For a long time, a CMS (content management system) such as WordPress, TYPO3 or Joomla was the only answer to the question “How do I change my website myself?”. For large websites with many editors, it still is. For the website of a practice, a club or a small trade business, it is usually too much: a login you forget, an interface you have to find your way around every time, and updates someone has to install so the site does not get hacked.
Since AI assistants started writing good websites, there is another way. The website consists of ordinary files. It is changed in conversation. And everything that makes a CMS safe – preview, versions, a way back – is handled by MADLAB // Publishing.
How a website without a CMS works
- You say what should change. In the assistant you already use, for example Claude or ChatGPT: “In summer our opening hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am to noon.”
- The assistant changes the page. It is connected to your website with us through a connector, reads the existing files and changes exactly the part that matters.
- You look at the preview. The assistant gives you a preview address. There you see the page as it will look when it is live.
- You approve. Only then does the change go live. Every change becomes a version, and one click brings back an earlier state.
The assistant does nothing with consequences without asking you. A preview address and publishing are put to you for approval, not simply carried out.
What you gain without a CMS
- No login to forget. You work in the assistant you use every day anyway.
- No updates, nothing to hack. A website made of ordinary files has no plugins, no database behind it and no admin interface whose password someone could guess.
- Fast. Static pages are delivered directly, without a system doing calculations on every visit. Your visitors and search engines notice the difference.
- Freedom of design. No theme decides what is possible. If you can describe an idea, the assistant can build it.
- Your website belongs to you. It is plain HTML files. You can download and take them with you at any time.
And what you give up
To be honest: something, too. A website without a CMS has no interface where someone edits texts without an assistant. In a team, whoever makes changes needs an assistant – or tells someone who has one. And shared parts such as the header and footer are in every page. For the assistant that is no problem, it changes them in all pages at once, but it is different from a CMS.
A CMS is the better choice if many people enter content every day without AI, if you manage hundreds of articles with categories and filters, or if you run a shop with a large range of products. For a website with five to fifty pages that changes a few times a month, the way without a CMS is usually simpler and cheaper.
Forms, logins and a database still work
“Without a CMS” does not mean “only text and images”. With the plan “Website – MADLAB hosting” and the PHP add-on, your website can also handle contact forms, registrations, a members’ area or orders, with a database (SQLite) in its own data area. In the preview, PHP runs even before you book it. What exactly is possible is explained in What you can build with MADLAB // Publishing.
What it costs
Building, previewing and versions are free. On the free plan your website is online straight away at its own address on freesite.space, with a small badge at the edge of the page. For a business website with your own domain, no badge and findable by search engines, the plan “Website – MADLAB hosting” costs CHF 16.90 per month including VAT, with hosting in Switzerland and the EU. If you already have web space, you publish there with “Website – your own hosting” for CHF 9.90 per month. All plans and add-ons: Plans and add-ons.
How to get started
- Sign up for free at MADLAB // Publishing.
- Connect your assistant: Connecting Claude or Connecting ChatGPT.
- Tell it what kind of website you want – or which website you already have. It takes over an existing website page by page, see Taking over an existing website.
How we decided to do without a CMS ourselves is told on the blog: How MADLAB // Publishing began. And what it looks like for an elaborate website with 22 pages in five languages is shown by our own website madlab.ch.
Frequently asked questions
What is a website without a CMS?
A website made of ordinary files, with no content management system behind it. With MADLAB // Publishing you change it in conversation with your AI assistant, with preview, versions and hosting.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You describe in your own words what should change. The assistant writes the code, you check the preview and approve.
Is a website without a CMS more secure?
As a rule, yes. Without a content management system there is no login, no plugins and no database that could be attacked, and no updates to forget.
Can I keep my WordPress website going without a CMS?
Yes. The assistant takes it over page by page as finished pages. After that there is no WordPress login any more; you maintain the website in conversation. Forms then need a new solution, for example with the PHP add-on.
What happens if I don’t like a change?
Every change is a version. One click or one sentence to the assistant brings back an earlier state.