Next.js and Payload CMS development

A Payload CMS development agency makes sense when a brief mixes content with application features. Payload gives editors an admin panel and gives developers a content model written in TypeScript, kept in the same repository as the site. We build it white-label, so your agency’s name is the only one your client sees.

What a Payload CMS development agency builds for your client

We design the content model first, as Payload collections and globals, then build the admin and the front end around it. Most of the long-term value sits in these decisions.

• Collections for each content type, with validation, relationships and versions, so editors can restore an earlier draft.
• Access control written as code. Who can read, create, edit or publish each collection is set per role, down to individual fields.
• Uploads and media with image sizes generated on upload, stored where the client’s hosting suits best.
• Hooks and custom endpoints for forms, payments and integrations, so business rules run on the server.
• Database migrations for PostgreSQL, checked into the repository and run on each deploy.

Payload, headless WordPress or Sanity

Pick Payload when the client needs logins, roles or their own data alongside content. Pick something else when editors only need to publish pages.

Client situation	Better fit
Editors already know WordPress and the site is mostly pages	Headless WordPress with Next.js
A content team wants a hosted CMS with real-time collaboration	Next.js with Sanity or Prismic
Content plus member areas, custom roles or bookings	Next.js with Payload and PostgreSQL
A data-heavy app with little editorial content	Next.js web app on PostgreSQL

All four run on Next.js, which is why they sit together under our white-label Next.js development service.

How a Payload project runs with your agency

You send the brief, and we reply within one business day. A written scope with a fixed price follows within two business days. It includes the content model, so the client can see how their data is organised before anything is built.

The build runs on a password-protected staging URL under your brand. A named producer posts progress in your shared Slack Connect or WhatsApp channel, and you sign off each template.

At handover you receive the repository, a deploy pipeline with backups and an admin guide in your brand. Our access is revoked and confirmed in writing.

Pricing

Payload builds are scoped as fixed-price projects, because the content model and roles differ on every brief. The Growth plan (from £1,200/month) includes headless Next.js builds. If you send Next.js work every month, the scope confirms whether a given Payload project fits inside it.

The number of collections, the access rules, integrations and any content migration move the price most. Hosting and database services are billed at cost or held in your accounts. See every plan on our rates page.