The verdict in three sentences
For a technical parts manufacturer whose WordPress site has 900 pages in 3 languages and 45 plugins, migrating to a headless CMS costs EUR 18,000 to 38,000 excl. VAT in 2026, over a 12 to 16 week project. The benefit is measurable: a smaller attack surface and an LCP dropping from 4.2 s to under 1.8 s, which directly affects quote requests. The real danger is SEO rather than technology: without an exhaustive 301 redirect plan, organic traffic losses commonly reach 10 to 30% for 3 to 6 months.
Why a Berlin manufacturer leaves WordPress
An ageing industrial website piles up plugins: translation, product sheets, forms, caching, security, configurator, technical PDFs. At 45 plugins, every update becomes a gamble, and known plugin vulnerabilities account for most reported WordPress incidents. The headless model separates content (the CMS) from presentation (a Next.js or similar front end served from a CDN). The result: no publicly exposed database, pre-built pages and a cleaner back office for marketing and engineering teams.
| Criterion | Current WordPress (45 plugins) | Headless CMS + static front end |
|---|---|---|
| Average mobile LCP | 4.2 s | 1.2 to 1.8 s |
| Security updates | 6 to 10 per month | 1 to 2 per month |
| Attack surface | Admin and database exposed | Static front end, private API |
| Hosting cost | EUR 40 to 120/month | EUR 20 to 90/month (CDN + CMS) |
| Multilingual handling | Third-party plugin | Native in most CMSs |
| Time to publish a product sheet | 15 to 25 min | 8 to 12 min with structured models |
Detailed budget for a 900-page migration
Cost depends mainly on the volume of content to structure and the quality of what exists. A 900-page site in German, English and French requires real content modelling: product ranges, part numbers, datasheets, news, job offers.
| Item | 2026 range (EUR excl. VAT) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Audit and URL mapping | 1,500 to 3,000 | Full crawl, 900 URLs x 3 languages |
| Content modelling | 2,000 to 4,500 | Product types, ranges, documents |
| Front-end development (Next.js) | 7,000 to 15,000 | Templates, search, filters |
| Content migration (scripts + clean-up) | 3,000 to 7,000 | Export, cleaning, API import |
| 301 redirect plan and SEO QA | 2,000 to 4,500 | URL-by-URL mapping |
| Training and documentation | 800 to 2,000 | 2 sessions for marketing teams |
| Total | 18,000 to 38,000 | CMS licence excluded |
The CMS licence is a separate line: EUR 0 for a self-hosted open-source CMS (Strapi, Payload, Directus), up to EUR 6,000 per year for a SaaS plan with several editors, approval workflow and multiple environments.
| CMS option | Estimated annual licence | Strength for a manufacturer |
|---|---|---|
| Self-hosted Strapi or Payload | EUR 0 + EUR 30 to 60/month server | Data hosted in Germany |
| Self-hosted Directus | EUR 0 + hosting | Database-like interface |
| Sanity (team plan) | EUR 1,000 to 3,500 | Real-time collaborative editing |
| Contentful or Storyblok | EUR 3,000 to 6,000 | Advanced workflow and roles |
Controlling SEO risk: the part that costs dearly if rushed
The current 900 pages carry the site's ranking history. Every URL returning a 404 after go-live loses its positions and inbound links. The serious method has five steps: full crawl before migration, export of pages receiving traffic and backlinks, URL-by-URL mapping to the new structure, staging tests, then daily Search Console monitoring for 8 weeks. Hreflang tags for the three languages must be rebuilt identically, otherwise Google mixes up versions. With this plan, traffic loss usually stays under 5% and recovers within weeks.
Mini case study
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Thomas, marketing manager at a machined-parts manufacturer near Berlin, gets 60 quote requests per month through the website, with a 0.9% visit conversion rate. He chooses a EUR 28,000 excl. VAT migration on an open-source CMS (hosting EUR 45/month). After go-live, LCP drops to 1.6 s and conversion rises to 1.15%, about 77 requests per month. With 12% of requests converted and an average margin of EUR 1,800 per order, the 17 extra requests bring roughly EUR 3,670 of margin per month. The project pays back in just under 8 months, not counting the WordPress maintenance hours saved (about 6 h per month).
FAQ
How long does a WordPress to headless migration take for 900 pages?
Allow 12 to 16 weeks in 2026, including 3 to 4 weeks for content migration and SEO QA. A site under 200 pages often fits in 6 to 8 weeks.
Will we lose Google traffic?
Without a redirect plan, losses reach 10 to 30% of organic traffic. With URL-by-URL mapping and 8 weeks of monitoring, the drop usually stays under 5% and is temporary.
Do we need to pay for a headless CMS licence?
Not necessarily: Strapi, Payload or Directus are free when self-hosted, for EUR 30 to 60 per month of server. SaaS plans cost EUR 1,000 to 6,000 per year depending on the number of editors.
Will our teams publish without a developer?
Yes, if the modelling is done well: each content type (product, range, news) has guided fields. Plan 2 training sessions of 2 h and internal documentation.
Can we keep WordPress only as the back office?
That is possible with headless WordPress, at 20 to 30% lower cost, but you keep the plugin debt. This compromise works if fewer than 15 plugins are truly useful.
Let's scope your project. Send us your page count, languages and plugin list: we will price the migration, the redirect plan and the go-live schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33 or request a 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.
