WordPress vs Next.js: why we rebuilt our own website

What was wrong with our WordPress site

Nothing dramatic, and that was the problem. It ran on a premium theme with a page builder, and the theme brought a lot of baggage. When we audited it before the rebuild, its sitemap listed 81 pages for Google. Around 75 of them were the theme's demo pages: 'Startup Agency Dark', sample portfolios for clients we never had, all open to search engines.

Nobody did anything wrong. That's just what you get with a theme built to sell to everyone. It arrives with everything, and you inherit all of it.

Why we chose Next.js with a headless CMS

Our site is mostly a portfolio, and a design-heavy one: a 3D homepage, page transitions, case studies made of many kinds of blocks. We wanted every pixel to match the design file, and we still wanted to edit content without touching code.

So the site is built in Next.js, a React framework, and the content lives in Strapi, a headless CMS. We change text and images in Strapi, and the site builds every page ahead of time, so visitors and search engines get finished pages straight away.

What changed for SEO

Mostly control. Every page now has its own title and description, set in the CMS. The site tells Google exactly who we are (name, location, services, social profiles) through structured data, and Google's validator finds no errors. The sitemap lists only real pages, each with the date it was actually last edited. Old WordPress addresses that mattered now redirect to their new pages, following Google's advice on moving a site, and the demo pages are gone.

In Google's Lighthouse audit, our homepage, Work page and a case study all score 100 for SEO. None of this is impossible on WordPress. The difference is that on our new setup, nothing shows up that we didn't put there.

What it cost us

To be fair to WordPress: a custom build takes longer than installing a theme, and structural changes need a developer. Things you take for granted with plugins, like contact forms, SEO fields and spam protection, have to be built or wired in on purpose. We did that ourselves, because building websites is part of what we sell. Not every business wants that.

When WordPress is still the right choice

If your site is mostly articles, your team already knows WordPress, or you need lots of plugins on a small budget, WordPress is a perfectly good answer. Set it up carefully, use a lean theme and delete the demo content.

Next.js with a headless CMS earns its cost when design, speed and control matter more than plugins: brand-led marketing sites, product sites, and anything that should feel like nobody else's.

Next.js or WordPress for a business website?

Ask yourself three things. Will most of your updates be blog posts, or page and design changes? Do you have a developer you can call when the structure needs to change? And how much does it matter that the site looks unlike your competitors'? If the answers lean towards posts, no developer and good enough, choose WordPress. If they lean the other way, look at a custom build. It's the kind of website development we do, and we're happy to tell you honestly which side you're on: just ask.