For a B2B website, WordPress is the better choice when a marketing team edits pages every day, and a custom Next.js site is the better choice when the website must connect to other systems, load fast by default and stay under your control for years. Most companies fall clearly into one group once they answer five questions about who edits, what the site connects to, how fast it must be, who maintains it and what happens at handover. This guide sets out those questions, with the trade-offs I have seen on both sides.
What is the difference between a WordPress and a custom Next.js website?
A WordPress website is a content management system, written in PHP and stored in a database, that you extend with a theme and plugins. A custom Next.js website is application code, written in React and TypeScript, where every page, form and integration is built for one company instead of assembled from parts.
The practical difference is where the work sits. With WordPress, most of the work is choosing and configuring existing parts. With a custom site, most of the work is designing and writing exactly what you need, and nothing else.
Next.js is a React framework that can build pages into static HTML at deploy time and serve them from a content delivery network. That makes a fast page the default instead of something you tune afterwards. WordPress can be fast too, but it gets there through caching, which is another layer to configure and watch.
I'm Jurica Stublić, an independent web designer and developer in Zagreb, Croatia. Croatia has been in the EU since 2013 and on the euro since 2023, so I work to EU law, in euros and on CET. I build custom websites for clients in the UK and across Europe, and this website runs on Next.js. I also work on WordPress sites, so I have no reason to push you toward one of them.
When is WordPress the better choice for a B2B website?
WordPress is the better choice when the people who change the site are not developers, and when what they need already exists as a mature plugin. A marketing manager who publishes three pages a week and wants to rearrange sections herself is the classic case.
Four situations point to WordPress.
First, daily editing by a team. WordPress has a familiar editor, trash, revisions, scheduled publishing and a user model that most marketing people already know. A custom editor has to be built to that standard, and I will say below how much that takes.
Second, an existing site with a team that knows it. Replacing a working WordPress site with a custom one means retraining people and rebuilding content. If the site is not the problem, the platform is not either.
Third, a plugin that solves the whole problem. Events, memberships, a booking calendar or a catalogue sometimes exist as a well-kept plugin that costs less than building the feature. In that case I would use the plugin.
Fourth, a short deadline with a standard design. A theme and a few plugins can be live in days. A custom website takes 3–6 weeks because design and build are done for you, not selected from a list.
Past that, there is a hiring argument. Almost any web agency can pick up a WordPress site, which makes handover to another supplier easy. That is a real advantage, and it counts for more than people admit.
When does a custom Next.js website win?
A custom Next.js website wins when the website is part of your product or your process, not only a brochure. Five situations point that way.
The site talks to other systems. If enquiries must land in a CRM with your own fields, if a portal shows customers their orders, or if prices come from an internal source, you are writing integration code anyway. Writing it inside the website, not inside a plugin, keeps one place to maintain.
Speed and stability are requirements. A static page served from a CDN has no database query behind each visit. That removes a category of slow responses and a category of failures.
The attack surface must stay small. Every plugin is code someone else wrote and you do not review. A custom site has only the packages it needs, and I update them on a schedule.
The design follows strict rules. If your brand system forbids certain layouts, a theme with sections that can be dragged anywhere works against you. In a custom build the editor offers only the layouts that were designed and tested.
You want to own a repository. At handover you receive the full Git history, the hosting account and the credentials. The next developer reads the code instead of reverse-engineering plugin settings.
WordPress or Next.js: how do they compare on the criteria that matter?
On seven criteria the answer changes depending on who runs the site. The table sets out where each platform is stronger, so you can mark the rows that matter to you.
| Criterion | WordPress | Custom Next.js | Which wins when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily editing by non-technical staff | Mature editor, trash, revisions | Only what was built into the editor | WordPress, if editing is the main job |
| Integrations with CRM, portal, ERP | Plugins or custom plugin code | Written into the application | Custom, if the site is part of a process |
| Default speed | Depends on theme, plugins and caching | Static pages from a CDN by default | Custom, if speed is measured |
| Security surface | Core, theme and every plugin | Only the packages the site uses | Custom, if plugins would be many |
| Multilingual content | Plugin per language setup | Built into routes and content model | Custom, for strict language rules |
| Hiring someone else later | Large pool of agencies | Needs a developer who reads TypeScript | WordPress, for easy handover |
| Recurring licences | Premium themes and plugins often renew yearly | None for the platform | Custom, if you count over years |
On running costs, my custom sites carry no platform licence. Hosting is about €90 a year, with the first year included in the project price, and support is €50 a month. WordPress costs depend on which premium themes and plugins you buy, so count them before comparing.
