Service Headless
Decoupled WordPress with Next.js, Nuxt, or Astro on the frontend. Editors keep their admin. Visitors get a one second site. We have shipped this stack for ourselves and for clients across SaaS and enterprise.
// next.config.js
import { wpClient } from '@/lib/wp';
export default {
async revalidate() {
return {
tags: ['posts', 'pages'],
after: async (req) => {
if (req.headers['x-wp-event']) {
await wpClient.purge(req.body.post_id);
}
},
};
},
experimental: {
ppr: true,
},
};
Why headless
WordPress is the best editorial CMS most teams will ever use. The admin works, the plugin ecosystem solves real problems, and editors know it. The trouble starts at the theme layer, where build pipelines stall, page speed plateaus, and the modern frontend patterns your competitors ship feel out of reach.
Headless splits the stack at the right seam. The CMS stays. The frontend becomes a real engineering surface. You get the velocity of a Vercel deploy with the editorial muscle of WordPress, and your team picks up the framework they already want to write in.
What we build
Editors save posts the same way they always have. Visitors get an instant frontend, a clean redirect map, and SEO continuity. We handle the bridge layer, the edge caching strategy, and every block that needs custom rendering.
01
Next.js, Nuxt, Astro, SvelteKit, Remix. We pick the framework based on your team, not the trend cycle. Most clients land on Next.js or Astro and we keep both stacks in active production.
No framework lock-in, no rebuild in two years.
02
WPGraphQL gives a typed schema and resolves Gutenberg block content cleanly. REST works for simpler editorial flows and avoids the GraphQL plugin dependency. We write the integration both ways.
API choice is reversible without rewriting the frontend.
03
Editors save in WordPress and the headless frontend revalidates that single page within seconds. No full rebuilds, no stale pages, no cache wipes.
Editorial velocity matches monolithic WordPress.
04
Every Gutenberg block renders the same on the headless frontend as it does in the editor preview. Image, columns, button, custom blocks, ACF blocks. Editors stop second guessing.
Zero "looks wrong on the live site" tickets.
05
WooCommerce checkout, BuddyPress profiles, MemberPress gating, EDD downloads. None of that moves. The headless frontend handles marketing, content, and SEO surfaces.
Existing revenue infrastructure is never at risk.
06
Old URLs map to new URLs at the edge. JSON-LD, OG, sitemap, canonical, robots all preserved or improved. Yoast and RankMath data flows into the headless layer.
Last six headless launches shipped with zero ranking loss.
0.6s
average LCP across our production headless sites
Measured continuously. Core Web Vitals reports public on request.
The bridge layer
The frontend reads WordPress through a typed loader. Editorial fields you already use show up as a schema on the frontend. No duplicate content models, no syncing scripts, no double entry.
// app/posts/[slug]/page.tsx
import { notFound } from 'next/navigation';
import { getPostBySlug, getAllPosts } from '@/lib/wp';
import { BlockRenderer } from '@/components/blocks';
export async function generateStaticParams() {
const posts = await getAllPosts();
return posts.map((p) => ({ slug: p.slug }));
}
export default async function Post({ params }) {
const post = await getPostBySlug(params.slug);
if (!post) notFound();
return (
<article>
<h1>{post.title}</h1>
<BlockRenderer blocks={post.blocks} />
</article>
);
}
export const revalidate = 60;
Process
01
Two weeks. Audit of the existing WP install, URL prefix map, redirect plan, API contract, framework decision. Output is a fixed price quote.
No surprises after kickoff.
02
Four to eight weeks depending on block complexity. Frontend ships in parallel with content migration. WP backend untouched. Staging URL within seven days.
Editors preview every page before launch.
03
One week. DNS or edge routing flip during a low traffic window. Search Console, Core Web Vitals, error logs monitored for thirty days post launch.
Zero ranking loss across last six migrations.
Common questions
Headless keeps WordPress live and serves data through GraphQL or REST to a separate frontend. Static export rebuilds the whole site on every change. Headless is what you want for any site editors update regularly.
Next.js if your team already knows React or you need server actions. Nuxt if Vue is the house framework. Astro if the site is mostly content and you want the smallest possible JavaScript bundle. We size the choice in the discovery call.
No. They keep running on WordPress. We split the domain by URL prefix at the edge. Marketing surfaces go to the headless frontend, app surfaces (checkout, accounts, profiles, forums) keep using the WordPress theme.
Live preview from WordPress hits a preview route on the headless frontend with the draft content rendered exactly as the live site will render it. Editors approve before publish, same as today.
Not in our last six headless launches. We map every old URL to a new URL, preserve schema, sitemap, canonical, and OG, and monitor Search Console for thirty days post-cutover. Cutover happens during low traffic windows.
Marketing-only headless builds are scope-dependent. Full content sites with custom block parsing, editor flow optimization, and revalidation infrastructure are scoped after discovery. Discovery call is free, fixed-price quote within 48 hours.
Ready to ship faster WordPress?
Discovery call is free. Fixed-price quote within 48 hours. Projects are scope-dependent.