When WordPress fits
WordPress is still the right option when you have a marketing team that publishes regularly without dev help (blog, landings, product pages) and no budget for a headless CMS with a visual editor. Massive plugin and theme ecosystem, so launch is fast. Downsides: performance drops quickly as you add plugins, and security needs constant attention.
When Next.js fits
Next.js is right when performance, SEO, and UX are priorities (high-conversion landings, SaaS, custom e-commerce), when you integrate with internal systems (CRM/ERP/APIs), or you need interactive sections (calculator, configurator, public dashboard). Production speed is significantly better, and Core Web Vitals are easy to keep green.
Real decision criteria
- Who publishes? Marketing without dev → WordPress (or headless with editor). Tech + marketing team comfortable with PRs → Next.js with a headless CMS (Sanity, Contentful, Strapi).
- Volume and performance. Under 1,000 visitors/day, both work. Above 10,000 with many dynamic pages, Next.js wins clearly.
- Custom integrations. If you need forms tied to a CRM, custom auth, custom payments, Next.js offers fine-grained control. WordPress works — through plugins that add overhead.
- Total cost over 3 years. WordPress seems cheaper at launch, but maintenance (updates, security patches, beefier hosting) piles up. Next.js needs dev effort upfront, but operations are more predictable.
Two myths
"WordPress is bad for SEO" — false. With proper configuration (Yoast/RankMath, cache, optimized images) it can score excellently. "Next.js is overkill for a presentation site" — depends. For a 5-page site with no blog, WordPress (or even a plain static site) is enough. For 20+ pages with logic, Next.js is more robust.
Conclusion
The decision comes from your team, not the preferred tech stack. We mostly work with Next.js because most clients have needs beyond a classic CMS, but we recommend WordPress when it's the right fit. Tech is the means, not the end.