Kirby

Kirby is a content management system that stores all your pages as text files instead of a MySQL or SQLite database. You install it on any PHP-capable server, edit content in Markdown files, and get a clean admin panel for clients. It is not a SaaS platform. You own everything. The panel is optional, and you can build completely custom templates with PHP and plain HTML.

Kirby supports any platform that runs PHP 8.1 or higher, including shared hosts, VPS, and dedicated servers. It integrates with common frontend tools via its API and can output JSON, RSS, or GraphQL. The panel has a built-in file manager, a powerful search and filtering system, and multi-language support. Kirby is built by the Berlin-based team of Bastian Allgeier and Lukas Bestle.

Kirby is paid software, a one-time license per project with no recurring fees. There is no free version, but a public demo is available. It is proprietary but heavily extensible through plugins and hooks. The documentation is thorough and the forum community is active. Best suited for designers and developers who want a fast, low-maintenance site that scales well.