A migration succeeds when the content, search routes and enquiry workflow continue to work. Faster demo pages alone are not evidence that the business site is ready to switch.
Practical checks
-
Inventory URLs, titles, languages, media, structured data and inbound links before implementation.
-
Map changed paths explicitly and test redirects, canonicals and form destinations in the export.
-
Compare the released site with the agreed baseline and keep a rollback plan.
What to record before a decision
Write a short decision record: the current problem, one proposed change, the evidence needed to accept it, the person responsible and a review date. Test with fictional data before exposing customer information. If evidence is missing, record it as unknown rather than presenting a forecast as an achieved result. Keep a working fallback so a customer can still reach staff when an integration fails.
Scope and limits
Both platforms require appropriate hosting, asset control, accessible design and maintenance. WordPress optimisation and Next.js static export each have documented options and limits. Framework choice does not guarantee a speed score, search ranking or conversion increase.
