Migrating from WordPress to Payload CMS: Is It Worth It?

WordPress powers 43% of the web. It's familiar, well-supported, and has a plugin for everything. So why would anyone consider migrating to Payload CMS, a relatively new platform that requires custom development?

After migrating several projects from WordPress to Payload, I can tell you: for certain use cases, the benefits are substantial. For others, it's an expensive mistake.

Let me explain when migration makes sense and when you should absolutely stick with WordPress.

The Honest Truth About WordPress

WordPress isn't bad. It's actually excellent for many use cases. But it has limitations that become painful as projects grow complex.

Where WordPress Excels

1. Content-focused sites Blogs, news sites, corporate websites with primarily static content - WordPress handles these brilliantly.

2. Non-technical users The WordPress admin interface is familiar. Thousands of tutorials exist. Finding someone who knows WordPress is easy.

3. Quick launches Need a site live next week? WordPress with a quality theme gets you there fast.

4. Standard functionality Contact forms, galleries, blogs, basic e-commerce - WordPress plugins handle these well.

5. Budget constraints WordPress sites are generally cheaper to build initially.

Where WordPress Struggles

1. Performance at scale Large databases, complex queries, multiple plugins - WordPress slows down. Page load times suffer.

2. Custom functionality Need something specific to your business? You'll fight WordPress's structure or write complex custom code that's difficult to maintain.

3. Modern development workflows Git-based deployments, automated testing, type safety - WordPress wasn't designed for modern development practices.

4. Complex integrations Connecting multiple systems, custom APIs, real-time data - possible in WordPress but often requires complex workarounds.

5. Headless architectures While WordPress can work headlessly, it wasn't designed for it. Performance and developer experience suffer.

When Payload Makes Sense

Payload excels where WordPress struggles, but it's not right for everyone.

Perfect Candidates for Migration

1. Custom E-commerce with Complex Logic

The problem with WordPress/WooCommerce:

• Slow page loads with large product catalogs (15,000+ products)
• Complex product configurations difficult to implement
• Custom pricing logic requires extensive customization
• Performance degrades with multiple plugins
• Admin interface becomes sluggish with large inventories

What we've seen with Payload:

• 3-5x faster page loads
• Unlimited products without performance degradation
• Custom pricing logic built natively
• Admin interface remains fast regardless of scale
• Type-safe product configurations

Real example: B2B manufacturer with 22,000 products, customer-specific pricing, and inventory across 5 warehouses:

• WordPress/WooCommerce: 4.2s page load, admin sluggish, constant performance optimization needed
• After migrating to Payload: 0.9s page load, fast admin, no performance concerns, 52% increase in conversion rate

ROI: Migration cost £12,000. Increased revenue from better conversion rate paid for migration in 4 months.

2. Complex Custom Integrations

When WordPress integration becomes painful:

• Multiple CRM, ERP, or accounting system integrations
• Real-time data syncing requirements
• Custom APIs serving mobile apps or other platforms
• Webhook handling for automated workflows
• Complex data transformations

Payload's advantage:

• Built on Node.js - modern async handling
• Type-safe API development
• Custom endpoints without fighting framework constraints
• Webhooks and custom logic built-in
• Better error handling and monitoring

Example: SaaS platform needing CMS for documentation, marketing pages, AND integration with their main application:

• WordPress: Required complex custom development, constant conflicts between plugins, slow API responses
• Payload: Native integration with existing Node.js application, shared type definitions, 10x faster API responses

3. Projects Requiring Custom Workflows

WordPress limitations:

• Plugin-based approval workflows are rigid
• Custom roles/permissions require plugins that conflict
• Business-specific logic difficult to implement
• Version control of complex workflows challenging

Payload's strength:

• Custom approval workflows matching your exact process
• Granular permissions at field and document level
• Business logic in code (version controlled, testable)
• No plugin conflicts

Example: Publishing company with: writers → editors → managing editors → legal review → publication

• WordPress: Required multiple plugins, workflows broke with updates, some steps manual
• Payload: Entire workflow custom-built, automated notifications, reduced publication time from 8 days to 3 days

4. Multi-tenant or Multi-brand Platforms

WordPress approach:

• WordPress Multisite (complex, limited)
• Multiple separate installations (expensive, inefficient)
• Custom development fighting WordPress structure

