{
"id": "build-a-static-seo-site-with-astro",
"type": "playbooks",
"category": "playbooks",
"locale": "en",
"url": "/playbooks/build-a-static-seo-site-with-astro",
"title": "Prompt-to-PR: Build a Static SEO Site with Astro",
"description": "Complete SOP for scaffolding a content-driven static SEO site with Astro, Tailwind, MDX content collections, sitemap, and canonical tags from scratch.",
"tools": [
"Cursor",
"Claude Code",
"Codex",
"Windsurf"
],
"stack": [
"Astro",
"TypeScript",
"Tailwind"
],
"tags": [
"astro",
"seo",
"tailwind",
"typescript",
"search"
],
"difficulty": "medium",
"updated": "2026-06-08",
"markdown": "Scaffold a production-ready, fully static Astro 5 site optimized for organic search: content collections, Tailwind typography, `@astrojs/sitemap`, and correct `` metadata wired up from day one.\n\n## 1. Requirement\n\nBuild a static marketing/content site that scores 100 on Lighthouse SEO and Accessibility. Content is authored in MDX files managed by Astro content collections. No JavaScript framework needed — output is pure HTML+CSS with opt-in islands.\n\n## 2. First Prompt\n\n```txt title=\"First Prompt\"\nScaffold a new Astro 5 static SEO site from scratch in the current directory.\n\nRequirements:\n1. Init with: `bunx create astro@latest . --template minimal --typescript strict --no-git`\n2. Add integrations:\n - `@astrojs/tailwind` with `@tailwindcss/typography`\n - `@astrojs/sitemap`\n - `@astrojs/mdx`\n3. Create a content collection `blog` in `src/content/blog/` with this Zod schema:\n title, description, pubDate (Date), updatedDate (Date, optional),\n author (string, default \"Admin\"), tags (string[], default []), draft (bool, default false).\n4. Create a BaseLayout.astro with:\n - A `` block: charset, viewport, canonical (`Astro.url.href`),\n og:title, og:description, og:url, og:type, twitter:card.\n - Accept `title`, `description`, `image` props.\n5. Create pages:\n - `/` — hero + last 6 non-draft posts\n - `/blog` — paginated list (10 per page) using `paginate()`\n - `/blog/[slug]` — single post rendered with ``\n - `/tags/[tag]` — posts filtered by tag\n6. Create `src/content/blog/hello-world.mdx` as a real sample post.\n7. Configure `astro.config.ts`:\n - `site: process.env.SITE_URL ?? \"http://localhost:4321\"`\n - `integrations: [tailwind(), sitemap(), mdx()]`\n - `output: \"static\"`\n8. Add a `.env.example` with `SITE_URL=https://example.com`.\n```\n\n## 3. Expected File Changes\n\n```txt\nastro.config.ts\ntailwind.config.ts\nsrc/content.config.ts (blog collection schema)\nsrc/layouts/BaseLayout.astro (head + canonical + OG tags)\nsrc/pages/index.astro\nsrc/pages/blog/index.astro (paginated)\nsrc/pages/blog/[slug].astro\nsrc/pages/tags/[tag].astro\nsrc/content/blog/hello-world.mdx\n.env.example\npackage.json (updated with all integrations)\n```\n\n## 4. Review Checklist\n\n- `astro.config.ts` sets `site` — required for `@astrojs/sitemap` to emit absolute URLs.\n- `BaseLayout.astro` outputs a `` using `Astro.url.href`.\n- Blog list page uses `Astro.props.page.data` from `paginate()` — not a raw `getCollection()` call.\n- Draft posts (`draft: true`) are excluded in production via `import.meta.env.PROD` guard.\n- `` is set on the root element.\n- `tailwind.config.ts` includes the `typography` plugin and targets `src/**/*.{astro,mdx}`.\n- `sitemap()` integration is present — verify `dist/sitemap-index.xml` exists after `bun run build`.\n\n## 5. Test Commands\n\n```bash\nbun install\nbun run dev\n# visit http://localhost:4321 and confirm hero + posts render\n\nbun run build\n# expect zero errors\n\nbun run preview\n# check /sitemap-index.xml and /sitemap-0.xml exist\n# check /blog and /blog/hello-world render with correct and canonical\n\n# Lighthouse CLI smoke test (optional)\nbunx lighthouse http://localhost:4321 --output json --quiet | jq '.categories.seo.score'\n# expect 1 (100%)\n```\n\n## 6. Common Failures\n\n- **Sitemap generates relative URLs** — `site` missing from `astro.config.ts`. Add it.\n- **`getCollection` returns drafts in production** — filter: `posts.filter(p => !p.data.draft || !import.meta.env.PROD)`.\n- **Pagination 404 on `/blog`** — first page must be `/blog/` (index), not `/blog/1`. Astro's `paginate()` outputs `/blog/`, `/blog/2/`, etc. by default.\n- **MDX content not styled** — `@tailwindcss/typography` `prose` class missing on the article wrapper in `[slug].astro`.\n- **OG tags use relative image path** — must be an absolute URL. Prefix with `Astro.site`.\n\n## 7. Fix Prompt\n\n```txt title=\"Fix Prompt\"\nThe sitemap at /sitemap-0.xml contains relative paths like \"/blog/hello-world\"\ninstead of absolute URLs like \"https://example.com/blog/hello-world\".\n\nFix: add `site: \"https://example.com\"` (or `process.env.SITE_URL`) to the\ntop-level astro.config.ts object. The sitemap integration reads this value\nto prefix all URLs.\n```\n\n## 8. PR Description\n\n```md title=\"PR description\"\n## Init: Static Astro 5 SEO site\n\n- Astro 5 + TypeScript strict + Tailwind (with `@tailwindcss/typography`)\n- `@astrojs/sitemap` and `@astrojs/mdx` integrations\n- Content collection `blog` with Zod schema (title, description, pubDate, tags, draft)\n- BaseLayout with canonical, OG, and Twitter Card meta tags\n- Pages: home, paginated blog list, single post, tag archive\n- Sample `hello-world.mdx` post\n- `bun run build` emits `sitemap-index.xml` and all static pages\n```"
}