Page Builder4M+ users

WPBakery Page Builder Alternative for Next.js & Astro

Formerly Visual Composer, WPBakery is bundled with thousands of ThemeForest themes and has 4M+ active installations. Learn how to escape its legacy shortcode system.

TL;DR

You don't need WPBakery Page Builder after migrating to Next.js or Astro. Modern frameworks give you full control over your design system with React components and Tailwind CSS—no page builder overhead, no theme lock-in, no license renewals. See the alternatives below.

Official docs: Next.js Documentation · Astro Documentation

The Problem with WPBakery Page Builder

WPBakery is one of the oldest page builders and shows its age—it stores all content as deeply nested shortcodes ([vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]) that are completely unreadable without the plugin active. Its frontend editor is slow and crashes on complex pages. The backend editor's modal-based UI is cumbersome. WPBakery's CSS is generated inline and in a separate stylesheet per page, creating performance and caching issues. Being bundled with ThemeForest themes means you often can't update it independently.

Modern Alternatives

Next.js + shadcn/ui

Replace WPBakery's shortcode-based layouts with clean React components and Tailwind CSS.

framework

Pros

Clean, readable code
No shortcode lock-in
Modern development experience
Excellent performance

Cons

Requires development skills
No visual shortcode editor
Migration effort for existing content

How to Implement

Map WPBakery shortcodes to React components: vc_row → flex container, vc_column → grid column, vc_single_image → Image component. Build composable components for each shortcode you use.

Astro + Tailwind CSS

For content-heavy WPBakery sites, Astro provides a clean slate with incredible performance.

framework

Pros

Zero JavaScript by default
Clean HTML output
Content collections for structured data
Fast builds

Cons

Less interactivity options
Smaller ecosystem
No visual page builder

How to Implement

Parse your WPBakery shortcodes to extract content, then create Astro components for each content type.

Builder.io

For teams that need visual page building without WPBakery's technical debt.

builder

Pros

Visual editing
No shortcode lock-in
Clean code output
Framework-agnostic

Cons

Paid service
Additional platform to learn
Third-party dependency

How to Implement

Register React components with Builder.io and use the visual editor for page layout—similar concept to WPBakery but with modern output.

Webflow

For non-technical teams stuck on WPBakery, Webflow provides visual page building with clean, modern output.

builder

Pros

Visual design interface
No shortcodes
Clean HTML/CSS
Built-in hosting

Cons

Monthly cost
Platform lock-in
Limited custom logic

How to Implement

Redesign your pages in Webflow's visual canvas, migrate content manually or via API, and publish on Webflow hosting.

Migration Steps

Understand your WPBakery shortcode structure—view page source to see the [vc_*] shortcode nesting depth

Use a WPBakery shortcode parser to convert content to clean HTML (or use the WordPress REST API which returns rendered HTML)

Export all page content via REST API, ensuring you get the rendered output, not raw shortcodes

Map WPBakery elements to modern components: vc_row → section, vc_column → grid column, vc_tta_tabs → tabs component

Identify WPBakery add-on elements (from the bundled theme) and find component equivalents

Extract inline CSS/styles from WPBakery's per-page stylesheets and convert to Tailwind classes

Rebuild page templates as React/Astro components

Migrate any WPBakery Grid Builder layouts to CSS Grid with Tailwind

Set up redirects and test every migrated page

Run before/after performance comparison—expect 5-10x improvement

Frequently Asked Questions

My content is locked in WPBakery shortcodes—how do I get it out?

Use the WordPress REST API to fetch pages with rendered HTML instead of raw shortcodes. Alternatively, use WP-CLI to process posts and strip shortcodes: `wp post list --format=csv` and then parse the HTML output. There are also shortcode-to-HTML converter scripts available on GitHub.

WPBakery came bundled with my theme—do I need to buy it separately?

If you're migrating away from WordPress entirely, you don't need WPBakery at all. Just export your content and leave both the theme and WPBakery behind. That bundled license that restricts updates becomes irrelevant.

I have 200+ pages built with WPBakery—is migration realistic?

Yes, but do it systematically. Most WPBakery sites reuse 10-15 layout patterns. Build those as components first, then use a script to parse shortcodes and generate pages from your component library. Prioritize high-traffic pages and migrate in batches.