Whoever looks for a CMS without a database usually wants three things: less maintenance, less attack surface and hosting that runs anywhere. But the term covers four very different designs. Which one fits depends on who maintains the content and who looks after the system.
1. Flat file CMS
Systems such as Kirby or Grav run with PHP on the server and store content in files instead of a database. The client gets a full backend, and a backup is a copy of the folder.
The database is gone, the software on the server stays. It needs updates like any other CMS, and the server generates the website on every request. Kirby needs a licence per website, Grav is open source.
2. Git based CMS
Decap, Sveltia, TinaCMS or Pages CMS are interfaces for files in a Git repository. The client changes a field, the CMS writes the change into the repository, and a generator such as Astro, Hugo or Eleventy builds the website from it.
After that only finished HTML lies on the web server. In return you need a generator, Git hosting, a sign in for the client and a configuration that describes every field. For clients without technical experience the interface is often bare.
3. Headless CMS
With Sanity, Contentful or Storyblok the content lives with the provider. Your website has no database; the service of course has one. You just do not run it.
The editor is mature. You build and host the website for it separately, and it has to match the data model. That pays off when the same content appears in several places, such as the website and an app.
4. A platform with static delivery
Editing happens in the platform, and finished HTML is delivered. This is how Cleverpage works. The content lives in Cleverpage, not on the server that delivers the website. Visitors reach neither a login nor a CMS, and there are no plugins anyone would have to update.
The website is built by your AI agent, for example Claude Code. It creates components with fixed fields, and these fields become the editor for the client. Hosting, forms, approvals and a preview behind a password are included.
The four kinds compared
| Where does the content live? | What runs on the web server? | Who installs updates? | Editor for clients | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flat file CMS | files on the server | PHP and the CMS | you | full |
| Git based CMS | files in the repository | only HTML | you, for generator and CMS | simple |
| Headless CMS | with the provider | whatever you build | the provider for the CMS, you for the website | mature |
| Cleverpage | in the platform | only HTML | nobody | fits the website exactly |
When each kind fits
- You want everything on your own server and know PHP: a flat file CMS.
- You work with Git and a generator anyway, and the client changes little: a Git based CMS.
- The same content goes to several channels: a headless CMS.
- You look after many client websites, an AI builds them, and the clients maintain them: Cleverpage.
A website costs €6.90 a month at Cleverpage, a mini website of up to three pages €3.45, both net at the introductory price and only from launch. Export as HTML and as source code is possible at any time.