---
title: "Welcome to Head start"
description: "Base setup on top of headless services to help you get started quickly"
language: "English"
url: "https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/en/"
---

# Welcome to Head Start!

**Head Start is a base setup on top of headless services to help you quickly start a new website.**

[Try our demos](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/demos.md)[Read the docs](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation.md)

## Philosophy

* Provide a generic template to help develop new websites (not web apps) faster.

* Provide a pre-defined setup for composable pages with common components.

* Provide pre-configured services like a CMS and deployment platform.

* Support common needs like internationalisation (i18n), SEO, redirects and analytics.

* Provide functional interactivity without a JS framework (React, Vue, Svelte, etc)\*.

* Provide functional interactivity without specific styling ("unstyled")\*.

* Provide a fully accessible and highly performant baseline for every project.

\* We'll leave the choice for a JS framework and strategy for styling to developers using Head Start for their project.

## Architecture

The site is created as lightweight progressively enhanced website connected to a headless CMS:

* [Astro](https://astro.build/) - web framework to structure this project. Astro is selected because it embraces web standards, is designed for performance, and supports all our favourite UI frameworks (React, Vue and Svelte).

* [DatoCMS](https://www.datocms.com/) - a headless CMS is connected to manage web content. DatoCMS is selected for its modular and structured content options, advanced image service, multi-language support and GraphQL API.

* [Cloudflare Pages](https://pages.cloudflare.com/) - is a JAMstack hosting platform. Cloudflare Pages is selected for its reliable CDN, zero cold-start workers, green hosting and affordable pricing.

## Documentation

* [Accessibility (a11y)](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/accessibility.md)

* [Assets](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/assets.md)

* [Blocks and Components](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/blocks-and-components.md)

* [CMS Content Modelling](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/cms-content-modelling.md)

* [CMS Data Loading](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/cms-data-loading.md)

* [Astro Content Collections](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/content-collections.md)

* [Getting Started](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/getting-started.md)

* [Internationalization (i18n)](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/i18n.md)

* [Migrations](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/migrations.md)

* [Performance](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/performance.md)

* [Preview Mode](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/preview-mode.md)

* [Project Structure](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/project-structure.md)

* [Routing](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/routing.md)

* [Search](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/search.md)

* [Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/seo.md)

* [Testing](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/testing.md)

* [Upgrading](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/upgrading.md)

* [Working with AI](https://6b4c5683.head-start.pages.dev/api/content/en/documentation/working-with-ai.md)