With the experience gained so far I still think WordPress, a database run CMS is the best choice. With that being said let’s take a look at both flat-file and database driven CMS’s to see the differences.
Get Simple.
Flat-File Content Management System. A flat-file CMS stores content in XML-files and folders rather than in a database like a traditional CMS. Get Simple has many features that can be added as plugins, such as galleries, commenting systems, blogs and social media integration, plus role-based user support. Role-based user support means that there is control of which features are available based on which user is accessing it.
Advantages of Using a flat-file system:
- Speed – does not need to connect to a database and retrieve content, so loading pages are FAST.
- Security – databases are often the first thing hackers target, without the database that security threat is removed.
- Simplicity – with no need to maintain a database “installation” is just a matter of uploading files. Easier for people who are not tech savvy to update and add content.
- Portability – a site can quickly be moved to another server without needing to export and configure a database.
With Get Simple uploading files is SIMPLE. One just has click a button “upload files” for images and other files they want viewable on the website. Once files are uploaded one can add them using the WYSIWYG editor interface.
WordPress.
Database Driven Content Management System. A database driven CMS runs on queries to the database to retrieve content. Chances are you have probably used a database-driven site without realizing it, some examples are blogging, forums, online photo galleries, and video sharing sites.
WordPress has been around a while and has a huge following and base of help. Get Simple is fairly new and not as popular which is a disadvantage when trying to find tutorials and having support.
I see myself using a database driven CMS over Get Simple. Some reasoning behind this is having taken a basic programming class, that included using databases of course, resulted in a good grasp on how to work in the database system. After going through the set up of both types of CMS, I actually found WordPress easier…maybe it’s just the logic of it. I know there are many plug ins for both types of CMS but in WordPress I found so many that were image based and being an image lover I enjoyed the different layouts, gallery set ups, and management available.
C. Learning 