Hello World

• 5 min read
meta astro blogging automation

Well, hello world! This is my first proper blog post, and I’m writing it to introduce myself and explain what this space is about.

I’m Gabi Udrescu, a product owner based in Bucharest, Romania. I’ve spent the last decade working in eCommerce, helping build and scale online platforms. I’ve worked with Sylius, Symfony, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, and various other technologies. But despite all that experience, I never really had a public space to share what I’ve learned.

I tried before. I set up a Hugo blog years ago, wrote a few posts, and then… nothing. The setup worked, but it was cumbersome. Writing a blog post meant SSH-ing into servers, running commands, managing deployments. Too much friction. As a product owner, I know that friction kills adoption. In this case, it killed my motivation to write.

So I decided to start fresh with one goal in mind: build something so easy to use that I’ll actually use it.

The Stack

I rebuilt everything using Astro, and I’m really happy with the decision. Here’s what powers this blog:

Core Technology

  • Astro - A modern static site generator that ships zero JavaScript by default. Perfect for a blog that doesn’t need heavy client-side interactivity.
  • TypeScript - Type safety from the ground up. As someone who’s worked with PHP and Symfony for years, I appreciate the peace of mind that types bring.
  • Tailwind CSS - Utility-first CSS that lets me build responsive designs quickly. No more wrestling with SCSS configurations.
  • MDX - Markdown with superpowers. I can write normal markdown but extend it with components when needed.

The Workflow

This is where it gets interesting. I set up automation that lets me write blog posts in two ways:

  1. GitHub Issues - I can create a GitHub Issue, add the blog-post label, and GitHub Actions automatically converts it to a blog post and creates a PR. This means I can draft posts from my phone, from the GitHub web interface, or anywhere.

  2. AI-Assisted Writing - I can ask Claude (or any AI) to help me write posts, paste the markdown into a GitHub Issue, and the automation takes over. No more copy-pasting into files.

The automation workflow:

  • Create GitHub Issue with blog post content
  • Add blog-post label
  • GitHub Actions creates a new branch and PR automatically
  • Cloudflare Pages generates a preview deployment
  • I review and merge
  • Site updates automatically

No SSH. No command line. No friction.

Deployment

I’m using Cloudflare Pages for hosting:

  • Global CDN with incredible performance
  • Automatic HTTPS
  • Preview deployments for every PR
  • Unlimited bandwidth on the free tier
  • Build time around 30-40 seconds

Every push to the main branch triggers a new deployment. The entire process from merge to live is under a minute.

Why Now?

I’ve been thinking about this for years. I have notes scattered across Notion, Google Docs, and various text files. Ideas about product management, eCommerce architecture, technical decisions I’ve made, lessons learned from failed projects.

But I never published anything because the barrier to entry was too high. The old blog required too many steps. I’d have an idea for a post but think “ugh, I need to SSH in, create files, commit, deploy…” and just not do it.

Reduce friction, increase usage. That’s what I preach as a product owner, and now I’m finally applying it to myself.

The barrier to entry dropped from 10 minutes to 1 minute. That matters.

What I’ll Write About

I’m planning to share:

  • Product management lessons - Things I’ve learned from working on eCommerce platforms, dealing with stakeholders, prioritizing features, managing backlogs.
  • Technical decisions - Architecture choices, platform selection, technical debt, scaling challenges.
  • eCommerce insights - What works, what doesn’t, trends I’m seeing, tools I’m using.
  • Automation and productivity - How to build systems that work for you instead of against you.

The common thread: practical insights from someone who’s been in the trenches building and shipping products.

What I Learned Building This

Astro is Fast

Build times for this entire site are around 3-4 seconds. Hugo was faster, but Astro is fast enough that I don’t care. The developer experience is significantly better.

TypeScript Catches Mistakes Early

During the migration, TypeScript caught several issues in my frontmatter data and component props. It saved me from deploying broken builds multiple times.

Automation Changes Behavior

This is the big one. Before, I had the skills to blog but not the motivation to deal with the process. Now, the process is invisible. That changes everything.

I spent about 10 years working in eCommerce as a product owner. One of the biggest lessons I learned: the best solution is the one you’ll actually use.

Hugo was powerful but I didn’t use it. Astro is powerful and I will use it. That’s the difference.

Starting Fresh

I deleted all my old blog posts. They were scattered thoughts from years ago, half-finished ideas, posts written for an audience that never materialized.

This is a clean slate. A real “Hello World” moment.

If you’re reading this, welcome. I’m glad you’re here. I don’t know how you found this blog, but I hope you’ll find something useful in what I share.

Here’s to writing more in 2025 and beyond.

Cheers, Gabi

P.S. - This entire migration, including the automation setup, was done in a single session with Claude as my pair programming partner. We really are living in the future.