WordPress to Next.js Migration: A 12-Month Cost Test Before You Rebuild
WordPress 7.1 entered beta on July 15. Your plugin bill stays. The final release is due August 19, 2026. A core update can fix WordPress bugs, but it cannot remove the upkeep created by a page builder, shop system, security add-on, cache and forgotten plugins pulling in different directions. A WordPress to Next.js migration makes sense when that upkeep costs more than rebuilding the visitor-facing site. Run the numbers before choosing a stack. Write down two totals using your own invoices and ti
WordPress 7.1 entered beta on July 15. Your plugin bill stays.
The final release is due August 19, 2026. A core update can fix WordPress bugs, but it cannot remove the upkeep created by a page builder, shop system, security add-on, cache and forgotten plugins pulling in different directions.
A WordPress to Next.js migration makes sense when that upkeep costs more than rebuilding the visitor-facing site. Run the numbers before choosing a stack.
The 12-month cost test
Write down two totals using your own invoices and time logs.
Keep the current site
- Hosting and paid plugin renewals
- Staff or agency hours spent on updates and conflicts
- Sales lost during slow pages or outages
- Work delayed because the current setup blocks a change
Rebuild the visitor-facing site
- Design and development
- Moving content and checking every page
- Redirecting old URLs
- Hosting and upkeep for the first year
Compare the totals over the same 12 months. A rebuild has a business case when its cost is lower and it removes a repeated source of lost sales or staff time.
A lower-risk migration shape
WordPress can remain the writing screen your team knows. Next.js becomes the website customers see.
- List the content types editors use today.
- Pull published content from WordPress into the new pages.
- Build common pages ahead of each visit so they open quickly.
- Refresh a page after an editor publishes a change.
This keeps the familiar editor while removing many plugins from the customer-facing site.
Protect search traffic before launch
Every existing URL needs a destination on the new site. Build a redirect list before any page moves.
Also check:
- Page titles and descriptions
- The sitemap sent to search engines
- The setting that tells Google which page is the official version
- Links inside older articles
Run a crawl of the old site and the new one. Any missing page should block launch until it has a redirect or an intentional replacement.
Cases where staying on WordPress wins
Keep the current setup when the site is fast enough, the team depends on plugin-heavy shop features, or editors need changes that would require custom work in Next.js.
A rebuild should solve a measured cost. Version excitement alone is a poor reason to fund one.
Scope a WordPress rebuild: duskel.com/services/wordpress-development