The verdict in three sentences
For a 3,000-student business school with 60 programmes and 15 contributors, WordPress costs 30,000 to 70,000 EUR and a headless architecture (Sanity or Strapi) with Next.js 50,000 to 120,000 EUR in 2026 (market estimates, excluding VAT). Headless costs more over 3 years, but it clearly wins on load speed, approval workflows and structured programme pages. So the choice comes down to one question: what is one extra point of applications worth to you?
Build cost and 3-year total cost
Dublin schools often run an ageing WordPress site loaded with 40 plugins and a page builder. A redesign is the moment to decide. All amounts below are 2026 market estimates, excluding VAT.
| Item (2026 market estimate) | WordPress | Headless (Sanity or Strapi) + Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Design and development | 30,000 to 70,000 EUR | 50,000 to 120,000 EUR |
| CMS licence | 0 EUR (open source), premium plugins 1,000 to 3,000 EUR a year | Self-hosted Strapi 0 EUR, Sanity 0 to 1,000 EUR a month depending on users |
| Hosting | 150 to 400 EUR a month | 100 to 500 EUR a month (Vercel or similar + CMS) |
| Maintenance and support | 800 to 1,500 EUR a month | 600 to 1,200 EUR a month |
| Project timeline | 4 to 6 months | 5 to 8 months |
| Typical mobile load time | 2.5 to 4 s | 0.8 to 1.8 s |
| 3-year total cost (median assumption) | 50,000 + 36 x 1,450 = about 102,000 EUR | 85,000 + 36 x 1,700 = about 146,000 EUR |
The 44,000 EUR gap over 3 years is the real issue. It is only justified if the site brings more applications or saves the communications team time.
Criteria specific to a business school
A school does not run a brochure site: it runs a programme catalogue, an admissions calendar, content produced by different departments and an application funnel.
| Criterion | WordPress | Headless + Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Approval workflows (writer, programme lead, comms director) | Dedicated plugin, roles to configure, fragile after updates | Native in Sanity (drafts, revisions, roles), customisable |
| 60 structured programme pages | Custom fields (ACF), consistency depends on discipline | Enforced content schema, required fields, reuse |
| Multilingual (English, Irish, other) | WPML or Polylang, 200 to 600 EUR a year | Native localised fields |
| Online applications | Forms or redirect to an admissions platform | API integration with admissions platform and CRM |
| Security | Large attack surface (plugins) | Static front end, separate CMS, smaller surface |
| Autonomy of 15 contributors | Familiar interface, 1 day to learn | Newer interface, 1 to 2 days of training |
| Skills available in Dublin | Very common | Scarcer, higher day rates |
If the team must publish fast without a developer and the budget is tight, a well-built WordPress remains defensible. If leadership wants consistent programme pages, an integrated application journey and top-tier mobile performance, headless is the answer.
Kolonell delivers this kind of project under its custom applications and platforms offer, priced on its 11/10/2026 grid: 4,000,000 to 7,000,000 FCFA (about 6,100 to 10,670 EUR) for a medium-complexity platform and 7,000,000 to 15,000,000+ FCFA (about 10,670 to 22,870+ EUR) for a complex platform with integrations, which sits below typical market ranges.
Mini case study
Julien, communications director at a 3,000-student business school in Dublin, receives 9,000 applications a year. With 20% of admitted applicants enrolling and tuition of 12,000 EUR a year, each application is worth on average 2,400 EUR of first-year revenue. Headless costs 44,000 EUR more over 3 years, about 14,700 EUR a year. So 6.1 extra applications a year are needed to break even, a 0.07% increase in volume. Cautious assumption: cutting mobile load time from 3.5 s to 1.2 s lifts applications by 1%, so 90 applications and about 216,000 EUR of potential revenue. Even divided by ten, the gain covers the gap.
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FAQ
What budget for a business school website in 2026?
30,000 to 70,000 EUR on WordPress and 50,000 to 120,000 EUR headless with Next.js (2026 market estimate, excluding VAT). Add 1,000 to 2,000 EUR a month for maintenance and hosting.
Sanity or Strapi?
Sanity is a hosted service, free for small teams then billed up to about 1,000 EUR a month depending on users. Strapi is open source and self-hosted, with no licence, but you own its hosting and updates.
Is headless better for SEO?
Not inherently, but Next.js enables very fast pages (0.8 to 1.8 s on mobile) and clean markup, two favourable factors. An optimised WordPress can score well too, at the cost of continuous plugin work.
Can non-technical contributors cope with a headless CMS?
Yes, with 1 to 2 days of training and well-configured live preview. Structured programme pages even reduce input errors.
How long does a full redesign take?
4 to 6 months on WordPress, 5 to 8 months headless, including 4 to 6 weeks to migrate the 60 programme pages. Start in September to launch before the admissions season opens.
Let's scope your project. Describe your programme catalogue, contributors and admissions platform: we will price both architectures and the 3-year cost. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33 or request a free quote.
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.
