The verdict in three sentences
Drupal 7 has had no official security support since January 2025: every month spent on it raises the intrusion risk and the final cost of leaving. For a group with 800 to 2,000 pages, a migration to a headless CMS with Next.js costs GBP 26,000 to 60,000 (USD 33,000 to 77,000) over 4 to 7 months and improves LCP by 40 to 60 %. Drupal 10 remains relevant if your teams already master Drupal and the site relies on complex editorial workflows, WordPress if budget is the first criterion.
The three options compared
The CIO must choose between three paths. The gaps lie less in the initial cost than in 3-year maintenance and the performance measured by Google.
| Criterion | Drupal 10 | Headless CMS + Next.js | WordPress |
|---|---|---|---|
| Migration cost (800 to 2,000 pages) | GBP 30,000 to 65,000 / USD 38,000 to 83,000 | GBP 26,000 to 60,000 / USD 33,000 to 77,000 | GBP 17,000 to 39,000 / USD 22,000 to 50,000 |
| CMS licence | 0 | 0 to GBP 1,300 / USD 1,650 per month | 0 to GBP 260 / USD 330 per month (plugins) |
| Timeline | 5 to 8 months | 4 to 7 months | 3 to 5 months |
| Expected LCP gain | 10 to 25 % | 40 to 60 % | 15 to 30 % |
| Attack surface | Medium | Low (static front end) | High (plugins) |
| Annual maintenance | GBP 7,800 to 15,500 / USD 10,000 to 20,000 | GBP 6,000 to 13,000 / USD 7,700 to 16,500 | GBP 5,200 to 10,400 / USD 6,600 to 13,200 |
| Talent availability in the UK and US | Declining | Strong (React) | Very strong |
Headless comes out ahead when the site is strategic for brand image, recruitment or lead generation. The Next.js front end is served from a CDN and the CMS database is never exposed to the public.
The detailed budget of a headless migration
The most underestimated line is content migration. A ten-year-old Drupal 7 holds custom fields, stacked taxonomies and HTML pasted from Word. Automating it is expensive but saves weeks of copy and paste.
| Line item | 2026 range | Share of budget |
|---|---|---|
| Audit of the existing site and content mapping | GBP 2,600 to 5,200 / USD 3,300 to 6,600 | 8 % |
| Content modelling in the headless CMS | GBP 2,600 to 6,000 / USD 3,300 to 7,700 | 10 % |
| Automated content migration (scripts, HTML clean-up, media) | GBP 4,300 to 10,400 / USD 5,500 to 13,200 | 17 % |
| Design system and Next.js templates | GBP 8,700 to 21,500 / USD 11,000 to 27,500 | 35 % |
| 301 redirect plan and SEO | GBP 2,200 to 5,200 / USD 2,800 to 6,600 | 8 % |
| Integrations (search, forms, SSO, CRM) | GBP 3,500 to 8,700 / USD 4,400 to 11,000 | 14 % |
| QA, WCAG accessibility, training | GBP 2,200 to 3,500 / USD 2,800 to 4,400 | 8 % |
On 2,000 pages, automated migration cuts manual effort by about 250 hours and secures SEO metadata, which is often lost in manual migrations.
The risks to control
The first risk is loss of organic traffic. Without a complete redirect plan, a 2,000-page site can lose 20 to 35 % of its traffic for 3 months. The fix is to export every indexed URL, map them one by one and test the 301s before the switch.
The second risk is editor adoption. A headless CMS changes habits: preview, blocks, approval workflow. Plan 2 half-day training sessions per team and an accurate preview from the first sprint.
The third risk is vendor lock-in on the CMS licence. Favour a CMS whose content exports to standard JSON, or a self-hosted open source solution (zero licence, hosting GBP 40 to 170 or USD 55 to 220 per month).
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Mini case study
Rachel, CIO of a manufacturing group in Manchester, runs a 1,600-page Drupal 7 site. Her current provider charges GBP 12,000 a year for extended support and patches. She chooses a headless migration at GBP 45,000 with a CMS licence at GBP 390 per month, i.e. GBP 4,680 a year, and maintenance of GBP 7,000 a year. Annual recurring cost: GBP 11,680 against GBP 12,000, almost identical. The gain comes from performance: LCP drops from 4.1 s to 1.9 s and the contact form conversion rate rises from 0.9 % to 1.3 %, about 45 more qualified enquiries a year on 110,000 visits.
FAQ
Can we stay on Drupal 7 with extended support?
Some vendors offer commercial extended support, around GBP 7,000 to 17,000 (USD 9,000 to 22,000) a year depending on volume. It is a 12 to 18 month stopgap, not a strategy.
Does going headless hurt SEO?
Not if the 301 redirect plan is complete and tested. Next.js generates fast static pages, which usually improves Core Web Vitals and rankings over 3 to 6 months.
Do we need to migrate all content?
Rarely. On a ten-year-old Drupal site, 30 to 50 % of pages get fewer than 10 visits a year. An audit lets you archive or merge them, cutting the migration budget by 20 to 30 %.
Which headless CMS should we choose?
It depends on the editorial workflow, multilingual needs and hosting region. Licences range from zero for self-hosted open source to about GBP 1,300 (USD 1,650) per month for an enterprise plan with SSO and advanced roles.
How long does the cutover take?
The go-live itself takes half a day with a content freeze of 3 to 5 days. The full project takes 4 to 7 months.
Let's scope your project. Audit of your Drupal site, choice of target stack and a migration plan priced between GBP 26,000 and 60,000 (USD 33,000 to 77,000), with a 4 to 7 month 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.
