Payload CMS developer who builds the type-safe data layer your Next.js team has been wishing for

Payload is the headless CMS written in TypeScript that takes type safety seriously — collections defined in TypeScript become runtime-typed documents and auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs. The native pairing is Next.js (Payload's own team builds Next.js apps) and the auth, file storage, and editor surface are notably more polished than other open-source CMSs at this price point. Free + open-source; Payload Cloud is the optional managed hosting path.

• Next.js apps where the engineering team writes TypeScript end-to-end and wants the CMS data model in the same type system
• Custom marketing sites where the editor needs proper preview, draft, and version control without paying Contentful Enterprise pricing
• Multi-tenant SaaS apps where the CMS sits next to operational data in the same MongoDB or Postgres
• Teams who want self-hostable open source but with a polished editor UX (the WordPress-of-headless-CMS positioning)

Payload is fast-moving — major versions land every 12-18 months

Payload 3.0 (released 2024) was a significant rearchitecture. Plan for upgrade cadence. Self-hosting means you control when, but you do not control whether eventually.

MongoDB or Postgres pick affects deployment more than docs suggest

Payload supports both, but the operational profile is different — MongoDB for content-heavy, Postgres for relational-data-heavy. Pick wrong and you discover the constraint at scale.

The plugin ecosystem is smaller than Strapi or WordPress

Common patterns (SEO, sitemaps, multi-language, Stripe billing) all have first-party or community plugins, but for niche needs you write the integration. Budget engineering time accordingly.

One senior on every engagement

I am the senior on the call, the senior on the architecture review, and the senior who answers when something breaks at 11pm. The build is delivered with senior engineers from Seahawk Media under my direction; the kickoff and the handover are with me directly.

Real Payload experience, not "we read the docs once"

The Payload space is full of agencies that bolted the platform onto a generic offer. The questions a senior Payload developer answers — content modelling, schema migration, performance, observability, multi-environment workflows — are the questions you actually need answered, and that is where the engagement earns its fee.

Modern stack pairing

Most Payload engagements pair the platform with Next.js, Astro, or a modern frontend stack. I have shipped both sides of that pairing across 50+ projects. The integration patterns, the deployment topology, the SEO transport on migrations — all of it has been done before, and you get the lessons rather than paying for them in your project.

I take on a small number of Payload engagements at any given time. Two shapes that fit best:

Project — 4 to 12 weeks, fixed-price. Clear scope (a content migration, a Studio customisation, a performance audit, a build from scratch). Discovery week first, then a fixed-price quote. Most projects land in the 12,000-60,000 USD range.

Retainer — 8 hours per week, monthly. Ongoing Payload engineering support after launch. Schema evolution, new feature work, integration help with adjacent stacks. Typical retainer 6,400-12,800 USD/month depending on complexity.

Booking sequence: 30-minute call, you describe the brief, I tell you which shape fits and the price range. No sales deck, no qualification screen. If I am not the right person, I will tell you on the call.

• Payload in the headless CMS directory Where Payload fits — feature comparison, pricing tiers, when it beats Strapi or Directus.
• Headless WordPress (alternative path) WordPress as the editorial back-end with Next.js front-end — when this beats Payload.

Book a 30-minute call. By the end of it you will know whether Payload is the right pick for your brief, what the realistic scope is, and a price range that fits your budget. If Payload is not the right answer, I will tell you and recommend the alternative.