RULE: Default stack for new marketing-site work is Astro 5/6 + Tailwind v4 on Cloudflare Pages

Rule: Every new Candid Creative engagement for a marketing site, knowledge-base, docs site, or local-service business site starts with Astro 5/6 + Tailwind v4 deployed on Cloudflare Pages/Workers. The starter template includes View Transitions, Speculation Rules, Cloudflare Images bindings, and a web-vitals RUM snippet pointed at a Worker endpoint.

Flip rules (documented in writing, not assumed):

• Flip to Next.js 16 + Vercel only when the project is an actual app (auth, dashboards, complex mutations) or the client also wants a logged-in dashboard in the same codebase.
• Flip to SvelteKit 2 + Svelte 5 only when the team has existing Svelte fluency.
• Flip to headless WordPress + Next.js only when the editor team explicitly requires the Gutenberg experience and the cost premium is accepted in writing.

Why: Astro ships dramatically less JavaScript than equivalent Next.js builds for content sites; Cloudflare's January 16, 2026 acquisition of The Astro Technology Company secured a sustainable steward; Cloudflare Pages + Workers gives sub-5ms V8 isolate cold starts versus container-based serverless at 250ms+. See Astro on Cloudflare Pages: ~$0/month vs Next.js SSR ~$20-200/month (Bobes 2026 benchmark) (already in KB) and Cloudflare acquired The Astro Technology Company on January 16, 2026 — strategic alignment for Candid's default stack.

How to apply: When scoping a new engagement, the default proposal cites this stack. The Migration Audit deliverable (RULE: Lead WordPress migration sales with a $1,250 fixed-price Migration Audit. Quote the build fixed-price only after the audit completes.) recommends this stack unless one of the flip conditions is in writing.