We build most new sites on Next.js, Supabase and Vercel because they give us faster pages, a smaller attack surface and complete control of the code, but WordPress is still the better choice for some businesses.
The honest comparison has costs on both sides. Next.js sites are faster and tidier, and they also need a developer for every change unless you add an editing layer. WordPress lets a non-technical person publish on day one, and it is only as fast and secure as the care taken over it.
This article compares the two on speed, security, editing, cost and exit, and then says who should pick which. It is one part of our guide to choosing a web design agency in the UK.
What are Next.js and WordPress?
WordPress is a content management system, and Next.js is a framework for writing websites in code. WordPress builds each page from a database when someone asks for it. Next.js can prepare pages in advance and serve them from a global network.
WordPress runs on PHP and MySQL. You choose a theme, add plugins for forms, SEO, shops and security, and edit pages in a dashboard. The HTTP Archive's 2025 Web Almanac found it behind about 64% of sites that use a CMS and roughly 35% of all websites. That scale is its strength: any developer you meet has used it.
Next.js is a React-based framework. Pages are written as code, data comes from a database such as Supabase or from a headless CMS, and the site is deployed to a platform like Vercel. There is no admin dashboard unless someone builds or connects one.
Which is faster?
A well-built Next.js site is usually faster out of the box, but WordPress can be fast too, and many are not.
The Web Almanac measured the share of sites that pass Google's Core Web Vitals on mobile. WordPress came in at 45%, against 74% for Wix and 85% for Duda.
xychart-beta
title "Share of mobile sites passing Core Web Vitals, 2025 Web Almanac (%)"
x-axis ["WordPress", "Weebly", "Wix", "TYPO3", "Duda"]
y-axis "Percent passing" 0 --> 100
bar [45, 47, 74, 79, 85]
That is a statement about the average WordPress site, not about a well-configured one. Cheap hosting, heavy themes, page builders and a dozen plugins each add weight. The pass rate says what usually happens when sites are built quickly and maintained lightly.
Next.js reduces the chance of that drift. Pages can be generated at build time, shipped as light HTML and cached close to the visitor. Code is loaded per page, so one slow feature does not drag the whole site. We explain what this means for revenue in page speed as a sales metric.
None of this removes the need to test. A Next.js site with a 4MB hero video and six tracking scripts will be slow as well.
Which is more secure?
Next.js has fewer ways in, because a static or server-rendered site has no public plugin ecosystem and no admin login on the front end, while WordPress security depends on keeping its plugins patched.
Patchstack, a WordPress security company, reported more than 4,100 vulnerabilities disclosed in the WordPress ecosystem in 2024, with 13% highly exploitable and about a third receiving no patch at all. It also reported that over 60% of the attacks it tracked used vulnerabilities for which a patch already existed.
The pattern is plain: most WordPress compromises come from out-of-date add-ons, not from a clever attack on the core.
A Next.js site is not immune. Dependencies can have flaws, secrets can leak and badly written forms can be abused. The difference is the volume of third-party code running on a typical site and who has to remember to update it.
If you stay on WordPress, treat updates as a recurring job. Our guide to hosting, security and maintenance lists what that job involves.
Which is easier for staff to edit?
WordPress, by a distance, unless the Next.js site is paired with a content system built for the team.
This is the main reason to choose WordPress. A receptionist, a marketing assistant or a partner can log in, change a price or publish a news item in a few minutes. Years of tutorials, plugins and support forums back that experience.
With Next.js you have three options. You can edit the code with a developer for every change, which suits a site that rarely changes. You can connect a headless CMS such as Sanity or Contentful, which gives staff an editing screen and adds a monthly fee.
Or you can build a small editing area on top of a database, which is what we do for sites that need frequent changes and custom data.
Ask your agency which of those you are getting before you sign, and who will update the site in month six.
How do the costs compare?
WordPress is cheaper to start and Next.js is often cheaper to run, but both depend on the scope.
A basic WordPress site with a bought theme can be live for a fraction of a bespoke build, and plugin licences are small. Next.js takes longer to design and build because more is written from scratch.
Running costs shift the other way. A Next.js site on a platform like Vercel can run on a free or low-cost hosting tier for modest traffic, with little to patch. WordPress needs decent hosting, regular updates and plugin licence renewals, so the yearly figure grows with the number of plugins.
What about search and AI visibility?
Both can rank well, and the difference is in how reliably the page content arrives in the HTML.
Google can render JavaScript, but other crawlers cannot. Research by Vercel and MERJ found that none of the major AI crawlers it tested, including OpenAI's, Anthropic's and Perplexity's, render JavaScript. A Next.js site that renders its main content on the server avoids the problem, and one that loads its content in the browser does not.
We cover the practical side in a website that works for AI crawlers.
WordPress sends full HTML by default, which is a quiet advantage, unless a page builder loads content with scripts. For WordPress SEO fixes that fit into an afternoon, see technical SEO on WordPress.
Who owns the site if the agency goes?
With either platform you should own the code, the content and the accounts, but the practical risk differs.
A Next.js site lives in a code repository and a hosting account. If both are in your name, any competent React developer can pick it up, though a stranger needs time to learn the structure.
A WordPress site lives in a hosting account and a database, and it relies on a theme and plugins that may be licensed to the agency, not to you.
In both cases UK law says a contractor owns what they create unless you agree otherwise in writing, so the contract has to say the code is yours. Our checklist of what your web agency should hand over puts that and the other items in one place.
Can you move from WordPress to Next.js?
Yes, and the risk is in the move, not in the destination: old pages need to land on the right new ones, or you lose search traffic for months.
The content can be exported and reused. What takes care is the map of old addresses to new ones, the redirects, the metadata and the internal links. Google's own site-move guidance says to keep redirects for at least a year, and our checklist in why redesigns lose traffic for three months covers the rest.
If your current site is fine and fast, do not move for fashion. A migration is worth the cost only when speed, features or security are costing you business.
When should you choose WordPress?
Choose WordPress when several non-technical people edit the site often, when you need a plugin that already does the job or when the budget is tight and the site is mostly pages and posts.
It also suits a business with a large archive of content, because years of posts, categories and editorial workflows are already built in. A professional services firm that publishes weekly commentary and has three fee earners writing it is a typical fit.
The risk is neglect. A WordPress site that nobody updates is the one that gets hacked or slows down. If you choose it, pay for the maintenance.
When should you choose Next.js?
Choose Next.js when speed, custom features or tight control matter more than easy editing: bookings, quoting tools, customer portals, calculators or integrations with other systems.
It is also the right choice when the site is a product in its own right. If your site needs a login, a database and business logic, you are already building software, and a framework suits that better than a content system with plugins bolted on.
We use it on that basis, and we set out the trade-off before the build starts. Our website design page describes what we build, and if you are unsure which route fits, ask us for a straight answer.
