wordpress-migration-agency.html

The right WordPress migration agency is the one that shows you their redirect map before they quote

Most migration proposals are decks. The good ones come with a 200-line redirect-map sample from a past project, a written discovery plan, and a named lead engineer. Here is how to tell the two apart — and the 2026 price bands for both.

12,000+ WordPress sites migrated at Seahawk Media Paid discovery, fixed-price builds Build-time SEO linter on every migration London-based senior lead

Should you leave WordPress in 2026?

Before you hire anyone, the question is whether to move at all. Five signs the migration is genuinely the right call — and three signs it is not.

Signs it is time to leave WordPress

  • Core Web Vitals stuck. Lighthouse Performance under 70 on the homepage despite plugin pruning and a managed host upgrade. Plugin-heavy WordPress has a ceiling; a Next.js or Astro front-end clears 95+ as a baseline.
  • Security incidents repeating. Two or more compromise events in 18 months — plugin CVEs, brute-force breaches, defaced pages. The public attack surface drops to near-zero when WordPress only runs as a non-public back-end.
  • Editorial team has outgrown Gutenberg. Real-time collaboration is missing, the content schema needs custom validation, or you are publishing into multiple destinations (web, app, partner feeds). Sanity, Payload, or Storyblok was designed for this; Gutenberg was not.
  • Hosting + plugin licenses exceed engineering cost. Once managed WordPress hosting + Yoast Premium + ACF Pro + cache + security + uptime monitoring is past 8,000 USD a year on a single site, an in-house headless rebuild pays back inside 18-24 months.
  • You need one CMS to power multiple front-ends. A marketing site, a mobile app, a partner portal, an internal tool. Classic WordPress can do this with REST or WPGraphQL, but everything else (Sanity, Payload, Contentful) is designed for it from day one.

Signs to stay on WordPress

  • Sub-50-page marketing site that hits Core Web Vitals. A well-tuned classic WordPress install on quality managed hosting is faster and cheaper than a headless rebuild.
  • Team is non-technical and the editorial workflow works. If wp-admin is the reason your editors ship, do not break that to chase a 5-point Lighthouse delta.
  • Plugin-dependent functionality with no headless equivalent. WPBakery / Visual Composer pages, complex membership flows with deep ACF + restriction integrations, and most multivendor WooCommerce setups are still cheaper on classic WordPress in 2026.

Argument piece for non-technical stakeholders: Should you leave WordPress in 2026?. Destinations compared with verdicts: WordPress alternatives in 2026.

Five criteria for picking a WordPress migration agency

1. They show you a real redirect map before quoting

The redirect map is the migration's single most consequential artifact — and the one most often skipped or done badly. An agency that has run migrations at scale will share a 100-200 line CSV sample from a past project on request, redacted for client names. If they cannot, they have not done it; if they say "we use a tool", ask which one and how it handles URLs with backlinks but zero impressions in Search Console.

2. They run paid discovery before the fixed-price quote

Discovery is paid (1,500-5,000 USD typical) and produces a written technical specification — content-model translation table, plugin equivalents, redirect-map preview, custom-work scope, fixed-price quote against the spec. Agencies that fixed-price the whole project from a 30-minute call have padded the quote 30-50% to absorb unknowns. You pay either way; the discovery version protects you from scope changes mid-build.

3. They pull URLs from Search Console + Ahrefs + the sitemap

Sitemap-only redirect maps miss every URL with backlinks but no impressions. Search Console-only maps miss URLs Google has not yet crawled. Ahrefs-only maps miss internal-only URLs. The intersection of all three is the working set. Any agency that names only one source is doing migrations badly.

4. They commit to a 60-90 day post-launch monitoring window

SEO regressions show up at week 2-6 post-cutover, not day one. A migration contract that ends at cutover leaves the dip on your side of the table. The right contract includes a named monitoring window with weekly checkpoints on indexation, organic traffic, and Core Web Vitals — and a named owner for regression triage, not a generic "support" alias.