When I built a website for Lea Gobo with an editor inside it, I wrote down a comparison with WordPress on 36 points an editor touches, such as pasting from Word, trash and revisions. I was ahead on several, because both languages live in one document and links are checked on save. I was behind on others, such as trash, revision history and drafts for every section. You can read how that went in the Lea Gobo write-up.
What happens after launch and at handover?
After launch, both platforms need regular work, and the question is who does it. Maintenance is not a reason to choose one over the other. It is a cost to plan for on either side.
On WordPress the monthly work is updating core, theme and plugins, then checking that nothing broke. Skipped updates are where most trouble starts, because each skipped version widens the gap that a later update has to cross.
On a custom site the monthly work is updating packages and security fixes, plus backups that are tested by restoring them. Neither platform maintains itself.
At handover the custom route gives you more control, provided the contract says so. I hand over the repository with its history, the hosting account, the content export and every credential, and handover does not depend on a maintenance agreement. Whoever you hire, ask for that list in writing. My guide to hiring a developer in Croatia covers how I handle it.
How do you decide? Five questions before you brief anyone
Answer these five questions in writing before you send a brief, and the choice usually settles itself.
- Who edits the site, and how often? Daily by several people points to WordPress. A few times a month by one person points to either.
- What does the site connect to? A contact form that sends an email needs nothing special. A form that creates a record in your CRM and notifies a salesperson is an integration.
- How is speed measured? If a number in a report depends on it, choose the platform where speed is the default.
- Who will maintain it in three years? Name a person or a supplier. If you cannot, plan the answer before you buy.
- What do you need at handover? If you need the code, the design files and the hosting in your name, put it in the contract.
If three of your answers point to one side, that is the side to choose. If they split evenly, tell the developer you are undecided, and ask for a recommendation with reasons.
What mistakes do B2B buyers make when choosing?
Four mistakes appear again and again, and none is technical.
Choosing the platform before the brief. A platform is an answer to a question. If you do not know yet who edits, what it connects to and how it is measured, any answer is a guess.
Treating the plugin list as a feature list. Each plugin adds an update to run and a point of failure. A site with forty plugins is not a site with forty features, it is a site with forty things to maintain.
Asking for a custom editor that does everything. A client who says “I want to change everything” usually means three fields. Ask what exactly, then build that. The rest is cost with no use.
Ignoring who owns the result. A proposal that does not say who holds the code, the design and the domain after handover is incomplete. What a web design proposal should answer lists the questions to ask.
When you don't need a custom Next.js website
You do not need a custom website if a standard WordPress theme covers your design, your team already knows the editor and nothing on the site has to connect to another system. Paying for custom work in that case buys control you will not use.
You also do not need one if the budget is below what a real project takes. My smallest website project is from €1,500, and under that WordPress with a well-chosen theme is the honest answer. I work only on custom projects, so if a theme is what you want, this is not the work I do, and I will say so on the intro call.
A website that you change twice a year is a third case. Even a custom CMS is overkill there, because files in a repository do the same job with less to maintain.
FAQ
Is Next.js faster than WordPress?
Next.js is faster by default because pages can be built as static HTML and served from a CDN. A well-configured WordPress site with caching can also be fast, but it takes more work to get there and to keep it there. The right test is a measurement of your own pages on a phone, not a general claim.
Is WordPress secure enough for a B2B website?
WordPress is secure enough when core, theme and plugins are updated on a schedule and the plugin list is short. Risk grows with the number of plugins and with the delay between releases and updates. A site that nobody maintains is the real danger, on any platform.
Can my team edit a custom Next.js website?
Yes, if an editor is built into the site, with only the changes the designer has approved. The editor will offer fewer options than WordPress, which is deliberate. You can change text, images and articles safely, while layout stays as designed.
Can I move from WordPress to Next.js later?
Yes, and it is a normal route. The work is mapping every old address to a new one with permanent redirects, moving the content, and measuring before and after so you can see what changed. Plan it as a project, not as a weekend task.
How much does a custom website cost compared with WordPress?
A custom website with me is from €1,500, depending on scope, and takes 3–6 weeks. A WordPress site costs less to start when you use a ready theme, but it adds yearly licences and update work. Compare the total over three years, not the first invoice.
If you are choosing between the two for a B2B website and want a straight recommendation, book a 30 minute intro call. You will hear which platform fits and why, including when the answer is WordPress. The websites service page sets out scope and investment.
About the author
Jurica Stublić
Web designer and developer · 4 years · 50+ projects
I build custom web and mobile apps, web shops and websites, and I stay on the project after launch. Alongside client work I develop my own product: ai.webica.hr.
