WordPress to Payload
When the site is too dynamic for Astro — gated content, member areas, complex CPTs, multi-locale — Payload CMS gives you a real database, a real admin, and a real API. We move the content and bring the editors with us.
WordPress is great until you need typed APIs, real role-based access, multi-locale, or a frontend that isn’t PHP. Payload is what your developers wish WordPress had been: a code-first, TypeScript-native CMS with an admin editors actually like — built on Next.js so the frontend is just React.
Payload 3 admin tailored to your editorial team — fields, collections, access, hooks.
Full migration of posts, pages, users, media, and taxonomies into Postgres or Mongo.
Next.js App-Router frontend with ISR, on-demand revalidation, and edge caching.
Roles, drafts, versions, and previews wired end-to-end.
Localisation: collection-level i18n with editor-friendly translation flows.
Hosting on Vercel + a managed DB, or self-hosted on your own infra.
Inside the engagement.
- 01
Schema design
We translate your WordPress CPTs and ACF groups into typed Payload collections. Versions, drafts, scheduled publishing, and access control on every field.
- 02
Content migration
A repeatable migrator pulls every post, page, term, user, and media file into Payload. Re-runnable until the diff against the live site is empty.
- 03
Editor experience
Custom field components, conditional logic, live preview against the real frontend, and role-scoped admin views. Editors stop emailing developers.
- 04
Frontend
Next.js 15 App Router, React Server Components, on-demand revalidation. Same component library across marketing site and member area.
- 05
Auth & gating
Email + magic link, OAuth, or your existing IdP. Drafts gated to internal editors; member content gated to paying users; everything cache-aware.
- 06
Search & SEO
Typesense or Postgres FTS for content search. SEO plugin parity for meta, schema, sitemaps, and redirects.
The Payload + Next.js stack.
A code-first CMS that lives in your repo. Editors get a polished admin; engineers get TypeScript, version control, and tests.
- + CMSPayload 3TypeScriptGraphQL + RESTLocal API
- + FRONTENDNext.js 15App RouterReact 19Tailwind
- + DATAPostgresMongoDBDrizzleS3 / R2
- + OPSVercelRailwaySentryGitHub Actions
From kickoff to handover.
- 01
Schema workshop
A two-day workshop with your editors and engineers. We map every CPT, ACF group, and editorial workflow into Payload collections, fields, and hooks. You leave with a typed schema document.
Schema docField mapAccess matrixWEEK 1 - 02
Migrator + admin
We build the repeatable migrator and the Payload admin in parallel. Editors start clicking around staging by end of week three.
Migrator scriptStaging adminEditor walkthroughWEEK 2–6 - 03
Frontend rebuild
Next.js App Router frontend, component by component. ISR, RSC, edge caching, live preview wired in. We work against migrated content the entire time.
Next.js repoComponent libraryPreview environmentWEEK 4–9 - 04
Cut-over + train
DNS swap, redirects on, monitoring up. We train two cohorts of editors, hand over the runbook, and stay on a 30-day support tail.
Cut-over planEditor trainingRunbook30-day supportWeek 10–12
Payload lives in the same repo as your Next.js frontend, ships TypeScript types automatically, and runs on a database you already understand (Postgres or Mongo). For teams whose engineers want CMS-as-code, it wins. For teams whose editors live in a hosted UI all day, Sanity is sometimes the better fit — we'll say so in week one.
You can — it's called headless WP and we've done it. But it leaves you maintaining two systems and a translation layer. If the goal is to leave WordPress, leave WordPress.
Built into Payload via access control on fields and collections. We wire it to your existing identity provider or set up email + magic link. Stripe is a one-day add-on if you sell subscriptions.
Yes. Payload handles localisation at the field level. We set up the editor flow for translators and pick a translation memory tool if your volume warrants one.
Yes. Payload is open-source. We deploy to your own infra (AWS, GCP, bare metal) and document the operational surface. Most clients pick Vercel + a managed Postgres for simplicity.
Fixed-fee, scoped after the schema workshop. Most engagements land between 6 and 12 weeks. The bigger the archive and the more locales, the longer the tail.
Move to a CMS your editors don’t fight.
Send us a screenshot of your wp-admin. We’ll send back a fee letter and a schema sketch within four working days.