade | Typed content collections |
| Community size | Smaller | Larger and growing |
Common questions
Why leave Eleventy if it also ships zero JavaScript?
Eleventy and Astro share the zero-JS philosophy. The reasons to migrate are ecosystem access (npm packages, framework components), TypeScript support, content collections with type safety, and a larger community. If Eleventy serves your needs perfectly, there is no urgency to migrate.
How similar are Eleventy and Astro?
Very similar in philosophy. Both default to zero JavaScript, both are content-first, both support Markdown. The key differences are Astro's component architecture, TypeScript support, and ability to include React/Vue/Svelte components via islands.
Will my Nunjucks templates convert to Astro?
Nunjucks templates convert to Astro components. The syntax is different but the concepts map directly: Nunjucks extends becomes Astro layouts, Nunjucks include becomes component imports, Nunjucks macros become Astro components with props. I handle the conversion as part of the migration.
Can I keep my Markdown content?
Yes. Your Markdown files migrate directly into Astro's content collections. Front matter maps to typed schemas. Content renders through Astro's Markdown pipeline. No content changes are needed.
What about Eleventy's data cascade?
Eleventy's data cascade (global data, directory data, template data) is replaced with Astro's content collections and component props. The approach is different but achieves the same result. Content collections add type safety that Eleventy's data cascade does not provide.
How long does an Eleventy to Astro migration take?
A site with 10-30 pages takes 2-3 weeks. A blog with 100+ posts takes 3-4 weeks. The migration is one of the smoother SSG migrations because of the philosophical alignment between the two tools.
Ready to migrate?
Free assessment. We'll audit your current site and give you a clear migration plan — no commitment.
Let's build
something together.
Whether it's a migration, a new build, or an SEO challenge — the Social Animal team would love to hear from you.