Service WordPress + Astro
Headless WordPress with Astro, built to handle growth.
Your team keeps the WordPress admin. Visitors get a site that opens in 0.6 seconds. We have built this exact setup three times for ourselves.
Trusted by WordPress teams since 2013
Why headless
WordPress is the best CMS. It is not always the best frontend.
The admin works. The editorial workflow is what marketing teams know. Plugins do what plugins should do. The problem is everything in front of the database · page load, build pipelines, framework agility, modern frontend patterns. Headless lets you keep what works and replace what holds you back.
What it feels like
Two browsers. One site. Same content.
Simultaneous render of the same homepage. Left: traditional WordPress PHP stack with the plugins a community site typically runs. Right: the Astro + Cloudflare Workers stack we ship for our own store. Scroll up and back down to replay.
- 7× faster median LCP
- Sub-1s FCP at the edge
- 0ms server processing for cached pages
What we build
A migration that does not require new editorial habits.
Editors stay in WordPress. Visitors get an Astro frontend. We handle the bridge layer, the CDN strategy, and every Gutenberg block that needs custom rendering.
01
WPGraphQL or REST · your call
We pick the API surface based on your editorial workflow. WPGraphQL for typed schemas and Gutenberg block content, REST for simpler editorial use.
Switching API later does not require frontend rewrite.
02
ISR for editor velocity
Editors save in WordPress and the Astro page revalidates in under a minute. No "redeploy the entire site" round-trips.
Marketing ships content as fast as on monolithic WP.
03
Edge-rendered, never CDN-stale
Astro builds static at deploy, plus on-demand revalidation at the edge. Stripe-checkout-grade caching without the staleness.
Cached page TTFB averages 47ms.
04
Block parser that actually works
Gutenberg blocks render in Astro components · image, columns, button, custom blocks. Editor visual matches frontend visual.
No "looks wrong on the frontend" support tickets.
05
Auth + commerce stay on WP
WordPress keeps WooCommerce, EDD, BuddyPress, MemberPress. Astro handles marketing + content. Best tool for each layer.
Zero risk to existing revenue infrastructure.
06
Full SEO + schema parity
JSON-LD, OG tags, sitemap, robots, canonical · preserved or improved versus the WP source. Yoast/RankMath data flows through.
Migrations launch without ranking dips.
Green
Core Web Vitals across our three production headless WordPress and Astro sites
Field data from real visitors rather than a lab score we picked. Google calls LCP good under 2.5 seconds; ours sit inside it, and you can check any of our sites yourself.
The bridge layer
Type-safe content collections from your existing WordPress.
Astro reads WordPress through a typed loader. Editorial fields you already use show up as a Zod schema on the frontend. No duplicate content models. No syncing scripts.
src/content.config.ts ts
// content collection schema
import { defineCollection, z } from 'astro:content';
import { wpLoader } from '@wbcom/astro-wp/loader';
export const collections = {
posts: defineCollection({
loader: wpLoader({
type: 'post',
perPage: 100,
}),
schema: z.object({
title: z.string(),
excerpt: z.string(),
author: z.object({
name: z.string(),
avatar: z.string().url(),
}),
categories: z.array(z.string()),
featured_media: z.string().url().optional(),
seo: z.object({
title: z.string(),
description: z.string(),
og_image: z.string().url().optional(),
}),
}),
}),
};
Process
How a headless migration runs.
01
Discovery
Two weeks. We audit your existing WP install, identify the URL prefixes that move to Astro, document the redirect map, and lock the API contract.
Fixed-price quote, no surprises.
02
Build
Four to six weeks. Astro frontend ships in parallel with content migration. WP backend is untouched. Staging URL available within seven days.
Editors can preview every page before launch.
03
Cutover + monitor
One week. DNS or edge-routing flip during a low-traffic window. We monitor Search Console + Core Web Vitals + error logs for thirty days post-launch.
Thirty days of Search Console watched after launch, not thirty minutes.
What it costs
Headless pricing depends on how much of the site is genuinely dynamic.
A marketing site with ten templates and a content site with block parity, previews and revalidation are the same sentence and very different projects. Here is what moves the number.
What moves the number
- How many templates Ten page types is a contained build. Editorial sites with dozens of block combinations are where the work actually is.
- Block parity Every custom Gutenberg block has to render again on the front end. That list is usually longer than anyone expects and is worth counting before quoting.
- Previews and revalidation Editors expect to preview a draft and see a change go live. Both are straightforward to build and easy to leave out of a quote.
- What stays on WordPress Forms, search, comments and anything logged-in each need a decision about which side owns them.
- Migration or rebuild Pointing a new front end at an existing install is one scope. Restructuring the content model at the same time is another.
Small, well-defined work is usually better handled as an hourly block than scoped as a project, and we will say so rather than inflate it into one.
Rough idea to delivery
- You send the details What you want built, roughly, plus budget range and timing. The form asks for all of it
- Same day, Monday to Friday We read it and reply. Nothing is scheduled before we know what it is about
- Then the call Free discovery, booked once there is enough on the table to make it worth your hour
- Within 48 hours of the call A written fixed-price quote you approve before anything starts
Quick enquiry
Considering headless?
Tell us what the site does today and what is pushing you to change. If the honest reason is that the editors hate it, that is useful and points somewhere different from a performance problem.
Prefer the full form? Tell us about your project
Common questions
Frequently asked
-
How long does a headless WordPress migration take?
Six to ten weeks for a content-heavy site. Discovery + IA mapping is two weeks, build is four to six, content migration and SEO redirect mapping runs in parallel, and a soft-launch QA week closes it.
-
Do we have to rebuild our content?
No. Existing posts, pages, custom post types, ACF fields, Gutenberg blocks, and media library all stay where they are. Astro queries them via GraphQL or REST. Editors keep working in the same WP admin they use today.
-
What about plugins like WooCommerce, BuddyPress, MemberPress?
They keep running on WordPress. Headless does not mean "kill the plugins." It means "the marketing surface is faster and the app surface stays where it works." We split traffic by URL prefix at the edge.
-
Will we lose Gutenberg?
No. We render Gutenberg blocks as Astro components. Block visual fidelity is preserved. New blocks added in WordPress show up automatically without a frontend deploy.
-
How do we handle SEO during migration?
A redirect map covers every old URL. Schema markup, sitemaps, and canonical tags are migrated as-is or improved. We coordinate the cutover during low-traffic windows and monitor Search Console for the first thirty days post-launch.
-
What does it cost?
Headless work is estimated against scope rather than sold at a list price. A marketing site with a handful of templates and a content site needing block parity, previews and revalidation are very different projects. The section above sets out what moves the number.
Where to go next
Related services
- WordPress development services The starting point if you are not sure which service fits.
- WordPress plugin development Custom plugins built block-editor first, tested and documented.
- Custom WordPress themes Block-first themes built to your design, not a page builder wrapped in a child theme.
- Astro static sites When there is no CMS to keep and the content can live in the repo.
- Headless WordPress The general case, if you have not settled on a front-end framework yet.
What clients say
“Wbcom Designs was methodical, reliable, innovative, and knowledgeable. They communicated with us every step of the way and delivered on time and on budget.”
“A partner, very trustworthy, very reliable. Gets the job done.”
Rated 4.8 out of 5 across 360+ Upwork jobs since 2010, on our company and founder profiles.See them on Upwork
Our plugin customers rate us 4.8 on Trustpilot (93 reviews).Read them
Ready for a faster WordPress?
Tell us about the site you want to rebuild.
Discovery call is free. Fixed-price quote within 48 hours. NDA on request.