5. References at the scale you are migrating

A 10,000-page migration is not a bigger version of a 200-page migration — it is a different job, with different failure modes (taxonomy explosion, image asset migration, redirect-rule performance, parallel-run logistics). References from sites at your scale or larger matter more than industry-match. Same industry, different scale is a worse reference than different industry, same scale.

What the 2026 price bands actually buy you

For comparison when you read three quotes side-by-side. Source platform, page count, and custom-work scope drive the range — the boundary between bands is the inflection point where the team you need changes.

5,000-15,000 USD — sub-100 page rebuild

WordPress-to-WordPress version upgrade, theme rebuild, or sub-100-page CMS migration with stock content types. One senior engineer, 2-4 weeks of work, no parallel run.

15,000-45,000 USD — 100-500 page replatform

Drupal, Squarespace, Webflow, or Wix to WordPress with custom post types, ACF setup, redirect map, SEO transport. Discovery + build + cutover + 60-day monitoring. Lead engineer + content migration support.

35,000-90,000 USD — 500-2000 page mid-market

Custom post types, content rewriting, plugin equivalency analysis, integrations work, full SEO transport, build-time SEO linter, parallel-run period. Lead + 1-2 supporting engineers + project manager.

75,000-250,000 USD — enterprise 2,000+ pages

Custom integrations, multi-stakeholder workshops, taxonomy redesign, performance budget enforcement, 90-day post-launch monitoring SLA with named owner. Lead + 2-4 engineers + dedicated PM + content lead.

Add 20-40% on top of any band for a headless WordPress build (front-end on Next.js or Astro, WPGraphQL bridge, preview mode wiring). See headless WordPress development for that specific path.

Red flags in WordPress migration proposals

  • Fixed price without discovery. They are guessing. You pay for the padding.
  • "No SEO impact" promised. There is always a 2-6 week dip. The question is recovery shape, not absence.
  • Sub-4-week timelines for 100+ pages. They are skipping discovery or skipping SEO transport.
  • No CI / no SEO linter in their workflow. They will not catch their own regressions before you do.
  • Contract says "WordPress migration" without naming the source. Drupal-to-WordPress, Webflow-to-WordPress, and WordPress-to-WordPress are different jobs.
  • No named lead engineer in the SOW. You are buying a team, not an outcome.

Frequently asked questions

How do I choose a WordPress migration agency?

Five criteria, in order. (1) They show you a real redirect map from a past project — not a slide deck, the actual CSV with 200-line samples. If they cannot, they have not done it before. (2) They run discovery before quoting. Anyone who gives you a fixed price after a 30-minute intro call is guessing. (3) They name the SEO tools they pull from — Search Console + Ahrefs at minimum. Migrations that skip Ahrefs miss every URL with backlinks but zero impressions. (4) They commit to a post-launch monitoring window — 60 to 90 days minimum, with named owner for regressions. (5) References from migrations of similar scale, not just similar industry.

What questions should I ask before hiring a WordPress migration agency?

Ten questions. How will you pull every URL we currently rank for? Where does the redirect map live, who owns it post-launch? What is your rollback plan if cutover fails? Will you transport Yoast or Rank Math data, or rebuild it? Do you preserve schema markup, including custom JSON-LD? How do you handle gated or auth-protected pages? What is your timeline for the parallel-run period? Who specifically does the migration work — name and role, not a team? How do you handle scope changes mid-project? What is included in the post-launch monitoring window?

What are red flags in a WordPress migration proposal?

Six red flags. (1) A fixed price without discovery. (2) No redirect map mentioned. (3) Promises of "no SEO impact" — there is always a 2-6 week dip, the question is recovery shape. (4) Quoted timelines under 4 weeks for sites over 100 pages. (5) No CI / SEO linter in their workflow. (6) The contract says "WordPress migration" without specifying the source platform — Drupal-to-WordPress is a different job than Webflow-to-WordPress is a different job than WordPress-to-WordPress version upgrade. Specifics protect both sides.

