WordPress to Next.js migration, without losing your rankings
Most WordPress sites we're asked about aren't broken. They're slow, they need plugin updates every other week, and now and then an update takes something down with it. Moving to Next.js fixes the speed and removes the plugin layer, but the move itself is where sites lose their search traffic. Doing it properly mostly means knowing where every old page is going before anything gets switched off.
Where we're based
GrowMint, Mississauga, ON
- Address
- 5105 Hurontario Street
Mississauga, ON L4Z 0C9Get directions - Phone
- +1 (431) 726-1706
- Hours
- Mon – Fri, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PMSat – Sun, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Signs it's time to move
The usual one is speed. By the time a site has a caching plugin and an image plugin, whatever slowness is left belongs to the theme and the other plugins, each loading its own scripts on every page whether that page needs them or not. No plugin removes that.
Then there's the upkeep. WordPress itself is reasonably well looked after. The trouble is the long list of plugins from different authors that most business sites collect over the years, every one of them another update to apply and another thing that can break or be broken into.
If the site was made in a page builder, you probably know this one already: the first version went up quickly and every change since has been slower than it should be.
What the migration covers
- 01
A full inventory and URL map
Every page, post, category, image and PDF the old site serves is crawled and listed, then mapped to its new address. Wherever a page can keep its existing address, it does.
- 02
Redirects for everything that moves
Each address that changes gets a permanent 301 redirect, old campaign links and tag pages included, tested against the crawl before launch and checked again after.
- 03
Content moved, not retyped
Posts, pages, publish dates, SEO titles and descriptions, and image alt text are exported from WordPress and carried across, so the words that already rank stay the same words.
- 04
Forms, tracking and integrations rebuilt
Contact forms, Google Analytics events, Search Console, booking tools and anything else the old site connected to are rebuilt and tested before the domain is switched over.
When to stay on WordPress
If your team publishes every day and has its whole workflow built around the WordPress editor, that editor may be worth more to you than the speed. In that case we'd fix performance where the site is first.
If the site depends on a plugin that does something large and specific, a membership system or a course platform for example, rebuilding that is a project of its own. We'll price it honestly, or tell you it isn't worth doing.
Sometimes the answer is no project at all. A WordPress site that's fast enough, ranks well and doesn't bother anyone to maintain won't earn back the cost of moving it.
The fuller picture
WordPress Migration questions we get asked
Do my page addresses have to change when I leave WordPress?
Usually not. Next.js can serve the same paths WordPress did, including post and category addresses, so most pages keep their URL and need no redirect at all. Where a change is worth making, such as dropping old ?p=123 style links or a cluttered category structure, each old address gets a permanent redirect to its new one.
What happens to my blog posts and images?
They're exported from WordPress and imported into the new site with their addresses, publish dates, featured images and alt text intact. Old shortcodes and page-builder markup are cleaned out on the way, which is usually where the leftover clutter in a WordPress export lives. If you want comments carried across, say so during scoping.
Will editing the site feel different from WordPress?
Yes, and simpler for most teams. Text, images and posts are edited in a content editor that has no plugin screens, theme settings or update notices. The trade is that you can't install a plugin to add a feature yourself; a new feature is a small change request instead.
How long does a WordPress to Next.js migration take?
Seven to twelve weeks for a typical business site: six to ten for the custom build, plus one to two for the URL map and redirect testing. A large blog or a site with complicated plugin features takes longer, and you'll have the timeline in writing before work starts.
Can you migrate a WooCommerce store?
Yes, but it's a bigger move than a content site, because products, customers, orders and payment settings all have to come across and be checked. We scope it separately. Depending on the store, a custom Next.js storefront or Shopify can be the better destination, and we'll tell you which and why.
Services built this way
Other technology pages
Let's talk about your WordPress Migration project.
Tell us what you need and you'll get a straight answer on scope, price, and timeline within 24 hours.