Most content management systems want a database right at installation. For a small website with ten pages, that's like taking a truck to do your weekly shopping: it works, but it's heavier than it needs to be. PlaCeMS turns this around. You start without a database and only add one when you really need it.
At First: Just Files
Without the Database module, PlaCeMS stores all content in files. That's fast, needs no setup and is easy to back up: a backup is basically a copy of the folder. For many websites, that's all they'll ever need.
When It Grows: Add a Database
When your project grows – lots of blog articles, a shop with orders, hundreds of newsletter subscribers or member accounts – a database starts to make sense. The Database module connects PlaCeMS to MariaDB or MySQL. You enter the credentials once in the backend, and they're stored encrypted.
Switch Module by Module
Here's the special part: you don't have to switch everything at once. For each module, you decide individually whether it works with files or with the database. Your blog can already live in the database while your gallery stays in files. Some data that never gets big deliberately always stays in files – PlaCeMS recognises that by itself.
The switch takes two steps, right in the backend:
- Create the table: PlaCeMS creates the right table for the module.
- Move the data: existing content is transferred from the files into the table.
From then on, the module works with the database – and in the backend, everything looks exactly as before.
The Other Modules Don't Notice
All modules access their data through the same interface. Whether there are files or a database behind it makes no difference to them. That's why search, overview pages and navigation keep working unchanged, no matter which module stores its data where. And new modules automatically support both ways.
Always in View
In the backend, the Database module shows the connection status, every table with its number of entries and a log of recent actions. You see at a glance which module stores where and whether everything is running.
Grow Without Starting Over
Most systems make you decide on day one. With PlaCeMS, you decide when the time comes – not a minute earlier. Why we deliberately built PlaCeMS this way is explained in Modular Instead of Overloaded.