"Should we use WordPress or a modern framework?" is one of the first questions we hear on website projects. There is no universal winner. Here is how we think about it.
When WordPress is the right call
- Your marketing team publishes often and already knows WordPress
- The site is mostly pages and blog posts
- You want a large plugin ecosystem and many freelancers who can maintain it
Trade-offs: performance and security depend heavily on the theme and plugins. Every plugin you add is something to update and audit.
When Next.js is the right call
- Speed matters for SEO and conversions, and you want strong Core Web Vitals by default
- The website shares logic with a web app, such as logins, dashboards, calculators or pricing
- You want full control over design, without fighting a theme
Trade-offs: content editing needs a CMS alongside it, and changes to layouts need a developer.
The middle path: headless CMS
You can keep a familiar editing experience with a headless CMS such as Sanity, Strapi or even WordPress itself, and render the site with Next.js. Editors get a friendly interface, and visitors get a fast site.
A quick checklist
- Who edits the site every week? If it is non-technical marketers, make sure they have a CMS they like.
- Does the site need app features? If yes, lean towards Next.js.
- How important is page speed? Both can be fast, but Next.js makes it easier to stay fast.
- Who will maintain it in two years? Choose a stack your team or partner can support.
Our default
For most business websites we recommend Next.js with a headless CMS. It gives editors control and keeps technical SEO strong. For content-only sites with a team already fluent in WordPress, we happily build on WordPress.
Planning a new website? Tell us about it and we will suggest a stack with a written estimate.
Written by Stream Quanta Tech team