Payload approach:

• Single instance, tenant-based access control
• Shared media libraries where appropriate
• Isolated content per tenant/brand
• Custom relationships across tenants if needed

Cost comparison: 5 separate WordPress sites: £3,500 each = £17,500 + £150/month total hosting Single Payload instance: £8,000 + £60/month hosting Savings: £9,500 initially, £90/month ongoing

When to Stay with WordPress

Payload isn't always better. Here's when WordPress makes more sense:

1. Content-Focused Sites Without Complex Needs

Stick with WordPress if:

• Your site is primarily blog posts or pages
• You don't need complex custom functionality
• Standard plugins handle your needs
• Performance is acceptable
• Non-technical team needs to manage content independently

Why: WordPress is simpler and cheaper for straightforward content sites.

2. Budget is Limited

Migration costs: £5,000-15,000 typically Ongoing hosting: Higher for Payload

Stick with WordPress if:

• Budget is under £5,000 total
• No clear ROI from migration
• Current site meets business needs
• Cost savings don't justify investment

3. No Technical Resources

Reality: Payload requires developers for maintenance and updates.

Stick with WordPress if:

• No technical staff or budget for developers
• Need to manage everything yourself
• Can't justify ongoing development costs

Note: Payload's admin interface is user-friendly for content editors, but server management and updates require technical knowledge.

4. You Need Specific Plugin Functionality

WordPress has 60,000+ plugins covering almost everything.

Stick with WordPress if:

• Required functionality exists as mature WordPress plugins
• Custom development would be more expensive than using existing plugins
• Plugins meet your needs without major compromises

Example: If you need membership functionality and MemberPress does everything you need, custom development in Payload would be expensive and unnecessary.

5. Simple E-commerce

Stick with WordPress/WooCommerce if:

• Under 500 products
• Standard product types
• No complex pricing logic
• Basic shipping rules
• Performance is acceptable

Why migrate costs aren't justified for simple stores.

The Migration Process: What's Involved

Understanding the process helps assess if it's worth it.

Phase 1: Assessment & Planning (1-2 weeks)

Activities:

• Audit current WordPress site
• Identify custom functionality
• Map content structures
• Plan data migration strategy
• Assess integration requirements
• Define new architecture

Cost: £1,000-2,000

Phase 2: Payload Setup & Development (4-8 weeks)

Activities:

• Design content models
• Build custom functionality
• Develop integrations
• Create admin interface customizations
• Set up hosting infrastructure
• Implement security

Cost: £5,000-12,000 depending on complexity

Phase 3: Data Migration (1-2 weeks)

Activities:

• Export WordPress data
• Transform to Payload format
• Migrate media files
• Handle redirects
• Preserve SEO elements
• Test data integrity

Cost: £1,500-3,000

Phase 4: Testing & Launch (1-2 weeks)

Activities:

• Comprehensive testing
• Performance optimization
• SEO verification
• Content team training
• Staged deployment
• DNS cutover

Cost: £1,000-2,000

Total typical cost: £8,500-19,000 Timeline: 2-4 months

Performance Gains: Real Numbers

The primary reason to migrate is usually performance. Here's what we've actually seen:

E-commerce Site (15,000 products)

Before (WordPress/WooCommerce):

• Homepage: 3.8s load time
• Product page: 4.2s load time
• Admin: 6-10s page loads
• Search: 3-8s depending on filters

After (Payload):

• Homepage: 0.8s load time (79% faster)
• Product page: 1.1s load time (74% faster)
• Admin: 0.9s page loads (85% faster)
• Search: 0.4s regardless of filters (90% faster)

Business impact:

• Conversion rate: 2.1% → 3.2% (+52%)
• Bounce rate: 58% → 41% (-29%)
• Average session time: +34%

Content Platform (8,000 articles)

Before (WordPress):

• Article page: 2.4s
• Homepage: 3.1s
• Search: 4-6s

After (Payload + Next.js):

• Article page: 0.6s (75% faster)
• Homepage: 0.7s (77% faster)
• Search: 0.3s (95% faster)

Business impact:

• Pages per session: +42%
• Ad revenue: +28% (more page views)
• Server costs: -40% (more efficient)

Why Such Dramatic Improvements?

