Switching from wordpress

I am currently using WordPress for my website. I am finding over time that WordPress is becoming so overwhelming for me. Almost every page on my site I used html to keep it simple.

I’m confused by the different flat file cms’s out there. Which one to use? Grav looks to be very interesting. I have been browsing through the documentation and find it pretty straight forward. I plan on installing it on my computer to see if I like it. I use Debian and Ubuntu based Linux distros.

My site:

www.mcran.com

@rmcellig The proof is in the pudding, why don’t you get your hands dirty?

Create your first theme and plugin using step-by-step tutorials and feel what modern technologies/architectures bring compared to Wordpress which got stuck due to backwards compatibility burden.

You also might have a look at this longer write-up I created earlier.

Thanks for getting back to me!! I installed grav locally so I can play around with it.

Good! I’m sure you will enjoy what Grav has to offer.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask for help here on the forum…

Hi @rmcellig,

I second @pamtbaau on getting your hand dirty.
But for having done a lot of wordpress and Joomla development.
I can comfortably say that usually a good majority of site for small and medium client do not need such CMS, and in this context, with no database.
The benefit of these flat file base CMS such as Grav, and the more simplistic or light framework such as Hugo, jekyll; is the simplicity of use and development coupled with great performance and security.

In my honest and professional opinion, where Andy and the Grav team has done great is that Grav provides you with a system that you can actually give to a client to use easily.
For devs, you have control over plenty of settings and tools. You have a good range of possibilities.
Super easy to move and install on a server.
Very user friendly admin panel plugin. Which is useful for client. But as a dev you can actually work entirely via the editor of choice.
Different configuration for different set-up. You can have your config file for your local dev, staging and prod.
Client can manage users, content, form submission, backups… Which are major factors when handling over a site to your client. He needs to feel autonomous, even though we all know they will still call you to help :slight_smile:

Don’t get me wrong, others I mentioned (Hugo, jekyll…) are very good as well. You have more simple/lean but still efficient ones like eleventy (11ty). But in terms of “client friendly” Grav is definitely on top of the list.

I believe that as a dev, it’s always better to know a few different systems as they all have their strength and weakness. And all projects have different need. There is no “one size fits all” in web development.

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I am not a developer. I do not create sites for clients. I only have a personal website that contains audio files of my radio shows, my interviews etc… That’s about it. Right now I am using WordPress but I think it may be Overkill for my needs. I don’t blog either.

So basically I am looking for something simple that I can start using right away that is free open source.

My site:

www.mcran.com

@rmcellig
Professionally, I think WP is an overkill in your case. You don’t have anything that would require a database. Grav can certainly fit your need perfectly. And simply.

Another feedback about your site. It’s not entirely pertinent to wordpress. But extremely common in WP.
I know you are not a developer, but I strongly suggest you avoid using those “one template fits all”. They are generally badly done.
Just a quick look via the devtools, and I can see the following:
45 css files for 259kb
43 js files for 346kb
And a total page load of 813kb, made of 97 requests.

That’s on the home page where you have just text. No images, no music, nothing.
That page should be under 100kb.
That’s why I don’t like these theme. They load everything and anything. And very few gives you control over this unless you start patching things here and there in the code.

I would suggest to look in the “Skeleton” section and find something that I can fit your need to start. And build on it as you go. This forum is a great place to get help if you need.

Good luck,
Have good one!

Im not excited about WP at all. I prefer some proffesional platforms. Ubuntu is quite ok for me. Still it is more important what you have rather than where.The key to creating a great content strategy is knowing your audience. If you want to use content to help your business get discovered, you’ll need to use your blog to answer your audience’s most common (and therefore most searched!) questions. For example mine are marketers and for them I take design and graphics design bundle
only from there https://masterbundles.com/downloads/category/active/graphics/

It is more important what you have rather than where. The key to creating a great content strategy is knowing your audience. If you want to use content to help your business get discovered, you’ll need to use your blog to answer your audience’s most common (and therefore most searched!) questions. For my audience I take graphics design bundle only there https://masterbundles.com/downloads/category/active/graphics/