WordPress for content.
Astro for everything visitors see.
PhantomWP gives you a browser workspace that creates your GitHub repo, sets up the Astro project, and walks you through your first deploy — with AI help along the way. No Node, no Vite, no terminal.
- Browser workspace
- Real Astro code you own
- AI help built in
Start from zero
Curious about Astro,
not sure where to begin?
Most WordPress users want to try Astro but stall on the setup. PhantomWP handles the boring first steps for you.
Creates the Astro project
No Node, no Vite, no npm install. A clean starter is generated for you.
Sets up your GitHub repo
A real repo you own, with commits you can review and roll back any time.
Opens the browser workspace
A full editor with live preview. Nothing to install on your machine.
Gives you AI help while you build
Describe a change in plain English. AI writes the Astro code. You stay in control.
Connects WordPress when you are ready
Pull in posts, pages, and custom fields through the REST API. No plugins required.
So you are not staring at a terminal wondering what to install first.
WordPress isn't the problem.
The way we build with it is.
Most WordPress setups rely on layers of plugins, builders, and caching tricks. It works until it doesn't.
Layered stacks get fragile
Plugins, builders, and themes all shape the output. Small changes cascade in unpredictable ways.
Preview drifts from production
Visual builders abstract away the real code, so what you design rarely matches what actually ships.
Performance is bolted on later
Speed ends up depending on a chain of caching tools, each one a new single point of failure.
Debugging eats your roadmap
Hours meant for shipping features get spent tracing render quirks and cache weirdness instead.
That's not a development workflow.
It's damage control.
What if WordPress was just your backend?
Keep everything you like about WordPress for content. Replace the fragile frontend layer with something structured, fast, and version-controlled.
WordPress stays for
- Content management your team already knows
- The WordPress admin, untouched
- Plugins for data, forms, and workflows
Your frontend becomes
- Astro pages that score 99+ on Lighthouse
- Structured, readable components
- Git-based changes you can review
- Deploys you can preview and roll back
No builders. No hidden logic. Just code you control.
How it actually works
Connect GitHub, scaffold a project, deploy. WordPress is optional and stays optional. Every step happens in the browser, every change is reversible.
Connect GitHub
Sign in with GitHub. PhantomWP creates real repos under your account, so your code is yours from day one. Nothing locked in our database.
Create your first project
Pick an Astro starter. We scaffold the codebase, push it to a fresh GitHub repo, and open the browser workspace ready to edit.
Connect WordPress
Have an existing WordPress site? Point PhantomWP at it and your posts, pages, and custom fields flow in through the REST API. Skip this step if you are starting fresh.
Deploy to Vercel or Cloudflare
Preview on a staging URL, then ship to production with a click. Roll back to any previous commit any time.
Setup takes about a minute. Start from a simple Astro site — connect WordPress whenever you need it.
AI works better when it has structure.
AI struggles with page builders because it generates code the builder can't really interpret. PhantomWP gives AI real files, real components, and a project structure it can navigate.
Real output
AI writes Astro components, not builder markup that breaks on export.
Full visibility
Every file AI touches is a real file you can open, read, and edit.
No black boxes
Nothing is hidden behind a drag-and-drop canvas or proprietary format.
One WordPress plugin, fully wired
The optional WordPress plugin that unlocks writes, agentic AI that creates posts and custom post types for you, visitor authentication, and signed two-way communication. Installs in under a minute.
Agentic AI writes to WordPress
Ask for a Recipes custom post type, a new draft blog post, or a Testimonials taxonomy. The AI creates it directly in your WordPress through the plugin.
Visitor JWT authentication
Login, registration, and account flows on your Astro frontend. Short-lived, capability-restricted tokens backed by WordPress users.
Signed two-way communication
ECDSA P-256 signatures on every request, scoped to your install. No API key copy-paste, no wp-config edits, no shared passwords on the wire.
Built for developers who want control
PhantomWP is opinionated about who it serves. That honesty is part of the product.
Good fit
- Developers who want to stop fighting builders and own their frontend code
- Agencies that need a repeatable, fast workflow for client WordPress sites
- Technical founders who want AI-assisted builds they can actually review and trust
Not for
- Drag-and-drop users - PhantomWP is code-first, not visual-first
- No-code beginners - you should be comfortable with HTML and CSS basics
- Theme shoppers - this generates a codebase, not a ready-made design
You don't have to rebuild overnight.
