Modern frontend evolves at a pace so fast that even stable technologies change every year.

With SSR, SSG, islands, hydration, and new runtimes emerging constantly, choosing a frontend stack is no longer a simple decision.

Today more than ever, a technical choice should answer just one question: what does your project actually need?

At Labba, we evaluate technology every day for clients, products, and startups.

In this guide, we show how we make technical decisions that work in the real world — and how you can do it too.

Before the stack: understanding what your project really needs

There’s no “perfect” technology without context.

Before diving into frameworks, ask yourself:

What are you building?

A landing page is very different from an ecommerce site or a SaaS product.

Your project defines the level of SEO, interactivity, and performance you need.

What delivery speed does the project require?

Tighter timelines favor tools that come with more things solved out of the box.

Who will maintain the code afterward?

The perfect stack is useless if no one can sustain it.

Does it need to scale in the future?

Today, maybe a landing page.

Tomorrow, a full product.

Understanding this reduces your options more than any technical comparison ever could.

React, Next.js, Astro, Hydrogen… what does each one solve?

React (plain)

Full control. Build your structure by hand.

Ideal for:

internal apps
custom landing pages
projects that require absolute freedom

Pros:

no constraints
perfect for integrating with any backend

Cons:

you decide everything: routes, SEO, optimization, server-side
if not structured properly, it ages poorly

Next.js

The complete choice for most projects.

Ideal for:

public sites with SEO focus
apps with complex routes and layouts
hybrid projects (SSR, SSG, ISR)

Pros:

solid performance from day one
robust routing
automatic optimization
huge community

Cons:

more complex than plain React
you might end up using features you don’t need

Astro

Extreme speed, almost no JavaScript.

Ideal for:

blogs
marketing sites
documentation
sites where SEO is critical

Pros:

incredible performance
modern developer experience
use React components only when necessary

Cons:

not ideal for highly interactive apps
you might end up adding React anyway

Shopify Hydrogen

The stack for Shopify ecommerce.

Ideal for:

custom stores
headless experiences focused on performance

Pros:

direct Shopify integration
optimized for commerce flows

Cons:

very specific
not useful outside the Shopify ecosystem

The most common mistake: choosing based on hype

Many projects become expensive, slow, or unmaintainable because someone picked a stack “because it’s trendy.”

Common examples we see:

a landing site built with Next.js when a static HTML site would have sufficed
an ecommerce in plain React when Hydrogen would have solved everything
an Astro project that later needed complex interactivity

The problem doesn’t appear at first.

It shows up when the project grows, SEO suffers, or the client requests an urgent change.

The decision framework we use at Labba

1. SEO: is it critical?

Yes → Next.js or Astro
No → React works

2. Interactivity: high or low?

High → React / Next.js
Low → Astro / Next.js

3. Delivery speed

Very urgent → Next.js
Flexible → React / Astro
Ecommerce → Hydrogen

4. Team maintaining the code

Junior / mixed → Next.js
Senior → any
Multiple freelancers → Next.js for order

5. Expected scalability

High → Next.js
Low → React / Astro

With this approach, the right choice becomes clear.

So… which one should you choose?

A quick answer:

Next.js → safe choice for 70% of modern projects
Astro → ideal for content-focused, fast sites
Plain React → full control for specific projects
Hydrogen → if you’re working with Shopify

There is no “best tool.”

There is the right tool for the right context.

Conclusion

Choosing a stack is not a framework war:

it’s a decision that impacts speed, cost, performance, and the project’s lifespan.

If you understand what your project needs — today and tomorrow — choosing technology becomes simple, clear, and strategic.

At Labba, we do this every day: we design and build digital experiences on technical foundations that won’t break tomorrow.

Want help choosing the right stack for your project?

Let’s talk. We guide you from strategy to code.

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How to Choose the Right Frontend Stack for Your Project