Title: Navigating the Challenges of Freelance Web Development: A Developer’s Perspective

As a seasoned freelance web developer with over five years of experience, I often find myself grappling with feelings of dissatisfaction regarding my development process. The pursuit of creating seamless, efficient websites frequently leaves me questioning whether I should simply give up. If you’re a freelancer facing similar frustrations, you’re not alone.

Throughout my career, I’ve crafted numerous client-facing websites—primarily marketing and informational platforms. Despite these achievements, I realize I’ve yet to attain complete satisfaction with my workflow. The rapidly evolving landscape of web development, combined with the unique challenges of freelancing, creates a complex environment that can sometimes be overwhelming.

One of my primary concerns revolves around infrastructure architecture. The modern web development ecosystem is intricate, with many moving parts that complicate the process, especially for solo practitioners. Rising hosting costs, unpredictable tier-based charges, overage fees, and managing DevOps tasks add layers of complexity that can feel burdensome. Keeping up with best practices and tooling developments only adds to the challenge.

Over the years, I’ve experimented with various solutions to streamline my workflow:

• Sanity CMS: It initially offered a fantastic experience, but as client needs grew—particularly with increased user numbers—the costs soared abruptly. I started with a flat annual hosting fee, but unforeseen bandwidth spikes pushed those costs up, requiring me to explain additional charges to clients, which isn’t ideal.

• Payload CMS with Astro: Seeking to avoid a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, I experimented with self-hosted Payload CMS paired with Astro. After weeks of troubleshooting—dealing with deployment hurdles and configuration issues—I finally got a setup running on two domains (example.com and admin.example.com). However, the front-end development revealed more hurdles—lacking a reliable CDN for images, difficulties rendering content safely, and challenges with data fetching—making me question whether this approach is sustainable without significant additional effort.

The tooling landscape is changing swiftly, often feeling like a game of catch-up. I started with Gatsby, which I appreciated at first, but its limitations became evident over time. Then Next.js took the spotlight, only to grow more complex and bloated (caching strategies, serverless functions, etc.). Currently exploring Astro, I enjoy some aspects, yet the frequent shift between frameworks raises concerns about stability and long-term viability.

Hosting remains