Your current WordPress site keeps running. Build the Astro frontend alongside it and switch when you're ready. Nothing breaks. Nothing is lost.
How does PhantomWP compare?
Three paths to a headless WordPress frontend. One is dramatically faster.
| DIY | PhantomWP | Hire a dev | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to first deploy | Weeks | Minutes | Weeks |
| Setup complexity | High | Low | Medium |
| AI workflow | Manual | Built in | Depends |
| Code ownership | Yes | Yes | Varies |
| Repeatable across projects | No | Yes | No |
| Cost | Free + your time | $149 one-time | $5,000+ |
Get PhantomWP
PhantomWP is entering its final pre-v1 phase. Lock in lifetime access (LTD) now before the Founders price closes and stable pricing begins.
Why this offer is closing
PhantomWP was priced this way during the beta phase because early users were helping shape the product. With v1 stable approaching, the Founders offer is ending and PhantomWP will move to stable pricing.
Starter
Coming soonUse PhantomWP on one project. Billed every year.
Renews yearly
What you get
- 1 project
- Renews every year at $149
- All core PhantomWP features
- Deploy to Vercel
- AI assistant
- WordPress connection
Founders Lifetime
Available nowSame price as one year of Starter. Pay it once and use PhantomWP forever.
Never renews
What you get
- Unlimited projects
- All future updates included, forever
- Pay once. Never renews.
- All current PhantomWP features
Founding lifetime access ends before v1 stable. After that, only annual plans are available.
Agency
Coming soonFor freelancers and agencies building multiple client projects. Billed every year.
Renews yearly
What you get
- 10 projects
- Renews every year at $399
- All core PhantomWP features
- Client/project management
- Priority support
“The level of performance is simply unbelievable”- Lincoln Cristiano, Founder at Digital Forms
What early users are saying
“PhantomWP is a true game changer. If you run an agency and care about security and performance, you need to know PhantomWP -- it removes all the complexity of using WordPress + Astro and makes everything simple, stable, and incredibly fast. The level of performance is simply unbelievable.”
Lincoln Cristiano
Founder, Digital Forms
“I once watched a tutorial about fetching WordPress content to Astro via API, but the process seemed too time-consuming. Then I discovered PhantomWP. After reviewing the docs and a few video tutorials, I was impressed to find it handles most of the heavy lifting. That finally convinced me to go headless.”
Sharif Payenda
Mathematics Teacher
“PhantomWP impressed me with its blazing-fast performance and clean headless architecture that adds an extra layer of security. I especially love that it keeps WordPress as the backend, giving me the flexibility of a familiar CMS while delivering top-notch frontend speed and modern performance.”
Manikanta Srivishnu
Freelancer
“In SEO, web performance isn't optional. But turning WordPress into a clean headless stack used to take weeks. PhantomWP wipes all of that out. WordPress handles the CMS, Astro handles the front end, and the result is 99+ mobile Lighthouse with zero compromise. This is the solution I was waiting for, for my agency clients.”
Cyril Ordines
Director, Beeween.com
“PhantomWP is easily the most seamless way I've found to connect Astro with WordPress. Tasks that normally require custom wiring and workarounds are handled through a clean, intuitive interface. It removes friction from what is usually a very technical process.”
Adam Lowe
President, Peak Performance Digital
“The closest I've been to a frictionless headless WordPress + Astro setup. The AI assistant gets you unstuck fast, and Tailwind works exactly as-is -- no weird hacks. Even though it's still in beta, it already feels like it's heading in a really solid direction, and it's clearly built with production in mind.”
A.J.M.
WordPress educator
Everything included
WordPress + Astro
- Pull posts, pages, and media from WordPress REST API
- Automatic SEO migration (Yoast, Rank Math, AIOSEO)
- Keep WordPress as your CMS, serve a static Astro frontend
- Media sync and local image optimization
- Works with any WordPress site, no plugins required
Workflow
- Visual component library with drag-and-drop sections
- Browser-based code editor with live preview
- Git-based version control on your own GitHub repo
- One-click deploy to Vercel
- Standard Astro project -- eject and self-host anytime
AI (optional)
- Chat-based editing: describe changes in plain English
- AI-assisted component and page generation
- Bring your own API key, no extra cost
- Use it when it helps, skip it when it doesn't
Frequently asked questions
WordPress builders made sense before AI.
Now they're holding back the teams that want structure, speed, and a workflow they can actually trust.