What is a CMS, anyway?
A CMS (content management system) is the software you use to edit your website yourself. You log in, change text or images and publish. You don’t need any programming skills.
Kirby in 30 seconds
- Lean and uncluttered: you only see the fields your website actually needs.
- Preview before publishing: you see your changes the way your visitors will see them, before they go live.
- Proven: Kirby has been around since 2012 and is developed in Germany.
- One-off licence instead of a subscription: each website needs a one-off licence, with no monthly fees for the system.
- Multilingual out of the box: as many languages as you need, without an add-on.
- No database: your content is stored as simple files. A backup is as easy as copying a folder.
Kirby and WordPress compared
WordPress is the best-known system in the world, with a huge choice of extensions and providers. For many websites, though, that is more than they need.
| Topic | Kirby (the way we build) | Typical WordPress with a page builder |
|---|---|---|
| Admin area | Only your website’s fields | Lots of menus and settings, including those added by plugins |
| Extensions | Rarely needed | Usually several plugins in use |
| Updates | One system that we update on a predictable schedule | Core, theme and every plugin separately |
| Database | None – content is stored as files | MySQL database |
| Licence | One-off per website | Core is free, premium extensions often on an annual subscription |
| Biggest strength | Lean, fast, uncluttered | Huge choice of extensions and providers |
Less third-party code, smaller attack surface
According to Patchstack’s security report, 91% of the new WordPress security vulnerabilities reported in 2025 were in plugins (Patchstack, State of WordPress Security 2026). The fewer extensions a website needs, the smaller its attack surface. Every system needs security updates. With Kirby they are released on a predictable schedule, and we install them for you.
Prefer a different system?
Just let us know. If you already have a system in mind, we can work with that too. In the first consultation, we’ll work out what suits you best.