Next.js vs WordPress: Which Should a Small Business Website Use?
Quick answer
WordPress (or a template-based site) is right for most small businesses: cheaper ($50 to $250 at Blogrator, hosting included), and you edit everything yourself. Next.js is right when speed, security and a custom design matter more than self-editing, or when the site will grow into an app: pages are pre-rendered, there are no plugins to hack, and you own the code ($299 to $999 at Blogrator, hosting billed to you, about $20 a month on Vercel Pro). Both are fine for SEO and AI search when built properly. Pick by what the site has to do.
Side-by-side comparison
| WordPress / template site | Next.js | |
|---|---|---|
| Blogrator price | $50 / $150 / $250 one-time | $299 / $599 / $999 one-time |
| Hosting | Included on our servers | Vercel Pro (about $20 a seat a month) or your own host, billed to you |
| Editing | You edit everything in an admin panel | Editor for pages and posts on $599 and up; landing page edited by us |
| Speed | Good with care | Fast by default; pages pre-rendered |
| Security | Needs updates and plugin care | No plugins; little to attack |
| Design | Templates styled in your brand | Custom components and animations |
| Grows into an app | Awkward | Naturally: same stack as our web apps |
| Ownership | Site and domain in your name | Code in your GitHub, domain in your name |
| Delivery | 4 to 12 days | 7 to 21 days |
When WordPress (or a template site) is the right call
You want to change text, add a page or post a photo without asking anyone. You need the site this week and the budget is small. The site is a brochure with a form and a phone number, and traffic comes from Google Business Profile, referrals or ads. That describes most local businesses, and for them a $150 five-page site with hosting included is the sensible answer. The cost of WordPress is care: updates, backups and security, which our $50 a month care plan handles if you would rather not.
When Next.js is the right call
Speed is a selling point, for example a site that must load instantly on mobile for ad traffic. You want a design that does not look like a template, with custom components and animation. You have been hacked through a plugin before and do not want to be again. The site will become a product: a portal, a booking system, a SaaS, built on the same stack. Or you are technical and want the code in your own GitHub. For those, a $599 business site or the $999 site with a headless CMS is the better long-term base.
Total cost, three years
| Five Page Site (template) | Next.js Business Site | |
|---|---|---|
| Build | $150 | $599 |
| Hosting | $0, included | Vercel Pro ≈ 36 × $20 = $720 |
| Domain | ≈ $45 | ≈ $45 |
| Care plan (optional, $50/mo) | $1,800 if taken | $1,800 if taken |
| Three-year total, no care plan | ≈ $195 | ≈ $1,364 |
Next.js costs more up front and every month, because its hosting is a commercial plan billed to you. That is the price of speed, security and owning the code; it is worth paying when one of those is why customers choose you, and not otherwise.
SEO and AI search
Both can rank. Next.js renders every page as full HTML on the server, so Google and AI crawlers read the content immediately, and our builds include metadata, schema, sitemap and Search Console setup by default. WordPress and template sites reach the same place with the right plugins and care; ours ship with basic on-page SEO on every page, and the SEO-friendly website adds keyword research and schema before design. The framework matters less than whether the pages answer real questions with clear facts.
Which for your business
| Your situation | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Local service business, small budget, wants to self-edit | Template site $150 or $250 | Cheapest, hosting included, edit anything |
| Same, but Google search is the main channel | SEO-friendly website $150 to $499 | Search work done before design |
| Ad-driven landing page where every 100 ms matters | Next.js landing page $299 | Pre-rendered and fast |
| Brand-led business, custom design, blog | Next.js business site $599 | Custom components, editor for posts |
| Site that will become a portal, booking system or SaaS | Next.js advanced site $999, then a web app | Same stack as the app; nothing to rebuild |
| Existing WordPress with heavy content, wants speed | Next.js with WordPress as headless CMS | Keep editing, swap the front end |
We build both. Pick the one the job needs.
Template sites from $50 with hosting included, Next.js from $299 with code in your GitHub. Pay by card or book a free call first.
Five Page Site — $150 Next.js Landing Page — $299 Next.js Business Site — $599
See Next.js website development, website design, or book a free call.
Frequently asked questions
For most small businesses, no: WordPress (or our template-based sites) is cheaper, and the owner can edit everything. Next.js wins when speed, security and a custom design matter more than self-editing: pages are pre-rendered as plain HTML, there are no plugins to hack, and you own the code. Choose by what the site has to do, not by which is more modern.
Our template-based business sites are $50 for a landing page, $150 for five pages and $250 for ten, with hosting included. Next.js sites are $299 for a landing page, $599 for up to six pages with a blog and $999 for up to twelve pages with a headless CMS and integrations, with hosting billed to you (Vercel’s Pro plan is $20 a seat a month at the time of writing).
On the $599 and $999 tiers, yes: you get an editor for pages and blog posts through MDX or a headless CMS such as Sanity, Contentful or WordPress used as the back end. The $299 landing page is edited by us, and small changes are covered by the $50 a month care plan.
Yes. Pages are rendered as full HTML on the server, so Google and AI crawlers read the content directly rather than waiting for JavaScript. Every site includes metadata, schema markup, sitemap and Search Console setup. WordPress can achieve the same with care; Next.js does it by default.
Usually Vercel, on its Pro plan because the free plan is for non-commercial use, or on your own hosting or AWS. Hosting is billed to you. The code lives in a GitHub repository in your name, so any developer can take it on.
Yes. A common path is WordPress now, and Next.js with WordPress as a headless CMS later, which keeps your editing workflow and swaps the front end for a faster one. We build both and will tell you which fits.