How to Build a Headless WordPress Site with React or Next.js – A Beginner’s Guide

ByEditor

Curious about how to build a headless WordPress site with React? You’re in the right place. In this step‑by‑step walkthrough, we’ll demystify headless WordPress architecture, show you why pairing it with React or Next.js is powerful, and guide you through building a working site from scratch—even if you’re brand‑new to this setup.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Why a Headless WordPress with React or Next.js?

Have you ever felt limited by WordPress’s classic theme‑based approach? Switching to a headless WordPress site means you use WordPress just for content management (the “backend”), while the “frontend”—what users actually see—is built independently. That’s where React or Next.js comes in.

With React WordPress architecture, you get:

  • Super‑fast, snappy frontend performance
  • Total control over layouts and UI
  • The ability to leverage modern development tools and workflows

This guide will walk you through every step: from setting up WordPress to building your frontend, fetching content, routing pages, securing your site, and deploying live. Ready? Let’s dive in.

What Exactly Is Headless WordPress?

More ArticlesHow To Optimize Your Website For First Contentful Paint (FCP)

Think of headless WordPress as a decoupled system:

  • WordPress handles content creation behind the scenes
  • Your frontend (React or Next.js) fetches that content and displays it

Why this matters:

  • Decoupled architecture = faster performance and easier maintenance
  • Modern tools: Yarn, npm, React libraries, Next.js ecosystems
  • Improved developer experience—you can use React components, hooks, and modern JS instead of PHP templates

For beginners, headless WordPress also teaches core API concepts while letting you learn React simultaneously.

React or Next.js? Which One Should You Use?

React (CRA)

More ArticlesThe Best Web Hosting For Agencies: Top 5 Options

A straightforward choice—spin up a project in minutes, fetch WordPress data via REST or GraphQL, and build a dynamic SPA.

Next.js

A React framework that adds:

  • Pre-rendering with getStaticProps / getServerSideProps
  • Automatic routing (folder structure + file names)
  • Server-side rendering for better performance and SEO

Why Next.js is ideal for a React WordPress tutorial for beginners:

  • Better SEO out of the box
  • Blazing fast load times thanks to static generation
  • Hobby‑friendly deployment to platforms like Vercel

Setting Up WordPress as a Headless CMS

A. Choose Your WordPress Hosting

More ArticlesIs WordPress Good for E-Commerce?

You can set up:

  • A local environment (Local by Flywheel, XAMPP, MAMP)
  • A live hosting provider (Gigapress, WP Engine, Kinsta, Pocket Portal)
Build a Headless WordPress Site with React or Next.js

Once WordPress is live, let’s prep it.

B. Enable WordPress APIs

  • REST API – built in; no extra plugin, but limited to core features
  • GraphQL – install WPGraphQL plugin

Recommended plugins:

  1. WPGraphQL – expose posts/pages/custom types via GraphQL
  2. Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) – define custom fields
  3. Custom Post Type UI – build unique post types easily

Also, configure:

  • CORS headers so your frontend app can fetch data
  • JWT Authentication if you’re planning on secure content (we’ll touch on this later)

How to Build a Headless WordPress Frontend Using React or Next.js

Want to create a high-performance headless WordPress frontend? This step-by-step tutorial shows you how to fetch and display WordPress content using React or Next.js, powered by the WordPress REST API or GraphQL.

React Setup for a Basic Headless WordPress Single Page Application (SPA)

Step 1: Create a New React App

npx create-react-app headless-wp-react
cd headless-wp-react
npm install axios graphql

Step 2: Fetch WordPress Posts Using the REST API

Open App.js and add the following code:

import React, { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
import axios from 'axios';

function App() {
  const [posts, setPosts] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    axios.get('https://your-wp-site.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts')
      .then(res => setPosts(res.data));
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      {posts.map(post => (
        <article key={post.id}>
          <h2 dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.title.rendered }} />
          <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.excerpt.rendered }} />
        </article>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

export default App;

Optional: Fetch WordPress Data Using GraphQL

Install graphql-request and query posts from your WPGraphQL endpoint:

import { useEffect, useState } from 'react';
import { request, gql } from 'graphql-request';

const query = gql`
  {
    posts {
      nodes {
        id
        title
        excerpt
      }
    }
  }
`;

function App() {
  const [posts, setPosts] = useState([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    request('https://your-wp-site.com/graphql', query)
      .then(data => setPosts(data.posts.nodes));
  }, []);

  return (
    <div>
      {posts.map(post => (
        <article key={post.id}>
          <h2 dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.title }} />
          <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.excerpt }} />
        </article>
      ))}
    </div>
  );
}

Setting Up a Static or Server-Side Rendered Headless WordPress Frontend with Next.js

Step 1: Create a Next.js App

npx create-next-app headless-wp-next
cd headless-wp-next
npm install graphql-request swr

