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Build Guide

Build a SaaS Dashboard Without WordPress

WordPress was never designed for SaaS dashboards. Stop fighting wp-admin and build a real application.

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The Old Way

The WordPress Approach

Required Plugins

1WP ERP ($129-599/year) — business management dashboard
2Frontend Dashboard for WP ($49 one-time) — custom dashboards
3Ultimate Member ($249/year) — user dashboard and profiles
4User Role Editor ($29 one-time) — role management
5Admin Columns Pro ($149/year) — custom admin views

Limitations

wp-admin is not a SaaS dashboard — it looks and feels like a CMS backend
User management is WordPress's weakest point — roles are global, not per-project
No real-time data updates — everything requires a page refresh
Data visualization requires embedding external chart libraries manually
Multi-tenancy is nearly impossible without massive custom development
Performance degrades rapidly with complex custom queries on the options table

Typical Cost

$200-700/year in plugins + significant custom development costs

The Modern Way

The Modern Approach

Next.js + Supabase (or Payload) + Stripe + chart library

Build a proper SaaS application with Next.js for the frontend, Supabase for database and auth with row-level security for multi-tenancy, Stripe for subscription billing, and a chart library for data visualization.

Real application architecture — not a CMS pretending to be an app
Multi-tenant data isolation with row-level security
Real-time dashboards with WebSocket data updates
Native subscription billing with Stripe
Team management with invites, roles, and permissions per workspace

WordPress vs. Modern Stack

WordPress

  • wp-admin is not a SaaS dashboard — it looks and feels like a CMS backend
  • User management is WordPress's weakest point — roles are global, not per-project
  • No real-time data updates — everything requires a page refresh
  • Data visualization requires embedding external chart libraries manually
  • $200-700/year in plugins + significant custom development costs

Modern Stack

  • Real application architecture — not a CMS pretending to be an app
  • Multi-tenant data isolation with row-level security
  • Real-time dashboards with WebSocket data updates
  • Native subscription billing with Stripe
  • Team management with invites, roles, and permissions per workspace

Recommended Tools

Supabase

PostgreSQL database, auth, real-time, and row-level security

Free up to 500MB, $25/month Pro

Stripe

Subscription billing, metered usage, and customer portal

2.9% + 30¢ per transaction

Recharts

Data visualization — charts, graphs, and dashboards

Free and open-source

Clerk

Authentication with organizations and team management

Free up to 10,000 MAU

Vercel

Hosting with serverless functions for API routes

Free hobby tier, $20/month pro

Step-by-Step Build Guide

1

Set up Next.js with Clerk for authentication including sign-up, sign-in, and organization/team management

2

Design your Supabase database schema with row-level security policies for multi-tenant data isolation

3

Build the dashboard layout — sidebar navigation, header with team switcher, and main content area

4

Create data visualization components with Recharts — KPI cards, line charts, bar charts, and data tables

5

Integrate Stripe Billing for subscription plans, usage tracking, and the customer portal

6

Add real-time updates via Supabase Realtime so dashboard metrics update without page refresh

7

Build team management — invite members by email, assign roles, and manage permissions per workspace

Frequently Asked Questions

Can WordPress actually serve as a SaaS backend?
It can, technically, but it's fighting the architecture at every step. WordPress's global user roles, options table, and lack of multi-tenancy make it a poor choice for SaaS. Purpose-built tools like Supabase handle this natively.
How do I handle multi-tenancy?
Supabase row-level security isolates data per organization. Each row has an org_id and RLS policies ensure users only see their team's data. This is a database-level guarantee, not application-level filtering.
What about usage-based billing?
Stripe supports metered billing natively. Report usage to Stripe via API, and it handles pro-rated invoicing automatically. This is impossible to implement reliably in WordPress.

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