The verdict in three sentences
Leaving an institutional site on end-of-support Drupal 7 or 9 exposes it to unpatched vulnerabilities and blocks any evolution. Migrating to Drupal 10 or a headless architecture runs between GBP 18,000 and 55,000 over 12 to 20 weeks, depending on content volume and integrations. The real risk is not the project cost but the loss of search rankings if the 301 redirect plan and editorial governance are rushed.
Drupal 10 or headless: decide by your governance
Drupal 10 remains the default choice for an organisation with strong editorial governance (approval workflows, multiple roles). Decoupling (Drupal in the back, Next.js in the front) brings performance and design flexibility at the cost of added complexity. The right answer depends on your teams and your security requirements.
| Criterion | Monolithic Drupal 10 | Headless Drupal + Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 cost (GBP) | 18,000 - 36,000 | 32,000 - 55,000 |
| Timeline | 12-16 weeks | 16-20 weeks |
| Front-end performance | Good | Excellent (CDN) |
| Editorial governance | Native, mature | Native (Drupal back) |
| Design flexibility | Medium (theme) | High (free front-end) |
| Annual support (GBP) | 11,000 - 20,000 | 16,000 - 27,000 |
Cost items and content-migration pitfalls
Reusing 500 to 3,000 content items is the line that most often overruns. Mapping content types, media and URLs is essential before any development.
| Item | Scope | 2026 estimate (GBP) |
|---|---|---|
| Audit + mapping | Content, URLs, integrations | 2,700 - 6,300 |
| Technical migration | Drupal 7/9 to 10 | 7,000 - 18,000 |
| Content reuse | 500-3,000 entries | 3,600 - 13,500 |
| 301 redirect plan | Mapping + testing | 1,800 - 5,400 |
| Accessibility WCAG | Audit + fixes | 2,700 - 7,200 |
| QA + go-live | Testing, training | 2,700 - 7,200 |
| Total | Institutional site | 18,000 - 55,000 |
Mini case study
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Mark is IT director of a professional federation in London, with a Drupal 7 site of 1,800 content items and 45,000 visits/month. End of support exposes him to a critical vulnerability risk; his annual security audit already costs GBP 7,000. He migrates to Drupal 10 for GBP 34,000 over 15 weeks, with 1,800 301 redirects. Result: no more compliance risk, support cut from GBP 24,000 to 16,000/year (GBP 8,000 saved), and editorial publishing time reduced by 30%. The project pays for itself over three years through the support reduction alone and the removal of the emergency security audit.
FAQ
Why not stay on Drupal 7 for another year? Because community support has ended: every vulnerability discovered stays unpatched. For an institutional organisation, this compliance and reputation risk far outweighs the migration cost.
How long does a Drupal migration really take? 12 to 20 weeks depending on content volume and integrations (SSO, directory, CRM). Content reuse and accessibility QA are the phases not to underestimate.
What happens to my search rankings? Preserved if the 301 redirect plan covers 100% of old URLs and the structure is kept. Plan Search Console monitoring for 8 to 12 weeks post-migration.
Is accessibility compliance included? It must be: WCAG 2.1 AA is a requirement for many organisations. Budget GBP 2,700 to 7,200 for audit and fixes.
What annual maintenance budget should I plan? GBP 11,000 to 27,000/year depending on architecture, including security updates, evolutions and managed hosting. Headless costs a bit more but offers more flexibility.
Let's scope your project. Send us your Drupal version, content volume and integrations: we'll price the migration and its redirect plan. 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.