Step 2: Fetch WordPress Posts Using GraphQL at Build Time

In pages/index.js:

import { gql, request } from 'graphql-request';

export async function getStaticProps() {
  const query = gql`
    {
      posts {
        nodes {
          id
          title
          excerpt
          slug
        }
      }
    }
  `;
  const data = await request(process.env.WP_GRAPHQL, query);

  return {
    props: { posts: data.posts.nodes },
  };
}

export default function Home({ posts }) {
  return (
    <>
      <h1>Latest WordPress Blog Posts</h1>
      {posts.map(p => (
        <div key={p.id}>
          <h2><a href={`/posts/${p.slug}`}>{p.title}</a></h2>
          <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: p.excerpt }} />
        </div>
      ))}
    </>
  );
}

Step 3: Create Dynamic Post Pages in pages/posts/[slug].js

export async function getStaticPaths() {
  const query = gql`
    { posts { nodes { slug } } }
  `;
  const data = await request(process.env.WP_GRAPHQL, query);

  return {
    paths: data.posts.nodes.map(post => ({
      params: { slug: post.slug },
    })),
    fallback: false,
  };
}

export async function getStaticProps({ params }) {
  const postQuery = gql`
    query PostBySlug($slug: String!) {
      postBy(slug: $slug) {
        title
        content
      }
    }
  `;

  const data = await request(process.env.WP_GRAPHQL, postQuery, {
    slug: params.slug,
  });

  return { props: { post: data.postBy } };
}

export default function Post({ post }) {
  return (
    <>
      <h1>{post.title}</h1>
      <div dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: post.content }} />
    </>
  );
}

To enhance your headless site, add support for:

Featured Images
REST API: _embedded['wp:featuredmedia']
GraphQL:

postBy(id: "...") {
  featuredImage {
    node {
      sourceUrl
      altText
    }
  }
}

Custom Fields with ACF Plugin

customFields {
  myField
}

Post Pagination
Use query params for REST, or pageInfo in GraphQL.

Category and Tag Filters

categories { nodes { name slug } }
tags { nodes { name slug } }

Adding Authentication and Protected Content in Headless WordPress

Secure WordPress Content with JWT or NextAuth.js

  • Use the JWT Authentication plugin for token-based REST API access.
  • Use NextAuth.js with Next.js for social login or email/password flows.

Basic Auth Flow with JWT:

  1. User logs in through your custom frontend form.
  2. JWT token is stored in local storage.
  3. Token used in API calls:
axios.get('/wp-json/wp/v2/posts?status=private', {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` }
});

Ideal for:

  • Gated content
  • Member-only areas
  • Personalized user dashboards

How to Deploy Your Headless WordPress Site

Deploy the Frontend

  • Next.js → Use Vercel (supports SSR, static pages, and environment variables).
  • React SPA → Use Netlify or GitHub Pages.

Host the WordPress Backend

  • Shared PHP Hosting
  • Docker + Official WordPress Image
  • Cloud platforms like DigitalOcean, WP Engine, or AWS

Don’t Forget:

  • Enable HTTPS
  • Secure REST and GraphQL APIs
  • Add rate limiting and authentication where needed

Workflow Automation

  • Push changes to GitHub
  • Frontend auto-deploys via Netlify or Vercel
  • WordPress powers the backend, decoupled and API-driven

By combining the flexibility of React or Next.js with the power of the WordPress REST API or WPGraphQL, you can build blazing-fast, fully customizable headless websites. Perfect for developers looking to create SEO-optimized blogs, advanced content portals, or dynamic web apps.

Final Thoughts & Best Practices

You’ve just built a full headless WordPress site with React or Next.js from scratch. Let’s recap:

  • Headless WordPress architecture lets you separate content from presentation
  • React WordPress sites give full control over UI
  • Next.js takes performance and SEO up a notch with static generation
  • Plugins like WPGraphQL, ACF, and JWT Auth bring more features to the table
  • You can enhance your setup with protected routes, advanced caching, or full CI/CD workflows

Pro Tips:

  • Always handle HTML safely—use dangerouslySetInnerHTML mindfully or sanitize inputs
  • Use fallback: “blocking” in Next.js for better user experience on dynamic routes
  • Add a simple CMS preview environment for content editors
  • Think about image optimization (WebP, responsive srcset, or Next.js’ <Image /> component)

Resources to Keep Learning

  • WPGraphQL documentation – essential for GraphQL-powered sites
  • Next.js tutorials on routing, SSG, and SSR
  • ACF + graphql-acf schema examples
  • next-auth docs for adding login/auth systems

Wrapping Up: Build a Headless WordPress Site with React or Next.js

By now, you know how to build a headless WordPress site with React and why developers love this approach. You’ve:

  • Prepped WordPress as a headless backend
  • Built React & Next.js frontends
  • Fetched and displayed WordPress content dynamically
  • Optionally secured content and deployed live

Now it’s your turn! Try building a simple portfolio or company blog headless system. And feel free to reuse this roadmap as your ultimate React WordPress tutorial for beginners.

If you’re building a blazing-fast Headless WordPress with React frontend, performance and reliability matter—especially when it comes to hosting. Don’t waste time managing updates or worrying about server uptime.

🔥 Need premium WordPress hosting + done-for-you maintenance?
We’ve got you covered.

👉 Click the button below to explore our fast WordPress hosting packages, tailored for headless setups like React and Next.js.

Take the hassle out of hosting—so you can focus on building your perfect frontend experience with Headless WordPress.

Similar Posts