{"id":640,"slug":"feature-parity-replacements-wp-to-modern","title":"Feature-parity replacements for common WordPress plugins (forms, SEO, search, comments, commerce, membership, newsletter, analytics)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["claude-code","candid-team"],"topics":["tech-stack","migration-mechanics"],"reference_body":"**Feature-parity replacement table for WP migrations:**\n\n| WordPress plugin/feature | Replacement | Notes |\n|---|---|---|\n| Contact Form 7 / Gravity Forms | Resend + Next.js server actions, or Web3Forms (no backend), or Formspree, or Netlify Forms | Server actions cleanest for Next.js; Formspree/Web3Forms lowest-friction for Astro |\n| Yoast / Rank Math SEO | Next.js metadata API or Astro `<SEO>` component + manual schema | Loss of in-editor SEO UI is real; Sanity/Storyblok have third-party SEO plugins |\n| Native WP search | **Pagefind** (default — free, build-time, sub-300KB index for most SMB sites) or Algolia (typo tolerance / analytics) or Meilisearch (self-hosted, faceted) | Pagefind's docs claim *\"a full-text search on a 10,000 page site with a total network payload under 300kB\"* |\n| WP comments / Disqus | Giscus (GitHub Discussions), or no comments | Most SMB sites should just remove comments |\n| WooCommerce (simple) | Stripe Checkout + custom Next.js, or Lemon Squeezy, or Shopify Buy Button on an otherwise static site | Full Shopify migration is overkill for <20 SKUs |\n| Membership plugins | Clerk, Auth.js, Outseta | Plan for $25-99/mo recurring cost client may not be expecting |\n| Newsletter (Mailchimp embed) | Buttondown, ConvertKit, Beehiiv, Resend Broadcasts | Resend Broadcasts most developer-friendly; ConvertKit/Beehiiv if client wants to send sequences themselves |\n| Analytics (Jetpack / GA via plugin) | Plausible, Fathom, Cloudflare Web Analytics, GA4 | Plausible/Fathom privacy-friendly defaults; Cloudflare free if already on their CDN |\n\n**Form submission history:** always export and archive separately; never expect to migrate into the new system. Stripe checkout history, Mailchimp lists, etc. are separate concerns.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"content-extraction-decision-tree","title":"Content extraction decision tree — WP REST API default, WXR XML fallback, direct DB only for hidden postmeta","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[]},"created_at":"2026-05-22T21:23:33.809Z","updated_at":"2026-05-22T21:23:33.809Z"}