The verdict in three sentences
A Drupal 7 site still in production in 2026 is a security and compliance risk, since official support ended on 5 January 2025. For a mid-size enterprise in Berlin, migrating to Next.js with a headless CMS (Sanity or Strapi) is budgeted at 40,000 to 110,000 EUR for 300 to 1,500 pages, over 12 to 20 weeks. With a complete 301 redirect plan and a prepared cutover, organic traffic loss stays under 5% and recovers within two to three months.
Why Drupal 7 to Next.js rather than Drupal 10 or 11
Moving to Drupal 10 or 11 is not a simple upgrade: the architecture changed with Drupal 8, modules and the theme must be rewritten, and the cost often matches a full rebuild. Many mid-size companies use the opportunity to separate content (headless CMS) from presentation (Next.js), which improves speed, security and editorial team autonomy.
| Option | Indicative budget (EUR, 600 pages) | Timeline | Security | Mobile performance | Annual maintenance cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stay on Drupal 7 with paid extended support | 10,000 to 22,000 per year | Immediate | Third-party patches, growing risk | LCP 3.5 to 5 s | 12,000 to 22,000 |
| Migrate to Drupal 10 or 11 | 50,000 to 95,000 | 14 to 22 weeks | Good | LCP 2.5 to 3.5 s | 9,000 to 18,000 |
| Next.js + Sanity (headless) | 52,000 to 85,000 | 12 to 18 weeks | Very good, smaller attack surface | LCP 1.2 to 2 s | 6,000 to 14,000 |
| Next.js + self-hosted Strapi | 48,000 to 80,000 | 12 to 18 weeks | Very good if server is maintained | LCP 1.2 to 2 s | 8,000 to 15,000 |
| Classic WordPress | 32,000 to 60,000 | 10 to 14 weeks | Average, plugin-dependent | LCP 2 to 3.5 s | 6,000 to 12,000 |
For a company publishing in several languages (German, English, often Polish or French), the headless model simplifies translation management and approval workflows.
Detailed budget by page volume
Cost depends on the volume of content to migrate, the number of content types (news, products, job offers, documents) and integrations (ERP, CRM, intranet).
| Volume and scope | Budget (EUR) | Timeline | Of which content migration | Of which SEO and redirects |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 300 pages, 6 content types, 1 language | 40,000 to 55,000 | 12 weeks | 6,000 to 9,000 | 4,000 to 5,500 |
| 600 pages, 10 types, 2 languages | 55,000 to 75,000 | 14 weeks | 9,000 to 14,000 | 5,500 to 8,000 |
| 1,000 pages, 12 types, 3 languages | 70,000 to 95,000 | 16 to 18 weeks | 14,000 to 20,000 | 8,000 to 11,000 |
| 1,500 pages, 15 types, 3 languages, intranet | 90,000 to 110,000 | 18 to 20 weeks | 18,000 to 25,000 | 10,000 to 13,000 |
| Option: ERP or CRM connector | 10,000 to 25,000 | + 2 to 4 weeks | N/A | N/A |
| Option: BITV / WCAG accessibility audit | 5,000 to 10,000 | + 1 to 2 weeks | N/A | N/A |
Content migration is rarely fully automatic: Drupal 7 fields are exported by script, but 15 to 25% of pages need manual rework (content pasted from Word, malformed tables, images without alt text).
The five-step cutover plan
1. Inventory and mapping (weeks 1 to 3). Full site crawl, Search Console export of the last 16 months, identification of the 20% of pages that generate 80% of traffic and backlinks.
2. Architecture and design (weeks 3 to 7). Content model in the headless CMS, Next.js templates, sign-off by communications and IT.
3. Development and migration (weeks 6 to 14). Import scripts, manual rework, acceptance testing in batches of 100 pages.
4. Redirects and staging (weeks 13 to 16). Old URL to new URL mapping table, one row per indexed page, automated 301 tests, no redirect chains.
5. Cutover and monitoring (week 16 onwards). Go-live on a Tuesday morning, sitemap submission, daily 404 monitoring for 30 days.
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Mini case study
Katrin, CIO of a mid-size industrial company in Berlin (900 employees, site in German, English and Polish), runs 1,000 pages on Drupal 7. Extended support costs her 18,000 EUR a year and dedicated hosting 7,200 EUR a year.
She chooses a migration to Next.js and Sanity at 85,000 EUR, delivered in 17 weeks. New maintenance costs 9,000 EUR a year and hosting 3,600 EUR a year, saving 12,600 EUR annually. Organic traffic dips 3% in the first month, then exceeds the original level by 11% in month six thanks to LCP falling from 4.1 s to 1.6 s. Over five years, operating savings reach 63,000 EUR, close to 75% of the investment.
FAQ
Is Drupal 7 still usable in 2026?
Technically yes, but official community support ended on 5 January 2025. Only third-party vendors provide patches, for 10,000 to 22,000 EUR a year depending on site size.
How much does a Drupal 7 to Next.js migration cost?
Between 40,000 and 110,000 EUR for 300 to 1,500 pages in Berlin in 2026. ERP or CRM integrations add 10,000 to 25,000 EUR.
Will we lose search rankings?
With a complete 301 redirect table and URL structure kept where possible, the drop stays under 5% and lasts 4 to 8 weeks. Without a redirect plan, losses of 30 to 50% are common.
Sanity or Strapi for a mid-size enterprise?
Sanity is hosted, costing 0 to 15 USD per user per month depending on the plan, and suits teams that do not want to manage servers. Strapi is open source and self-hosted, a good fit if IT requires data to stay on its own servers, which matters under GDPR.
Will editorial teams need training?
Yes, 1 to 2 days of training is usually enough, for 2,500 to 4,500 EUR. A modern headless CMS interface is simpler than Drupal 7's.
Let's scope your project. Tell us the page volume, languages and integrations of your Drupal 7 site and we will price the migration, the redirect plan and the cutover 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.