1. No plugin overhead WordPress sites often run 20-40 plugins. Each adds code that runs on every page load.

2. Modern architecture Payload built on Node.js uses async operations efficiently. WordPress's PHP architecture is inherently slower for certain operations.

3. Optimized queries Custom-built queries in Payload target exactly what's needed. WordPress's query system is general-purpose and less efficient.

4. Better caching strategies Modern deployment platforms (Vercel, Netlify) with static generation where appropriate.

5. Headless frontend Decoupling frontend (Next.js, Nuxt, etc.) from CMS allows optimal performance strategies.

Cost Comparison: 3-Year Analysis

Let's compare total cost of ownership:

Scenario: Growing E-commerce Site

WordPress/WooCommerce:

• Initial build: £4,000
• Hosting: £40/month = £1,440 over 3 years
• Security plugins: £200/year = £600
• Performance plugins: £150/year = £450
• Maintenance: £100/month = £3,600
• Performance optimization (needed annually): £1,500/year = £4,500
• Total: £14,590

Payload CMS:

• Initial build: £12,000
• Hosting: £60/month = £2,160
• Maintenance: £80/month = £2,880
• Updates: £500/year = £1,500
• Total: £18,540

Difference: £3,950 more expensive

BUT - Revenue Impact: If Payload's performance improvements increase conversion from 2% to 2.8%:

• Annual revenue: £200,000
• WordPress conversions: 2% = £4,000 orders
• Payload conversions: 2.8% = £5,600 orders
• Additional revenue: £1,600/year
• Over 3 years: £4,800 additional revenue

ROI: £3,950 additional cost vs £4,800 additional revenue = £850 profit

Plus: faster site, better customer experience, easier to scale.

Important Considerations: Payload's Youth

Payload is relatively new. First released in 2021, it's still evolving rapidly.

What This Means

Advantages:

• Active development, frequent improvements
• Modern architecture from the ground up
• Responsive to community feedback
• Not burdened by legacy code

Challenges:

• Smaller ecosystem than WordPress
• Fewer "off the shelf" solutions
• Smaller developer community
• Less Stack Overflow answers
• Plugin ecosystem still developing

Reality check: This means more custom development. If you need specific functionality, you might need to build it rather than finding an existing solution.

Is This a Risk?

For the right projects: No.

Payload is:

• Open source (not going away)
• Used by significant companies
• Actively maintained
• Growing community
• Solid technical foundation

But: If you need cutting-edge stability with massive community support, WordPress's maturity is an advantage.

Migration Decision Framework

Use this checklist:

Migrate to Payload if you check 4+ boxes:

• Current WordPress site has significant performance issues
• You have 5,000+ products or complex e-commerce needs
• You need custom business logic that's difficult in WordPress
• You have or can engage ongoing technical resources
• Budget allows £8,000-15,000 for migration
• Performance directly impacts revenue
• You need complex integrations with other systems
• WordPress plugins aren't meeting your needs
• You're building/maintaining a headless architecture
• Your business is growing and needs scalability

Stay with WordPress if you check 3+ boxes:

• Current site meets business needs
• Content-focused without complex functionality
• Budget is under £5,000
• No technical resources available
• Performance is acceptable
• WordPress plugins handle requirements well
• Non-technical team needs full self-service
• Simple e-commerce (under 500 products)
• Migration ROI isn't clear

The Bottom Line

Migrate from WordPress to Payload when:

• Custom e-commerce with complex requirements
• Performance issues costing revenue
• Complex integrations needed
• Custom business logic required
• Budget supports migration and ongoing development

Stay with WordPress when:

• Content-focused site without complex needs
• Budget is limited
• Current solution works adequately
• No technical resources available
• Standard plugins meet requirements

Key insight: Payload shines for custom, complex projects where performance and flexibility justify the investment. WordPress remains excellent for straightforward content sites and standard functionality.

The question isn't "is Payload better than WordPress" but "is Payload better for YOUR specific needs?"

Considering Migration?

Every situation is unique. Before migrating, you need:

• Honest assessment of whether migration makes sense
• Realistic cost estimates
• Clear understanding of performance gains
• Migration strategy that minimises risk

Get in touch for a no-obligation assessment. I'll tell you honestly whether migrating makes sense for your project - and if WordPress is actually the smarter choice, I'll tell you that too.