I have been using Wordpress for my blogs since 2003. From my perspective, moving this site from WordPress to a hand-coded PHP and SQLite system feels like a huge shift. Over 2 decades relying on Wordpress!!
I've been managing other platforms since before WordPress days in 2003, using Blogspot, Xoops CMS and Postnuke. At that time it's genuinely satisfying using Wordpress because it felt "modern".
But after 2 decades, it has accumulated a lot of bloat. Every "improvement" added a host of "features" I never used.
So to use modern tools to build exactly what I need, without all the extra baggage is freeing. AI has enabled that.
Dropping the heavy database overhead for a streamlined SQLite setup has made a real difference—both for site speed and for how easy it is to maintain.
Here’s why I think my custom CMS outperforms WordPress:
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Zero Bloat: WordPress includes code for millions of different use cases. My custom PHP runs only what my site actually needs—nothing more.
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SQLite Efficiency: Since SQLite reads and writes directly to a single file, I don't have to deal with network lag between a separate MySQL database server.
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Minimal Server Memory: Without heavy plugins and complex themes, my stack stays lean. Pages render almost instantly, and CPU usage stays low.
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Streamlined Security: Because I built my own database structure, automated bot scripts can't target standard
/wp-admin/orwp_optionsvulnerabilities.
Looking ahead, I'm planning a few things to keep my new system running smoothly long-term:
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Database Backups: I'll set up a simple cron job to copy my SQLite
.dbfile to secure cloud backup daily. -
Asset Caching: By pairing my fast PHP backend with strict Cache-Control headers for CSS and images, I can make loading times feel nearly instant.
Farewell my old friend. You have served me well.