The verdict in three sentences
For an aerospace subcontractor whose 140 page WordPress site runs 38 plugins and has reported vulnerabilities, migrating to Next.js costs EUR 14,000 to 28,000 excl. VAT. It brings LCP from 4.2 s down to 1.3 s and maintenance from EUR 380 to 120 per month. The project takes 8 to 12 weeks and loses no organic traffic if the 301 redirect plan covers every indexed URL.
Why 38 plugins become an industrial risk
A tier 1 or tier 2 supplier is audited by its customers on cybersecurity, and in Germany NIS2 implementation has made those questionnaires stricter. A compromised marketing site, even unrelated to the ERP, earns an audit finding and sometimes a supplier listing suspension. With 38 plugins you depend on 38 vendors, some of whom no longer ship patches.
| Metric | Current WordPress | Next.js after migration |
|---|---|---|
| Exposed plugins or dependencies | 38 plugins, 6 abandoned | 0 plugins, static front end |
| Vulnerabilities reported over 12 months | 4 (2 critical) | Attack surface limited to the CMS API |
| Mobile LCP | 4.2 s | 1.3 s |
| Average page weight | 3.8 MB | 0.9 MB |
| Monthly maintenance | EUR 380 | EUR 120 |
| Update time per month | 4 to 6 h | Under 1 h |
| HTTP security header score | D | A |
The Next.js site is generated as static pages and served by a CDN. Content editing moves to a headless CMS (Sanity, Strapi or WordPress kept as a closed back office), invisible from the internet.
Detailed migration budget
| Item | Range excl. VAT | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| SEO audit and URL inventory | EUR 1,500 to 2,500 | Search Console export, crawl, lead-generating pages |
| Design system and templates | EUR 3,000 to 6,000 | 8 to 12 templates (product, capability, certification, news) |
| Next.js development | EUR 5,000 to 10,000 | Pages, search, RFQ forms, DE/EN multilingual |
| Headless CMS and content models | EUR 2,000 to 4,000 | Roles, preview, media |
| Migrating 140 pages | EUR 1,500 to 3,500 | Import script then manual review |
| 301 redirects and SEO QA | EUR 1,000 to 2,000 | 180 to 400 rules, every URL tested |
| Total | EUR 14,000 to 28,000 | Depending on languages and RFQ features |
The upper range corresponds to a bilingual site with a quote request configurator (materials, tolerances, quantities) and generated PDF datasheets.
Typical schedule with no traffic loss
| Week | Deliverable |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 | URL inventory, redirect mapping, target site map |
| 3 to 4 | Mock-ups and design system approved |
| 5 to 8 | Development, CMS, content import |
| 9 to 10 | Functional QA, 301 checks, tags and structured data |
| 11 | DNS switch on a Tuesday morning, daily Search Console monitoring |
| 12 | Fixing residual 404s, performance report |
Organic traffic often dips 5 to 10 % in the first two weeks, then recovers. A lasting loss almost always comes from missing redirects to product pages or PDFs.
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Thomas, marketing director of a 180 employee aerospace subcontractor near Berlin, pays EUR 380 per month in maintenance and suffered 2 security incidents in 2025, i.e. 3 days of intervention at EUR 750. Current annual cost: 12 × 380 + 2,250 = EUR 6,810. After a migration at EUR 21,000, maintenance falls to 12 × 120 = EUR 1,440 per year. The EUR 5,370 annual saving pays back about 26 % of the project each year, before counting the extra quote requests driven by faster pages.
FAQ
How much does a WordPress to Next.js migration cost?
EUR 14,000 to 28,000 for a 100 to 150 page manufacturing site. A 30 page single-language site is closer to EUR 7,000 to 11,000.
Will we lose our rankings?
No, if every indexed URL has a tested 301 redirect. Plan 180 to 400 rules for 140 pages, PDFs and images included.
Can our teams still edit the site?
Yes, through a headless CMS with preview. Onboarding takes a 2 to 3 hour training session.
How long does the project take?
8 to 12 weeks. The critical path is technical content approval by the engineering department.
Can we keep WordPress as the back office?
Yes, in headless mode closed to the public. It cuts migration cost by 15 to 20 % but keeps part of the maintenance burden.
Let's scope your project. Send us your site URL and Search Console export, and we will price the migration between EUR 14,000 and 28,000 with 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.
