The verdict in three sentences
Migrating a B2B website from WordPress to Next.js costs roughly 9,000 to 30,000 EUR excluding VAT in 2026 for 50 to 300 pages, headless CMS included. The performance gain is real, with LCP improved by 1.5 to 3 seconds on mobile, but the main risk is SEO: without a complete 301 redirect plan, temporary traffic loss reaches 5 to 15 %, sometimes more. The migration makes sense when the cumulative cost of plugins, maintenance and slowness exceeds the project cost over two to three years.
When leaving WordPress makes sense
WordPress remains a good tool for many sites. The problem appears when a company stacks 30 to 50 plugins, a heavy page builder and monthly security patches. The IT lead then pays three times: licences, maintenance and lost conversions.
| Indicator | Warning threshold | What Next.js changes |
|---|---|---|
| Active plugins | More than 25 | Features coded in, no third-party plugins |
| Mobile LCP | Above 3.5 s | Static generation, 1.2 to 2 s in practice |
| Annual premium licences | Above 800 EUR | 0 to 300 EUR per month for a headless CMS |
| Security updates | Every week | Reduced attack surface, static front end |
| Time to publish a page | Over 30 min | Structured fields, live preview |
| Core Web Vitals | Under 50 % of URLs "good" | 85 to 100 % targeted |
Migration budget by site size
Price depends on the number of templates more than the number of pages. A 300-page site with 8 templates costs less than an 80-page site with 25 unique layouts. Amsterdam agency rates sit close to the figures below.
| Site size | Templates | Budget (2026 estimate) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 pages, B2B showcase | 5 to 7 | 9,000 to 13,000 EUR | 6 to 8 weeks |
| 100 to 150 pages with blog | 8 to 12 | 14,000 to 20,000 EUR | 8 to 11 weeks |
| 200 to 300 pages, product catalogue | 12 to 18 | 21,000 to 30,000 EUR | 11 to 14 weeks |
| Redirect plan and SEO testing | All sizes | 1,500 to 4,000 EUR | Included in schedule |
| Headless CMS (Sanity, Strapi Cloud, Contentful) | Subscription | 0 to 300 EUR per month | Ongoing |
| Hosting (Vercel, Netlify, VPS) | Subscription | 20 to 150 EUR per month | Ongoing |
The SEO migration plan that limits damage
Traffic loss almost always comes from details: changed URLs without redirects, lost title tags, images without alt text, broken blog pagination. A serious plan follows six steps.
- Full inventory of URLs (Screaming Frog crawl, Search Console, sitemap) with traffic and backlinks per page.
- Mapping table from old URL to new URL, one row per page, no redirect chains.
- Metadata carry-over: title, description, heading tags, structured data.
- Crawled staging before switchover, comparing both crawls.
- Switch on a Tuesday or Wednesday, never right before a trade show or campaign.
- Daily Search Console monitoring for 4 to 6 weeks, fixing 404 errors within 24 h.
With this protocol, the drop usually stays under 5 % and traffic returns to its initial level within 6 to 10 weeks.
Mini case study
Illustrative example: Sanne, IT manager of a medical instrumentation company in Amsterdam, runs a 140-page WordPress site. Current costs: 1,100 EUR of plugin licences per year and 450 EUR of monthly maintenance, so 6,500 EUR per year. Her mobile LCP is 4.8 seconds.
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- Next.js and headless CMS migration: 17,000 EUR.
- New recurring costs: 99 EUR for the CMS and 40 EUR for hosting per month, plus 250 EUR of maintenance, so 4,668 EUR per year.
- Recurring savings: 1,832 EUR per year.
Savings alone do not pay back the project. Conversion tips the balance: the site receives 3,000 qualified visits a month and converts at 0.8 %. If an LCP brought down to 1.9 seconds lifts conversion to 1.1 %, Sanne gains 9 enquiries a month. At a 10 % close rate and a 6,000 EUR average deal, that is about 64,800 EUR of additional revenue per year.
FAQ
How much does a WordPress to Next.js migration cost in 2026?
The order of magnitude is 9,000 to 30,000 EUR excluding VAT for 50 to 300 pages, depending on the number of templates. The redirect plan and SEO testing account for 1,500 to 4,000 EUR of that budget.
Will we lose search rankings?
A temporary drop of 5 to 15 % is common without a rigorous migration plan. With a complete 301 redirect table and daily monitoring, the drop often stays under 5 % and recovers within 6 to 10 weeks.
Can marketing still publish on their own?
Yes, with a headless CMS such as Sanity or Strapi, which offers structured fields and preview. Plan a 2 to 3 hour training session for editors.
What speed gain should we expect?
On a heavy WordPress site, mobile LCP usually improves by 1.5 to 3 seconds. Core Web Vitals often move from under 50 % to over 85 % of URLs rated good.
How much does a headless CMS cost per month?
From 0 EUR on limited free plans to about 300 EUR per month for teams of 10 editors or more. A mid-sized company typically pays 0 to 100 EUR per month.
Let's scope your project. Send us your WordPress site URL: we assess the number of templates, the SEO risk and the switchover schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h via our form. 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.
