Seeking Wordpress alternative (flat/noDB)
Hello fellas,
I never liked Wordpress too much and neither do I like anything database related.
After a long time of not building websites, I would like to build a small one with a blog and some static pages and wonder if my Wordpress alternative to go to from the past, https://www.getgrav.org is still a good choice or if there are better alternatives out there in the meantime...
Being flat file- and not database driven is a must.
Thank you in advance for your possible recommendations!
Take care, Amitz
Amitz, a very stable genius (it's true!) and Grand Rectumfier of the official LESLOS® (LES League of Shitposters).
Certified braindead since 1974 and still perfectly happy.
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Jekyll/Hugo is the way
Ruby, JS Programmer and Linux user
I use Grav for a couple personal sites without any issues and I like it. Easy to install and use and customize (if needed). This was before I had any experience with Wordpress. I'd recommend it (or at least trying it out).
We did just shift the LES blog from Grav to Wordpress not too long ago. If you don't need any fancy plugins or have a bunch of users that access the admin side (multiple accounts, different permissions/roles, etc.), then Grav will do the job nicely. Wordpress just opens the door to a heck of a lot more plugin options and other customization features.
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I remember some friends recommending https://www.htmly.com/ for this purpose. The demo makes it seem slick and easy enough to use.
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@jam: Thank you, but I never got warm with those static website generators. I need something that even my wife could use if necessary and something with a proper admin web interface is unavoidable.
@Mason: Thank you! Seems as if Grav is still the right choice. You describe exactly what I am planning to do with it.
@Ympker: Thank you! I forgot about HTMLy and will give it a shot too!
I remember that I also used kirby (https://getkirby.com) in the past, but I have no idea whether I liked it or not...
Amitz, a very stable genius (it's true!) and Grand Rectumfier of the official LESLOS® (LES League of Shitposters).
Certified braindead since 1974 and still perfectly happy.
@Amitz
Welcome to flat file cms world.
My recommendations in no particular order. All php based
Flextype cms
Bludit
Typemill (love, love, love what they do)
Datenstrom yellow (the developer is @mikho compadre I believe)
Automad
HTMLY
Flatpress
I see a lot of German connection in flat file cms :-) something you might appreciate.
I have come to admire and respect these CMS for what they are and what they can do.
I use the above four from list for testing/development sites, hopefully some day in production aites.
My review site
amarvyas.in was once hosted on bludit.
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Would a desktop admin interface be fine as well? If so, https://getpublii.com/ is another option
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Depends on what you actually want from it, DokuWiki might also be worth considering. It has a blog plugin too.
I will recommend something more for programmers. If you are good at programming then I recommend you to use Gatsby. You can connect even Wordpress as a source of articles, and then less technical people will be able to easily manage the site.
Of course, any other static page generator is also good like Hugo, Hexo.
I've used Grav for a really simple site.
It is really bare, and you have to config and edit a lot of things to make it look sleek but all it requires is PHP. Easy to back things up and relocate.
Edit: I reckon an average Wordpress user won't be pleased with Grav. Too many basic options are missing where you will be forced to use plugins. Some plugins require theme file edits to be displayed.
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Even if Datenstrom is Swedish (by the looks of it), I have no idea who the developer is.
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If you're comfortable setting it up, you can setup f.ex. Hugo with github or similar, and use Forestry.io or similar as a CMS/admin interface. (Or use Netlify as CMS, probably other options as well.)
I have a site using Hugo, stored at BitBucket, hosted at Netlify and with admin interface/CMS at Forestry.
If you want a wiki, gitit is very simple to install ("apt-get install gitit"). Its backend is git which is not exactly flat files but is familiar to programmers.
Lol
I thought the word “compadre” meant a fellow country/clansman. Looks like it had many more meanings. Friend being one. No wonder
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In terms of creating, editing, and re-arranging stuff - WordPress is quite good.
Over the past years, I've made several searches and tried different stuff in order to see if there is a non-database alternative that is nearly as good in those terms - and couldn't find one.
When it comes to adding any kind of functionality - it's also among the top picks.
Does something similar exist without using a database?
Not that I know of.
I don't like the fact it relies on a database, apart from the fact this allows for simple and free user comment/question implementation (with all the pros and cons of allowing comments on a website). Comments aside, the other CMSs (including the non-database using ones) fall short on other fronts as well - at least in my experience, for my intended use.
BikeGremlin I/O
Mostly WordPress ™
wowww zero CLS and nice themes
almost perfect
I'll second the Dokuwiki suggestion. Easy to deploy, very light on resources, and has lots of great built-in functionality.
I'm looking into using a Gatsby + Ghost combo. I know that integration exists but haven't tried it
i.e. You build it on Ghost with the WYSIWYG but then deploy it as a static site
Very happy with Flatpress so far. Very simple to deploy and fast to load. +1 for DokuWiki too.
Cheap dedis are my drug, and I'm too far gone to turn back.
Whilst not cheap I love getkirby, so feature-rich and so many new features added of late.
Despite its vast features, few are actually enable at the start. You get a basic set-up, whether you want to use all of the features is up to you, simple to enable and use only what you need. So you can keep it light. So easy to theme.
I do want to go back and give Grav a try, last time I used it just felt bloated and complex.
Please pardon me, what does "CLS" stand for? Thanks!
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Cumulative Layout Shift
In short, the page doesn't "jump" when you are browsing / scrolling it (The page has very good placeholder while waiting for asynchronous data to be fetched)
(Based on experience this is not easy, and often you need to sacrifice UI for it. Even Google search itself has some bad layout shift as far as I have seen)
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Thanks so much! Super helpful! I had no idea!
Google sent me to pages of Mercedes ads! 
Tom. 穆坦然. Not Oles. Happy New York City guy visiting Mexico! How is your 文言文?
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take a look at https://docusaurus.io/blog
It's have been 3 years since I migrated my WP site to HTMLy , very easy to use and the coding similar to wordpress.
Thank you all! That was great input. I went through all the suggestions and then - at the end - tested Kirby (https://www.getkirby.com) again. @Lee is completely right and I immediately remembered that and why I liked it in the past. It provides everything I need, gives me maximum freedom and I still had a paid license around, so this became a no-brainer in the end.
Yes, this is a paid one, so it is completely unfair to compare it with the free solutions. But I also liked html, DokuWiki and flatpress while testing them. Grav was like I remembered: Sure great for some, but not for me.
Again, thank you for the great input, even though I went back to an old solution in the end!
Amitz, a very stable genius (it's true!) and Grand Rectumfier of the official LESLOS® (LES League of Shitposters).
Certified braindead since 1974 and still perfectly happy.