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Decision aid

Should this WordPress site go headless?

Headless WordPress with Next.js suits some sites and is a costly detour for others. Answer eight questions and see which way yours leans, and why.

Is the site built with a page builder such as Elementor or Divi?
Do plugins render parts of the pages visitors see (forms, bookings, memberships, WooCommerce extensions)?
Do editors need to see every block exactly as it will look while they write?
Is there budget to build, host and maintain two systems instead of one?
Is speed a hard product requirement, with Core Web Vitals targets the site must hit?
Is the design highly interactive (complex filters, dashboards, animation or 3D)?
Does the same content need to feed more than the website (an app, a kiosk, another site)?
Does the team that will maintain the front end already ship React?

0 of 8 answered

Answer the questions

The verdict updates as you go, with the reasons behind it.

Decide it properly in an afternoon

  1. List every plugin and mark whether it outputs front-end HTML.
  2. List every page template and how it is built: blocks, a builder or custom fields.
  3. Estimate the rebuild cost of each front-end feature.
  4. Compare that with the gains in speed, flexibility and security.

Headless WordPress with Next.js: when it fits covers previews, SEO, caching and security in detail.

Weighing a headless build?

Tell me about the site and the team, and I will say whether I would build it headless and what the rebuild would involve.

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