Services

Planning a Move to Next.js

If the first question is how to move a legacy platform or older front end to Next.js safely, start with the architecture, route, content, and release decisions that decide whether the move holds up.

Plan a Next.js migration from React, WordPress, Gatsby, Drupal, Shopify, or another legacy front end without putting routes, content, or search visibility at risk.

Short Answer

A Next.js migration can become risky when the visible front end changes before the unglamorous details are protected: URLs, metadata, redirects, content parity, analytics, preview workflows, and search visibility. The right plan depends on what you are leaving, why it became hard to maintain, and how much launch risk the business can tolerate.

Why It Matters

During a Next.js migration, I help commercial and delivery teams keep search visibility, editorial continuity, and release confidence intact while routes, templates, metadata, and publishing workflows change underneath.

Common Situations

  • Replacing a legacy SPA, CMS front end, or hard‑to‑maintain site with Next.js.
  • Modernising an existing Next.js codebase to newer routing patterns.
  • Preserving URLs, content operations, and search visibility during migration.

Choose the source platform or migration shape that is closest to the current estate.

What I Look at First

I usually start by looking at current routes, the target route model, content parity, redirects, metadata, analytics, CMS or data dependencies, release sequencing, and where launch risk is highest.

What Usually Changes

  1. URL, route, template, content, and publishing dependencies are mapped before the platform changes.

  2. Redirect, canonical, metadata, schema, sitemap, and crawl risks are identified before launch.

  3. CMS, preview, build, and deployment behaviour are compared across the old and new stack.

  4. Launch actions are prioritised by visibility, revenue exposure, and delivery risk.

  5. The team has a migration plan that reduces avoidable search and release damage.

How This Usually Works

  1. Technical Diagnostic

    A focused review of affected routes, templates, deployment behaviour, crawl signals, CMS behaviour, performance bottlenecks, or code paths, followed by a prioritised fix plan the team can take into delivery.

  2. Embedded Delivery Support

    Senior hands‑on support inside an existing team where architecture, implementation, review, and delivery judgement all matter, especially when the work cannot be handed over as isolated tickets.

  3. Fractional Technical Leadership

    Ongoing senior technical cover for architecture, roadmap, supplier review, delivery risk, hiring shape, and platform‑ownership decisions when the team is not ready to hire permanently.

This May Not Be the Right Fit If

  • You already have a tested route, redirect, content, and release plan and only need extra hands to execute it without challenge. If the plan still needs senior delivery judgement inside the team, Embedded Technical Leadership may be a better fit.
  • The migration is expected to ignore search visibility, preview trust, content operations, or release risk until after launch. If search visibility is already the main problem, Technical SEO Recovery and Debugging is the better route.

Contact me about your migration

A short description of the current platform, target Next.js setup, and main migration risk is enough. I'll read it and suggest the next step.

Get in touch

Related Project Work

  1. Screenshot of the Nando’s website; part of John Kavanagh's development portfolio.

    A Complete Migration and Replatform for Nando’s

    On Nando’s, moving from Drupal to Next.js and Vercel meant protecting routes, structured content, and search‑critical templates while the platform changed underneath.

    View project
  2. Screenshot of the Virgin Atlantic & Holidays website; part of John Kavanagh's development portfolio.

    A New Headless Platform for Virgin Atlantic & Holidays

    At Virgin Atlantic, migration work sat inside a high‑traffic travel estate where sequencing, release control, and front‑end stability mattered every week.

    View project
  3. Screenshot of the IMG Licensing website; part of John Kavanagh's development portfolio.

    An All‑New Identity and Website for IMG Licensing

    IMG Licensing's rebuild made publishing structure, page generation, and long‑term maintainability simpler rather than heavier.

    View project

More Specific Service Pages

  • React SPA to Next.js Migration

    Move a React SPA to Next.js before client‑rendered routes keep important pages out of search and start capping performance or delivery speed.

  • WordPress to Next.js Migration

    Move a WordPress‑led front end to Next.js when speed, scale, and maintainability all need to improve without losing URLs, preview trust, or editorial continuity.

  • Drupal to Next.js Migration

    Move a Drupal‑led estate to Next.js without losing aliases, preview behaviour, or SEO continuity on content‑heavy routes.

Related Services

  • Next.js Platform Consulting

    Senior Next.js architecture work for legacy platforms, difficult migrations, and live stacks that need clearer delivery direction before more work piles on.

  • Headless Architecture Consulting

    Headless CMS architecture advice for decisions around preview trust, SEO controls, revalidation, and editorial workflow before they become operational pain.

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