Next.js vs WordPress for a Business Website

We build most of our websites with Next.js, so you might expect this to be a one-sided comparison. It isn't. WordPress is a good choice for a lot of businesses, and recommending Next.js to someone who'd be better served by WordPress doesn't help anyone.

Here's how the two compare on the things that matter when you're choosing.

What each one is

WordPress is a content management system. You get an admin panel, themes for the design and plugins for extra features such as forms, SEO settings or a shop. It runs on PHP and a database, and it powers a large share of the web.

Next.js is a framework for building websites and web apps with React. There's no admin panel or theme store; developers build the site, and content usually comes from a separate content manager such as Sanity. (This site works that way.)

So the real comparison is between a ready-made system you configure and a custom site built to your requirements.

Speed

Next.js sites can pre-build pages ahead of time and serve them from servers close to the visitor, so they tend to load quickly with little effort. Images, fonts and scripts are optimised by default.

WordPress can be fast too, but it takes work: a good host, caching, a lightweight theme and restraint with plugins. Many slow WordPress sites are slow because of a heavy theme or a pile of plugins rather than WordPress itself.

Speed affects how long people stay and is one of the signals Google uses, so it's worth caring about. We explain how it's measured in Core Web Vitals explained.

Editing content

WordPress wins on familiarity. Its editor is widely known, and there's a big pool of people who can help with it.

A Next.js site connected to a modern content manager can be just as easy to edit, and editors often find it tidier: they fill in clearly labelled fields rather than arranging blocks freely, which also makes it harder to break the layout. But someone has to set that up. See what a headless CMS is for how this works.

Security and upkeep

WordPress's popularity makes it a common target. The core is well maintained; the risk usually comes from outdated plugins and themes. A WordPress site needs regular updates, and occasionally an update breaks something.

A Next.js site that's pre-built has less exposed to attack: there's often no public admin login or database on the same server. It still needs updates to its dependencies, but there's usually less that can go wrong between them.

Cost over time

WordPress is usually cheaper to start. A good theme and a few plugins can get a simple site live quickly, and many developers can work on it.

Next.js usually costs more upfront because the site is built for you rather than assembled. Hosting for a pre-built site is often inexpensive, and you pay fewer plugin licences, but changes to the design or features need a developer.

Over a few years, the difference narrows. WordPress sites tend to collect plugins, licences and maintenance time; Next.js sites need a developer for changes. Our guide to what a website costs goes through the factors.

SEO

Neither platform ranks you on its own. Both can produce clean, fast pages with good titles, descriptions and structured data. WordPress relies on plugins for much of this; in Next.js it's built into the site. What matters far more is useful content, a sensible page structure and speed.

Which one fits

WordPress is probably right if:

you want to launch quickly on a modest budget
your site is mostly pages and blog posts
your team already knows WordPress, or you want many people able to work on it
you need a common feature that a well-maintained plugin already does well

Next.js is probably right if:

speed and a distinctive design matter to you
the site does more than show pages: customer accounts, bookings, dashboards, an app sharing the same data
you want content managed in one place and used across a website, an app or other channels
you'd rather have fewer moving parts to keep patched

There's also a middle path: keep WordPress as the editing tool and build the public site in Next.js. It suits teams who love the WordPress editor but want a faster front end.

If you're not sure which fits, tell us what the site needs to do and we'll give you our honest view. Here's how we approach web development.