WordPress migration agency vs freelancer — which is right for my project?

Agency for sites over 500 pages, sites with custom plugins, sites with active editorial workflows that cannot pause, and sites where a 30% traffic drop would meaningfully damage the business. Freelancer for sub-200-page marketing sites with stock plugins, no custom post types, and the team capacity to project-manage. The middle case — 200-500 pages with some custom work — depends on the freelancer; senior independent consultants who have done 20+ migrations are equivalent to an agency, junior freelancers are not.

Should the agency that built my site migrate it?

Usually yes if they still have institutional knowledge of your stack and the migration is platform-to-platform. Usually no if (1) they are now in a different team, (2) the migration changes platform substantially (e.g. WordPress to headless), (3) they originally cut corners on the build and the migration is also a tech-debt cleanup. The non-obvious answer: bringing a second agency in for the migration is sometimes worth the relationship cost because they have no stake in defending past decisions.

What should a WordPress migration agency cost in 2026?

Sub-100-page WordPress-to-WordPress version upgrade or theme rebuild: 5,000-15,000 USD. 100-500-page replatform from another CMS (Drupal, Squarespace, Webflow, Wix) to WordPress: 15,000-45,000 USD. 500-2000-page mid-market migration with custom post types, content rewriting, and SEO transport: 35,000-90,000 USD. Enterprise 2,000+ pages with custom integrations, parallel-run period, and 90-day monitoring: 75,000-250,000 USD. Add 20-40% for headless on top of any base. Prices below this range are usually missing redirect-map work; prices above are usually agencies wrapping migration in a broader rebrand.

How long should a WordPress migration take?

Discovery: 1-2 weeks regardless of size. Build + content migration: 4 weeks (sub-100 pages), 6-10 weeks (mid-market), 10-20 weeks (enterprise). Cutover: 1-2 weeks. Post-launch monitoring: 60-90 days. Anyone promising a 2-week migration for a site over 100 pages is skipping discovery or skipping SEO transport. Both are how migrations fail.

Onshore vs offshore WordPress migration — does location matter?

For the migration work itself, no — the work is asynchronous, redirect maps do not need a timezone. For the discovery and the stakeholder workshops, yes — a 12-hour offset on a 6-week project means you lose a working day per week to handoff lag. Hybrid is the typical answer: senior consulting and project lead in your timezone, execution offshore where it fits the budget. The bad version: offshore-only with a junior account manager standing in as the lead. Insist on naming the actual lead engineer in the contract.

How do I write an RFP for WordPress migration?

Four sections. (1) Current state: source platform, page count, custom plugins or modules, active integrations, monthly traffic. (2) Required outcomes: SEO continuity targets, performance budget (LCP, INP), content workflow constraints, editorial-team training needs. (3) Constraints: launch date, internal owner availability, total budget envelope. (4) Deliverables expected: redirect map, content audit, migration plan, post-launch monitoring SLA, training materials. Length: 4-8 pages. Anything longer signals indecision; anything shorter under-specifies and you get a guess back.

Fixed price or hourly — which protects me as the buyer?

Fixed price after a paid discovery — both. Discovery is paid (1,500-5,000 USD) and produces a written technical specification. The migration itself is then fixed price against that spec. Hourly is fine for the discovery phase but a red flag for the migration phase — it shifts all timeline risk to you. Pure fixed price with no paid discovery means the agency padded the quote 30-50% to absorb unknowns, and you pay for unknowns that did not happen.

When you are ready to talk

Bring three things to the 30-minute call. A Search Console screenshot covering the last 90 days. A list of the active plugins or modules on your current site. The deadline or event your migration needs to land before. By the end of the call you will know whether the scope is realistic, whether the timeline is honest, and a price band — including the question of whether you should hire me or someone else.

Related services and migration paths