Finding the right content man­age­ment system (CMS) for a web project is sometimes easier said than done due to the vast number of options. The more powerful a content man­age­ment system is, the more complex it is to use, which results in more re­quire­ments for the ad­min­is­tra­tor and hardware to adhere to. Whereas large CMSs, such as Drupal, Joomla or Typo3, only run in com­bi­na­tion with a database exclusive to the required webspace, there are also CMSs without databases that save data in other ways.

How does a CMS work without a database?

Content man­age­ment systems deal with software with which you can create, edit and manage content for websites and other forms of media. Thanks to a graphical interface, users who have access to the system can generally operate a CMS without any prior HTML and pro­gram­ming knowledge. Plugins can help com­ple­ment the majority of CMS programs with features such as contact forms, polls and calendars.

With most CMSs the content of articles or pages is separated from the layout and stored in databases, such as MySQL or MariaDB. A small CMS system forgoes a database

The pros and cons of a simple CMS system

Whether using a CMS without database is worth­while for your own project depends on many different factors. The ad­van­tages, as well as the typical problems of non-database CMSs, are sum­ma­rized here:

+ CMSs without databases are usually quite plain and limited to the most essential features and therefore don’t need much of a fa­mil­iar­iza­tion period.

+ Web project backups are easily taken care of since no complex database backup is needed, so data just needs to be down­loaded from the webspace.

+ The direct transfer of in­for­ma­tion without having to detour over a database means there is a shorter loading time and faster access to the web project.

+ A small CMS system doesn’t generally need much webspace and doesn’t demand any special re­quire­ments from the hardware.

As well as numerous ad­van­tages there are also some dis­ad­van­tages of CMSs without databases:

- The pos­si­bil­i­ties of non-database CMS systems are limited, which is why the systems are best suited to smaller projects with minimal static sites. Dynamic websites cannot be created without databases.

- Since simple CMS systems usually only offer small com­mu­ni­ties, the user is often left alone with questions and problems and has to sort through documents to work it out them­selves.

- The often un­avail­able codes and minimal dis­tri­b­u­tion of CMS software can mean that the simple CMS becomes boring for the user since there is less chance of de­vel­op­ment.

- Not working in a struc­tured and neat manner on a simple content man­age­ment system could make it difficult to find specific content again.

What kind of projects is a simple CMS system suitable for?

With the list of pros and cons of non-database content man­age­ment systems you could assume that this software solution isn’t suitable for managing content of every project. The ad­van­tages of non-database systems only really ma­te­ri­al­ize in small web projects. Deciding to pass on using a database has a positive impact on the per­for­mance, but a negative one on the structure of bigger web projects. Also the use of dynamic web pages with a CMS without database isn’t possible. Users that are planning a web project with constant updating and heavy in­ter­ac­tion with website visitors, shouldn’t opt for a simple CMS system without a database. The same applies for owners of bigger websites whose complex struc­tures prove too much for a non-database content man­age­ment system.

On the other hand, there are projects that benefit from using a CMS without database: small websites, which are built using simple struc­tures and don’t have too many pages, can be quickly created with this CMS and will impress visitors with fast access to the in­for­ma­tion they are looking for. These CMS systems are best suited to small busi­ness­es or free­lancers who want to introduce their range of services. Running a blog will also work on a small CMS system.

A con­sid­er­able advantage of such a lean system is that no hardware is needed to operate the database server, so the user saves money and also doesn’t need any laborious backups. Less ex­pe­ri­enced users can benefit from a clear structure and easy start.

A CMS without database is suitable for:

  • Small and medium-sized homepages
  • Operating blogs
  • In­tro­duc­ing a range of services (busi­ness­es, free­lancers)

Simple CMS systems are not suitable for:

  • Online stores
  • News sites
  • Online services
  • Websites with lots of mul­ti­me­dia content

Three examples of CMSs without databases

A small CMS is great for beginners who are starting their first web project. The pos­si­bil­i­ties are huge, just as they are with content man­age­ment systems in general. Although some simple CMS systems only offer basic functions and allow users to expand with certain plugins, there are also several that already have numerous ex­ten­sions in­te­grat­ed into them. Here’s a brief ex­pla­na­tion of three CMSs that manage without MySQL, MariaDB or any other database.

GetSimple CMS

The cleverly-chosen motto of the non-database GetSimple CMS is “GetSimple has every­thing you need, and nothing you don’t”. The GPLv3 licensed open source software GetSimple CMS is char­ac­ter­ized by its min­i­mal­is­tic structure, which offers the es­sen­tials and can be expanded with plugins. Since the software code is freely ac­ces­si­ble and can be modified, the user can adapt the CMS system to suit needs. Data is saved on the webspace in XML format. Further in­for­ma­tion on this CMS includes:

  • 5-minute in­stal­la­tion
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Undo function for all mod­i­fi­ca­tions
  • Creation of numerous backend accounts
  • First class doc­u­men­ta­tion (Wiki)
  • Very active community
  • HTML5 template

Grav

For the simple CMS system Grav all you need is a web server and  PHP 5.4 or higher. The focus rests on speed, sim­plic­i­ty and flex­i­bil­i­ty, which is apparent in Grav’s easy set up. All you need to do is download and unpack a ZIP file — that’s it!. Thanks to the optional web-based ad­min­is­tra­tor panel the in­stal­la­tion and man­age­ment of the content (markdown or HTML) is child’s play. The open source software is MIT licensed and can be freely used and adapted. A summary of the features includes:

  • Excellent doc­u­men­ta­tion
  • Powerful search filter
  • Easy template creation
  • Creation of numerous backend accounts and con­fig­ur­ing per­mis­sions
  • Spec­tac­u­lar picture functions (Image Media Pro­cess­ing)
  • Mul­ti­lin­gual­ism is supported on the website

Kirby

“Easy to setup. Easy to use. Flexible as hell.” is the slogan of the small CMS Kirby. Even though the software code is readily available, you still need to purchase a license before your website is released. The costs are low con­sid­er­ing how many functions the content man­age­ment system has to offer. The user can com­fort­ably try out all the options until the website’s release. Kirby also wins users over thanks to its simple page layouts with templates and snippets, which it also offers over an optional web panel just like Grav. Files are saved on the webspace in a markdown file named Kirbytext. Here are the features of Kirby:

  • Fast in­stal­la­tion with tutorial
  • Mod­i­fi­ca­tions over FTP, network drive or Dropbox
  • Diverse community
  • Pro­gram­ming interface similar to jQuery
  • Later con­nec­tion to database possible
  • Various plugins and templates available

CMS without database — an option worth con­sid­er­ing

The three afore­men­tioned examples are open source content man­age­ment programs that don’t rely on databases. The basic concept of each is the same: the software should only offer what is really relevant in order to guarantee the maximum per­for­mance of a web project. Beginners should have a look around the CMS market and try out a few simple CMS systems. In the end, the user can decide whether all the functions are needed or will even be used.

A small CMS is suitable for small, simply-struc­tured websites such as a company pre­sen­ta­tion or private as well as com­mer­cial blogs. Website owners don’t just save on hardware costs, but also benefit from short loading times.

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