DrystoneCMS

Drystone CMS vs. WordPress
No plugins, no maintenance evening.

WordPress runs a large share of the web, and there is a reason for that. But using it headless means paying for an architecture it was never designed for: PHP, MySQL, a caching plugin, and an update stream that never stops.

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The short version

Building a classic themed site with an editorial team that already knows WordPress? Stay. Building a front end in Astro, Next or Nuxt and using WordPress only as a database with an admin on top? Then you are maintaining half a stack you no longer use. Drystone is that half, redesigned: one binary, SQLite built in, and a REST API that is the starting point rather than an extension.

Point by point

Drystone CMS next to WordPress.

CriterionDrystone CMSWordPress
Install Drystone CMSOne command, one binary. Under a minute to a working admin. WordPressWeb server, PHP, MySQL and a wp-config — or a host that does it for you.
Runtime Drystone CMSA compiled binary. No language runtime to keep current. WordPressPHP-FPM, with versions that reach end of life and have to be migrated.
Database Drystone CMSSQLite built in (WAL). Postgres optional for large sites. WordPressMySQL or MariaDB, running separately, backed up and updated separately.
Speed Drystone CMSFast by default: ETag and Cache-Control on every GET, p95 under 20 ms. WordPressUsable after a caching plugin, an object cache and usually a CDN in front.
Content model Drystone CMSschema.yaml in version control, reviewed in a pull request, reversible migrations. WordPressCustom fields via a plugin or the UI. The model lives in the database, not in git.
API Drystone CMSREST with an auto-generated OpenAPI 3 spec; delivery serves published work only. WordPressThe REST API and WPGraphQL work well, but sit on top of a page-oriented CMS.
Attack surface Drystone CMSNo plugin system. You extend through webhooks and the API, not code injection. WordPressEvery plugin runs with full privileges. Most incidents start there.
Maintenance Drystone CMSReplace the binary. Migrations run automatically and are reversible. WordPressCore, theme and dozens of plugins, each on its own schedule and its own breakage.
Backup Drystone CMSCopy one file, plus the media folder. WordPressA SQL dump plus wp-content — and both have to come from the same second.
Cost Drystone CMSFree and self-hosted. A €4/month VPS is enough. WordPressFree software, but managed hosting and premium plugins add up quickly.

What WordPress does well

  • The largest ecosystem there is: for almost any problem, a plugin already exists.
  • Editors know it. That saves training you pay for with every other CMS.
  • Gutenberg is a mature block editor with an enormous library of blocks.
  • Hostable anywhere, from €3 shared hosting to enterprise, with vendors in every city.

Where it hurts in practice

  • Slow without a caching layer — speed is a project instead of a property.
  • Plugin upkeep never ends, and every plugin is third-party code with full privileges.
  • The content model lives in the database: not reviewable, hard to version.
  • Headless is an extension: you carry the whole page-rendering layer without using it.

Honest advice

When you are better off staying with WordPress.

Stay with WordPress if…

Choose WordPress if your editors already work in it, if you are building a theme-driven site without a separate front end, or if you depend on a specific plugin — WooCommerce, a form builder, an agency workflow — that you are not going to replace. That ecosystem is real, and it cannot be rebuilt.

Choose Drystone if…

Choose Drystone if your front end already stands on its own, if your content model belongs in git, and if you would rather not run a server where three separate parts each have their own update cycle.

Switching

From WordPress to Drystone, in four steps.

  1. Export your WordPress site with the bundled importer — posts, pages and media come across.
  2. Describe your content types in schema.yaml. For most sites that is an hour of work.
  3. Point your front end at the delivery API. Templates stay; only the data layer changes.
  4. Run both side by side for a week, then move DNS and cancel the plugin subscriptions.

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Frequently asked

What people ask before switching.

Can I bring my WordPress content along?

Yes. There is a WordPress importer: posts, pages, categories and media move into Drystone collections. You describe the content model in schema.yaml afterwards, so it lands in version control right away.

What happens to my theme?

It goes away, and that is the point. Drystone renders no pages; your front end does. In return you get a front end you pick freely — Astro, Next, Nuxt or plain HTML — that does not have to be updated in lockstep with the CMS.

Does Drystone run on my shared hosting?

Probably not: shared hosting is usually PHP-only. Drystone runs on any VPS from about €4 a month, on a Raspberry Pi, or in Docker with the container host of your choice.

Do I still need a caching plugin?

No. ETag and Cache-Control sit on every GET of the delivery API — and if you build a static site, the CMS is not in your visitor's request path at all.

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