WordPress powers a huge share of the web, but more companies are moving their marketing sites to a headless Next.js setup. Here is how the two compare for a typical business website.
Speed and Core Web Vitals
A Next.js site is pre-rendered and served from a global edge network, so pages load almost instantly. WordPress can be fast too, but performance often degrades as themes, page builders and plugins accumulate. Fast pages matter for both conversions and rankings — see our guide to passing Core Web Vitals with Next.js.
SEO
Both can rank well. Next.js gives developers precise control over metadata, structured data, sitemaps and page speed out of the box, while WordPress relies on plugins that must be configured and kept up to date.
Security and maintenance
WordPress sites need regular core, theme and plugin updates, and plugins are a common attack surface. A statically generated Next.js site has far less to patch and no public admin login on the website itself.
Editing experience
WordPress is familiar to many marketers. A headless CMS such as Sanity or Contentful paired with Next.js offers structured content, live previews and roles — editors keep full control without touching code.
Cost over time
WordPress is cheaper to start with a pre-built theme. A custom Next.js site costs more upfront but usually less to run and maintain, and doesn't need rebuilding every few years when a theme ages.
Which should you choose?
Choose WordPress for a small, simple site where budget is the main constraint. Choose Next.js with a headless CMS when performance, brand, security and growth matter. Our web development team builds and migrates sites without losing existing SEO.