The verdict in three sentences
Migrating a craft brewery's WordPress site to Next.js costs 7,000 to 16,000 EUR in 2026 (similar in GBP or CAD terms in the UK and Canada), with a headless CMS at 0 to 99 EUR a month. The gain is measurable: going from an LCP of 4.8 seconds to under 2 seconds lifts shop conversion and mobile rankings. The main risk is SEO: without a 301 redirect plan covering 200 to 600 URLs, the temporary traffic loss reaches 5 to 15 %.
Why leave WordPress, and when to stay
A brewery selling to pubs and restaurants, bottle shops and direct through its webshop tends to pile up plugins: shop, age gate, trade forms, stockist map, caching, security. At 28 plugins, every update becomes a risk and performance collapses.
| Metric | Current WordPress (example) | Next.js target | Expected impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mobile LCP | 4.8 s | Under 2 s | Better Core Web Vitals ranking |
| Active plugins | 28 | 0 (built-in features) | Fewer vulnerabilities, less upkeep |
| Homepage weight | 4.2 MB | Under 1.2 MB | Fast loading on 4G |
| Lighthouse performance score | 38 | Above 90 | Lower bounce rate |
| Monthly maintenance time | 6 to 8 h | 1 to 2 h | Recurring cost divided by 3 |
| Shop conversion rate | 1.1 % | 1.6 to 2 % (estimate) | Higher direct sales |
Staying on WordPress is reasonable if the site has fewer than 15 pages, no shop, and a plugin clean-up plus better hosting gets it under 2.5 seconds. An 800 to 1,500 EUR audit settles the question.
Migration budget and recurring costs
| Item | 2026 range (excl. VAT) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| SEO audit and URL inventory | 800 to 1,500 EUR | Search Console export, 200 to 600 URLs |
| Design and Next.js build | 3,000 to 7,000 EUR | Beers, brewery, stockists, trade pages |
| Shop and payments | 1,500 to 4,000 EUR | Headless Shopify or Stripe, brewery collection |
| Age verification and compliance | 500 to 1,000 EUR | Responsible drinking notices, 18+ or 19+ check |
| Content migration and 301 plan | 800 to 1,800 EUR | URL-by-URL mapping, testing |
| QA and post-launch monitoring | 400 to 700 EUR | 404 and ranking tracking for 8 weeks |
| Total | 7,000 to 16,000 EUR | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Headless CMS | 0 to 99 EUR a month | Depends on editors and languages |
| Hosting | 0 to 25 EUR a month | Edge platform with CDN |
Alcohol marketing is regulated in every market: the Portman Group code and ASA rules in the UK, provincial rules and a legal drinking age of 18 or 19 in Canada, the Évin law in France. The age gate on entry and the age check at checkout must be migrated without regression.
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Mini case study
Tom, owner of an independent brewery in Leeds, makes 9,000 EUR of online sales a month with a 1.1 % conversion rate on 8,200 visits. He migrates to Next.js for 11,500 EUR with a plan of 340 301 redirects. After 3 months, LCP drops to 1.7 s, traffic recovers to its original level within 6 weeks (maximum dip of 4 %) and conversion rises to 1.5 %. At constant basket size, sales reach about 12,270 EUR a month, an extra 3,270 EUR in revenue. With a 55 % gross margin, the monthly gain is about 1,800 EUR and the migration pays for itself in 6 to 7 months, including lower maintenance.
FAQ
How many 301 redirects should we plan? Every URL that received traffic or links in the last 16 months, usually 200 to 600 for a brewery with a shop and blog. Each old URL must point to its closest equivalent, never to the homepage by default.
Will we lose rankings? A 5 to 15 % dip is common without a plan. With a full inventory, tested redirects and a sitemap submitted on launch day, the dip usually stays under 5 % and recovers within 4 to 8 weeks.
Can pubs and bottle shops still order? Yes, the trade area (tiered pricing, ordering by keg or case) is rebuilt as a form or customer account. Allow 1,000 to 2,500 EUR extra for per-customer pricing.
Which headless CMS should we choose? For 1 to 3 editors, free tiers are enough. Beyond that, or with several languages, plan 20 to 99 EUR a month. The team should be able to edit a beer page in under 5 minutes.
Should the shop migrate at the same time? Ideally yes, so you do not keep WordPress only for WooCommerce. On a tight budget, a two-step migration (site first, shop 3 months later) spreads the spend for a modest premium of about 10 %.
Let's scope your project. Send us your current site address and sales volumes: we will audit your URLs, price the migration and redirect plan, with an 8 to 12 week timeline. 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.
