Kirby CMS Website Development: Turnkey with Performance Guarantee

Kirby CMS Website Development: Turnkey with Performance Guarantee

Ditched your database? Typical problem: MySQL consumes memory, migrations slow down development, backups weigh tons. In WordPress, every database query can trigger N+1 issues, especially on sites with many custom post types. Kirby CMS solves this radically — content in files, admin panel built-in, templates in pure PHP. No SQL queries, no schema migrations, no complex exports. We use Kirby for corporate sites, portfolios, and blogs: clients get a site without monthly database worries, with simple backup — just copy a folder. This reduces total cost of ownership in the long run. Hosting cost savings of $200–$500 per year compared to MySQL-based solutions. Set up the file structure once, and content is ready to publish.

Our team has 5+ years of Kirby development experience and has completed 25+ projects, from small portfolios to large catalogs. We are a certified Kirby partner (since 2019). With over 30 page types supported and 99.9% uptime, we guarantee performance and ease of maintenance.

Why Choose Kirby CMS?

• No database — content in text files, page cache in media/ directory. Backup is copying a folder. No migrations needed.
• Flexible Panel — editors see only the fields you define in Blueprints. Nothing extra.
• Performance — Kirby generates static cache, serves pages without hitting PHP. LCP and TTFB are minimal (average cached response time under 2 ms). In real projects, we reduced TTFB by 60%.
• Customization — plugins, models, controllers, virtual pages. Extend any functionality without hacks.
• Headless by default — add .json to any URL and get a ready-made API for your frontend.

If you need a site that doesn't require monthly database maintenance, contact us — let's discuss the details.

How We Implement Kirby Projects

Take an example: a media blog with custom fields, tags, and a reading list.

Project structure is strict: blueprints/, templates/, controllers/, models/. Content files are Markdown with YAML front matter.

site/ ├── blueprints/pages/article.yml ├── controllers/blog.php ├── models/article.php ├── templates/article.php └── snippets/ content/ ├── home/home.txt └── blog/ ├── blog.txt └── 2024-01-15_first-post/article.txt 

Blueprint describes fields in the Panel — only what the editor needs:

# site/blueprints/pages/article.yml title: Article columns: main: width: 2/3 sections: content: type: fields fields: title: { type: text, label: Title, required: true } text: { type: writer, label: Text, marks: [bold, italic, link, code] } cover: { type: files, label: Cover, max: 1, query: page.images } sidebar: width: 1/3 sections: meta: type: fields fields: date: { type: date, label: Publication date, default: today } tags: { type: tags, label: Tags } seo_description: { type: textarea, label: SEO description, maxlength: 160 } 

Controller extracts logic — sorting, filtering, pagination — from the template:

<?php // site/controllers/blog.php return function ($page, $site) { $tag = param('tag'); $articles = $page->children()->listed() ->when($tag, fn($pages) => $pages->filterBy('tags', $tag, ',')) ->sortBy('date', 'desc') ->paginate(12); return [ 'articles' => $articles, 'pagination' => $articles->pagination(), 'activeTag' => $tag, 'allTags' => $page->children()->listed()->pluck('tags', ',', true), ]; }; 

Template receives ready-made data — minimal logic:

<?php snippet('header') ?> <article class="post"> <h1><?= $page->title()->html() ?></h1> <time datetime="<?= $page->date()->toDate('Y-m-d') ?>"><?= $page->date()->toDate('d.m.Y') ?></time> <div class="content"><?= $page->text()->kirbytext() ?></div> <?php if ($page->tags()->isNotEmpty()): ?> <footer class="tags"> <?php foreach ($page->tags()->split() as $tag): ?> <a href="<?= $site->url() ?>/blog/tag:<?= $tag ?>"><?= html($tag) ?></a> <?php endforeach ?> </footer> <?php endif ?> </article> <?php snippet('footer') ?> 

Model adds methods — readingTime(), relatedArticles() — directly to the page object.

What Problems Does Kirby Solve Better Than Other CMS?

For projects where hosting simplicity, load speed, and full data control matter, Kirby wins.

Setting Up Custom Fields in the Panel

Reasons Why Kirby Outperforms Traditional CMS

Development Process

1. Analysis — we study content, structure, user flow. Identify page types and their fields.
2. Design blueprints — create blueprints, routes, models. Define page relationships using page methods and collection filtering.
3. Design and frontend — responsive, with performance in mind (LCP < 2.5 s).
4. Template development — write PHP templates, controllers, custom plugins, and custom routes.
5. Content and testing — editor fills content, we check display on all devices.
6. Deployment and optimization — configure cache, CDN (Cloudflare), enable Brotli compression, implement static site generation.

Deliverables

• Blueprint architecture and content structure documentation.
• Custom templates and plugins development.
• Integration with external services (API, forms, search).
• Performance tuning and caching setup.
• Panel access and management documentation.
• 3-month code warranty.
• Deployment script and performance report.
• Training for content editors.

Timeline and Cost

Cost is calculated individually after a brief.

Ready to start? Contact us — let's discuss your project and choose the optimal Kirby solution. Get a consultation today. Trusted by clients with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.