The verdict in three sentences
A slow legacy site loses customers before the first meeting, because a 3-second LCP drives away one visitor in two. Headless replatforming separates content (Sanity CMS) from display (decoupled front), which speeds the site up by 45% and lightens maintenance. Total 2026 budget in Manchester: around 14,600 to 19,100 GBP, over a 10-week timeline.
The budget line by line
A headless replatforming breaks into three big blocks, from scoping to go-live.
| Item | 2026 range (GBP) | Deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| Audit + scoping | 1,800 | Target architecture, content model |
| Content migration | 3,800 | Pages, media, Sanity structuring |
| Headless front | 9,000 - 13,500 | Fast, responsive, SEO-ready interface |
| QA + go-live | Included | Tests, redirects, DNS cutover |
| Total | 14,600 - 19,100 | Complete headless site |
The Sanity CMS is chosen for its real-time editing and generous free tier, ideal for a mid-sized firm in Manchester.
The gains measured after cutover
Headless is not only about speed: it also transforms day-to-day operations.
| Indicator | Before (legacy) | After (headless) | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median LCP | 3.2 s | 1.8 s | -45% |
| Monthly hosting cost | 68 GBP | 47 GBP | -30% |
| Article publishing time | 25 min | 8 min | -68% |
| Lighthouse perf score | 58 | 94 | +36 pts |
| Uptime | 99.2% | 99.9% | Robust |
An LCP of 1.8 s improves the mobile experience, crucial for the increasingly mobile-first B2B buyer.
Mini case study
James, director of a consulting firm in Manchester, runs a 55-page legacy site that takes 3.2 s to load and where every update takes 25 minutes. After a headless replatforming at 16,000 GBP, his LCP drops to 1.8 s and publishing time to 8 minutes. Over a year the team saves about 60 hours of content work (valued at 25 GBP/h, so 1,500 GBP) and lighter hosting saves 252 GBP. Above all, the mobile bounce rate falls 12 points, generating around ten extra contact requests per month.
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FAQ
What is a headless architecture, concretely?
Content lives in a CMS (Sanity) and is served via an API to an independent, ultra-fast front. You can redesign without touching content, and vice versa.
Does the budget include first-year hosting?
Hosting is billed separately, but it drops about 30% after cutover. Expect around 47 GBP/month as a 2026 order of magnitude.
How long does the project take?
About 10 weeks: 2 for scoping, 3 for content migration, 4 for front development, 1 for QA and go-live.
Will we lose SEO rankings?
No, provided 301 redirects and URL mapping are done properly at cutover. SEO QA is part of the scope.
Will our editors have to relearn everything?
Sanity offers an intuitive editing interface. A half-day of training usually makes the team self-sufficient.
Let's scope your project. Give us your page count, current CMS, and pain points, and we will price the headless replatforming. 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.
