MAINTENANCE VS MIGRATION

Should you keep maintaining WordPress—or replace it?

The right answer depends on where the recurring work comes from, how the site is edited, and what the public experience must do.

Request a fix-or-migrate audit

Maintenance is not a failure. A well-scoped WordPress site can be the sensible choice. Migration becomes worth exploring when the same category of problem keeps returning despite focused repairs.

Use the signal, not the frustration

SignalLikely next questionPossible path
One isolated failure

Can the plugin, template, hosting, or configuration be fixed cleanly?

Maintain
Too much theme/plugin burden

Can the current content model survive a simpler WordPress setup?

Modernize
Recurring architecture cost

Is the public site content-led enough to separate from the current stack?

Migrate
Live commerce or accounts

What application workflows must remain available at all times?

Qualify deeply

Choose maintenance when

  • The problem has a clear boundary and an owner who can keep it healthy.
  • The editor workflow is valuable and the current content model fits.
  • The site’s public experience does not need a different architecture.

Explore migration when

  • Updates and plugin dependencies are the recurring source of uncertainty.
  • The public site is mainly content, navigation, forms, and integrations.
  • The team wants a clearer operating model and a documented handoff.

Use the slow-site guide if performance is the trigger, and review the migration cost drivers before treating a rebuild as a budget decision.