Comparison
Manual rebuild vs headless vs converter: how to move a Lovable site to WordPress
You have decided the site belongs in WordPress. There are four ways to get it there, and each is right for someone. The table is meant to help you pick, not to sell you the fourth column.
| Criterion | Manual rebuild | Embed the React app | Headless WordPress | IQDesk converter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to a working site | 1–5 days | Hours | Days to weeks | Minutes, plus review |
| Editable in the block editor | Yes | No | Content only, no layout | Yes (core blocks) |
| Fidelity to the Lovable design | Depends on the builder | Exact | Exact (it is the React app) | High for content sites; measured per page |
| Interactive app features | Rebuilt with plugins or dropped | Kept | Kept | Detected and reported, not converted |
| Runs without Lovable or React hosting | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| SEO, analytics, plugins in one place | Yes | Split | Split | Yes |
| Repeatable after Lovable changes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes (re-convert with saved decisions) |
| Cost | Developer time | Hosting for two stacks | Developer time + two stacks | Free; AI fixes from $20 |
When to pick which
- Manual rebuild when the Lovable site was only a sketch and the WordPress site will diverge from it anyway.
- Embed when the React app is the product and WordPress is just the marketing shell around it.
- Headless when you have a front-end team and want React in production with WordPress as the CMS.
- Converter when the site is content (marketing, company, store) and you want editors to own it in WordPress from now on.
Not sure WordPress is the right destination? Start with Lovable vs WordPress.