How building an HTML-first site doubled our users overnight

A developer shares how rebuilding a utility company's online form as an HTML-first site using Astro doubled user completions overnight. After two failed attempts (including a broken React app), the new approach used multi-page form wizard with server-side validation, progressive enhancement via web components, and backend session storage to never lose user data. The result: users on old browsers, poor connections, and assistive technologies could finally complete the form. The post also introduces a custom form validation web component called validation-enhancer, under 1KB, that wraps native HTML validation with a modern UX.