The verdict in three sentences
For a mid-sized B2B services company whose WordPress site has 300 pages and 40 plugins, a migration to headless Next.js costs in 2026 about EUR 14,000 to 35,000 in Amsterdam or CAD 22,000 to 55,000 in Toronto, delivered in 8 to 12 weeks. The gains are measurable: LCP drops from 4.2 s to 1.3 s, the attack surface shrinks and maintenance falls from EUR 250-600 to EUR 120-300 per month. The only real risk is SEO, limited to a temporary dip of 0 to 15 % if the 301 redirect plan covers all 300 URLs.
Why migrate and what it costs
A WordPress install loaded with 40 plugins piles up three problems: slow pages (page builders, third-party scripts), recurring vulnerabilities (roughly one vulnerable plugin in five never gets patched) and updates that break layouts. Next.js generates static or server-rendered pages served from a CDN, backed by a headless CMS (Sanity, Strapi, Payload, or WordPress kept as back office).
| Migration item | Amsterdam (EUR) | Toronto (CAD) | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical and SEO audit | 1,500 to 3,500 | 2,300 to 5,500 | Crawl of 300 URLs, traffic-driving pages, plugin dependencies |
| Content modelling in the headless CMS | 2,000 to 4,500 | 3,100 to 7,000 | Content types, fields, editorial roles |
| Next.js template development | 5,000 to 13,000 | 7,800 to 20,500 | 10 to 18 templates, design kept or refreshed |
| Automated content migration | 2,000 to 5,000 | 3,100 to 7,800 | Export scripts, HTML clean-up, WebP/AVIF media |
| Replacing plugin features | 1,500 to 4,500 | 2,300 to 7,000 | Forms, search, multilingual, consent banner |
| 301 redirect plan and technical SEO | 1,000 to 2,500 | 1,600 to 4,000 | 300-row redirect map, sitemap, canonicals |
| QA, performance, launch | 1,000 to 2,000 | 1,600 to 3,200 | Core Web Vitals tests, 8-week post-launch monitoring |
| Total | 14,000 to 35,000 | 22,000 to 55,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
WordPress vs headless Next.js: the 3-year comparison
| Criterion | Current WordPress (40 plugins) | Headless Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Average mobile LCP | 3.5 to 4.5 s | 1.1 to 1.6 s |
| Lighthouse performance score | 35 to 55 | 90 to 99 |
| Monthly maintenance | EUR 250 to 600 / CAD 400 to 950 | EUR 120 to 300 / CAD 190 to 470 |
| Security incidents per year (order of magnitude) | 2 to 5 critical alerts | 0 to 1 |
| Hosting | EUR 30 to 150 per month | EUR 0 to 80 per month (Vercel, Netlify, VPS) |
| Marketing team autonomy | Good, but fragile on updates | Good, with live preview |
| 3-year total cost (median case) | EUR 15,000 to 27,000 of maintenance alone | EUR 24,000 to 40,000 including migration |
Over 3 years the total cost gap narrows sharply. Revenue tips the balance: on a B2B site, each second of load time saved improves form conversion by 5 to 10 % according to available industry studies. In the Netherlands and Canada, accessibility rules (the European Accessibility Act since June 2025, AODA in Ontario) add another reason to rebuild on a clean codebase.
Controlling the SEO risk
| Action | Effect if skipped | Prevention cost |
|---|---|---|
| Complete 301 redirect map | 20 to 60 % traffic loss on affected pages | Included in SEO plan |
| Preserved title and meta tags | 10 to 25 % drop in clicks | 0.5 day |
| Structured data (Organization, Article, FAQ) | Loss of rich results | 1 day |
| Rewritten internal links | Redirect chains, slower crawl | Migration script |
| 8-week Search Console monitoring | 404 errors spotted too late | 1 to 2 days spread out |
Mini case study
Daan, CIO of a 250-employee B2B services company in Amsterdam Zuidas, pays EUR 480 per month for WordPress maintenance and faced 3 security alerts in 2025. He launches a migration at EUR 26,000 over 10 weeks. After launch, maintenance drops to EUR 190 per month, saving EUR 3,480 a year. LCP goes from 4.2 s to 1.3 s; traffic dips 6 % for 5 weeks, then exceeds the old level by 12 %. Contact requests rise from 40 to 52 per month. At an 8 % close rate and an average contract of EUR 9,000, those 12 extra requests bring about EUR 8,600 of monthly revenue, so the migration pays back in under 3 months.
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FAQ
How much does a WordPress to Next.js migration cost for a B2B site?
Budget EUR 14,000 to 35,000 or CAD 22,000 to 55,000 for a 300-page site with 40 plugins. A 30 to 50 page site without complex features migrates for EUR 6,000 to 12,000.
Can we keep WordPress as the back office?
Yes, WordPress can act as a headless CMS through its REST API or WPGraphQL. This reduces team training but keeps some maintenance, about EUR 150 to 250 per month.
Will we lose Google traffic?
A well-run migration limits the dip to 0 to 15 % for 4 to 8 weeks. Without complete 301 redirects, losses can reach 40 % and last.
What timeline should we plan?
The standard timeline is 8 to 12 weeks for 300 pages. Add 2 to 3 weeks if the design is rebuilt at the same time.
Can our marketing team publish on its own?
Yes, a headless CMS offers a visual editor and preview before publishing. Plan a half-day of training and 1 to 2 hours of onboarding per contributor.
Let's scope your project. Send us your site URL and plugin list: we will price the migration, the redirect plan and an 8 to 12 week 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.
