# Migrating a Company Website from Nuxt to Next.js and Headless WordPress

> A headless WordPress + Next.js rebuild that moved our web presence to the edge and made CMS updates familiar for the marketing team.

- Author: Brian Kimball
- Published: 2023-09-24
- Tags: design, nextjs
- Canonical: https://brian-kimball.com/blog/bdkinc-website/
- Markdown: https://brian-kimball.com/blog/bdkinc-website/index.md

[Website Preview](https://bdkinc-bskimball.vercel.app/)

[GitHub Repo](https://github.com/bdkinc/website)

## Backstory

In late 2022, we began updating the BDKinc website. Marketing provided the content, the Design Specialist created the visuals, and I led the technical build. Although I had other responsibilities, building our web presence was a passion project rooted in my background as a Web Developer/Designer.

### Technical Decisions

The existing site used Nuxt with a Directus CMS, running in Docker with a Traefik proxy. I originally managed this single-server setup alone. As the company grew, we needed a scalable solution.

I switched from Nuxt to Next.js for several reasons:

- **Industry Standard:** React is more prevalent than Vue, making it easier to train employees.
- **Features:** SSR, the new App Directory, React Server Components.
- **Deployment:** Easy edge deployment via Vercel (the creators of Next.js).

The [website preview](https://bdkinc-bskimball.vercel.app/) runs on Vercel. Moving the frontend to the edge improved performance and enabled GitHub-based deployments, shifting proxy and web server responsibilities to the edge provider.

We retained Directus as the CMS but needed an upgrade. While I suggested other options, the marketing team preferred WordPress. We implemented headless WordPress, allowing us to use Next.js on the edge while giving content creators a familiar platform.

#### Long Term Strategy

Separating the frontend from the CMS facilitates integrations. For example:

- The "Meet the Team" page could pull employee data directly from Microsoft 365, updating in one place.
- Contact forms could funnel data directly into our CRM, streamlining the sales process.