The Shape of a Small Site
A bespoke Astro page for essays that need their own structure instead of a standard MDX flow.
Use MDX when
The page is mostly a straight run of text, headings, lists, code, and a few images.
Use Astro when
The page needs its own composition, custom sections, or markup that should not feel generic.
Keep the bridge short
Both modes can share the same site chrome and still diverge cleanly at the content layer.
A personal site usually gets better when it has two speeds. The first is fast and repeatable: open an MDX file, write a clear post, publish it. The second is slower and more deliberate: design a page with structure that suits the material.
The framework should disappear for routine writing and get out of the way entirely when a page wants to become something stranger.
Astro is well-suited to this split because its default is just HTML. You can keep the ordinary case as ordinary as possible, then reach for a bespoke `.astro` file only when the page has earned it.