The verdict in three sentences
For a B2B services company, migrating a 50 to 150-page WordPress site to Next.js costs EUR 8,000 to 22,000 (about USD 8,700 to 24,000) in 2026, over 6 to 10 weeks. The benefit is twofold: load time divided by 2 to 3 and the end of fragile maintenance on 40 plugins exposed to vulnerabilities. The main risk is SEO: without an exhaustive 301 redirect plan, a migration can lose 20 to 40% of organic traffic within weeks.
The detailed budget of a headless migration
The migration combines three workstreams: rebuilding the front end in Next.js, moving content to a headless CMS (or keeping WordPress as back office only) and protecting search rankings.
| Item | 50 pages (EUR) | 150 pages (EUR) |
|---|---|---|
| Audit of the existing site, URL and plugin inventory | 800 | 1,500 |
| Design system and Next.js templates | 2,500 | 5,500 |
| Content migration (script + manual cleanup) | 1,200 | 3,500 |
| Plugin replacement (forms, SEO, multilingual) | 1,500 | 4,500 |
| 301 redirect plan and SEO acceptance | 800 | 2,000 |
| Testing, training, go-live | 1,200 | 2,500 |
| Total | 8,000 | 19,500 - 22,000 |
On the recurring side, the headless CMS costs EUR 0 to 300 per month: self-hosted Strapi or Payload are free apart from hosting, while Sanity or Contentful charge by editors and content volume. Next.js hosting runs EUR 20 to 150 per month for an SME.
Current WordPress or Next.js: the comparison that matters
| Criterion | WordPress with 40 plugins | Next.js + headless CMS |
|---|---|---|
| Typical mobile LCP | 3.5 - 5 s | 1.2 - 2 s |
| Security updates | Weekly, risk of conflicts | Audited dependencies, smaller surface |
| Published vulnerabilities (2025 ecosystem) | Several thousand, 90% via plugins | Static front end, no exposed admin |
| Annual maintenance | EUR 1,500 - 4,000 | EUR 800 - 2,500 |
| Editor autonomy | Very good | Good with a well-configured CMS |
| Cost of a new feature | Free but fragile plugin | Custom development, durable |
Next.js is not always the right call. A 15-page site rarely updated, with a team used to the WordPress editor, can stay on a lean WordPress with 10 plugins. Migration makes sense when the site is a sales tool (forms, SEO content, client area) and performance or security already holds the business back.
The 4 risks to lock down before signing
First risk: redirects. Require a file listing 100% of indexed URLs (Search Console, sitemap, crawl) with their destination, tested before cutover. Second: forms and integrations (CRM, email marketing), to be inventoried plugin by plugin. Third: editorial autonomy, validated through acceptance testing by your own writers. Fourth: the content freeze of 1 to 2 weeks before cutover, scheduled outside peak sales periods.
Mini case study
Julien, IT director of an engineering services firm in New York (90 pages, 40 plugins), pays EUR 3,200 a year in WordPress maintenance and suffered 2 security incidents in 18 months, each costing about EUR 1,500 to fix. His site generates 25 contact requests a month.
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He migrates for EUR 14,500. Maintenance drops to EUR 1,400 a year and the headless CMS costs EUR 99 a month (EUR 1,188 a year), for annual savings of 3,200 + 1,000 (avoided incidents) - 1,400 - 1,188 = EUR 1,612. If LCP falls from 4.2 s to 1.6 s and brings 3 extra requests a month, with 1 contract signed per quarter at EUR 8,000 of margin, the project pays back in less than a year.
FAQ
Will we lose rankings during the migration?
A temporary drop of 5 to 10% for 2 to 4 weeks is common. With a complete 301 plan and preserved tags, traffic returns and then grows thanks to speed.
Can we keep WordPress as the back office?
Yes, headless WordPress keeps the interface editors know and cuts the budget by 10 to 20%, but retains part of the plugin maintenance.
How long is the content freeze?
Usually 1 to 2 weeks before go-live. Content published during that window is re-entered in the new CMS, about 1 hour per page.
Which headless CMS fits an SME?
Self-hosted Payload or Strapi at zero licence cost, Sanity for a richer editing interface from about EUR 15 per editor per month.
Is Next.js more expensive to evolve?
A change costs development time (USD 600 to 1,000 per day in New York), but it is durable and tested, unlike free plugins that break at every major update.
Let's scope your project. Send us your WordPress URL and plugin list: we will price the migration, the redirect plan and a 6 to 10-week schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
