Headless WordPress + ACF + Next.js with REST API: A Clean and Scalable Architecture

✅ WordPress
✅ ACF (including Flexible Content)
✅ Next.js
✅ REST API
✅ Modern Next.js libraries & Tailwind CSS

⚙️ Why REST API Is Still a Great Choice

While GraphQL is powerful, the WordPress REST API is:

✔️ native and stable
✔️ easier to set up and maintain
✔️ fully compatible with ACF
✔️ great for caching and SEO

For most content-driven and marketing websites, REST + ACF is more than enough.

🧩 ACF as a Page Structure, Not Just Fields

One of ACF’s biggest strengths is Flexible Content.
In a headless setup, it becomes a page builder without layout limitations.

Typical approach:

• WordPress manages content only
• Next.js handles UI and logic
• ACF defines page structure

Each block:

• Hero
• Text + Image
• FAQ
• CTA
• Form

is rendered on the frontend as an independent React component.

🧠 Working with ACF Data in Next.js

A clean setup usually includes:

🔹 A centralized WordPress API service
🔹 Mapping acf_fc_layout → React component
🔹 Strong typing with TypeScript
🔹 Fallback rendering for unknown blocks

This gives you:

• scalability
• predictable UI
• better maintainability
• long-term safety

🚀 SSR, SSG or ISR?

For headless WordPress, ISR (Incremental Static Regeneration) is often the best option:

✔️ ultra-fast pages
✔️ content updates without full rebuilds
✔️ perfect match for Yoast SEO

Typical configuration:

• revalidate: 60–300
• dynamic routes
• fallback: "blocking"

🔐 Security Considerations

Keep in mind:

⚠️ REST API is public by default
✔️ never expose unnecessary fields
✔️ never accept user input directly in WordPress
✔️ use Next.js API routes as a secure layer

WordPress should stay a CMS, not a business-logic backend.

🧾 Final Thoughts

Headless WordPress + ACF + Next.js using REST API gives you:

✨ blazing-fast frontend
✨ flexible content management
✨ scalable architecture
✨ less complexity than GraphQL

A rock-solid choice for modern websites and startups.