@allnick Static file generators allow you to generate static HTML 'offline' and then you can upload or sync those static HTML pages to your site. The limitation is that you can't do anything 'dynamic', like query data, process forms, edit content via an admin interface, change configuration options. anything random, etc. You are limited to what you can do with JavaScript so that logic and processing is handled on the client. Grav is not generated, it's processed at runtime (while being highly optimized and crazy fast) so that you can do all the same kinds of things you could do with WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla. It's a powerful web development platform that you can solve complex problems with. Really it gives you options and flexibility when a static website is too limiting.

@rhuk @allnick so are you saying it's a hybrid? It's a dynamic hosted CMS that outputs static files?

@allnick no it's not static, it just uses files to store the data. It has all the benefits of a traditional CMS with the speed and portability of a static site, but it does need PHP 5.4+ to run. Hope that answers your question :)

@rhuk @allnick So it's a dynamic CMS that stores data in the file-system instead of in a database? how is that better?

@davegri @allnick for example, you can deploy with a simple `git pull`, or a FTP upload, and every complexity introduced by having a database is avoided. Starting with just having to *think* about 2 completely different levels (files and database).

@xyz_paul The biggest difference is that it is open source where Kirby is commercial. This means the development is open and very fluid. Other than that they are quite similar although I think Grav has a few nifty features that Kirby does not. Check out the full features list: http://getgrav.org/features

@itsnblackburn There are lots of great flat-file CMSes out there, Kirby and Statamic included. But Grav is an open source alternative and we have put a lot of effort into encouraging community involvement to provide functionality that people really need.

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@bdauton Grav's forum and Gitter room communities are one of the things we're really proud of. Waiting you there :)

@jadlimcaco a community member created a WordPress-to-Grav exporter: https://github.com/SiteBeez/word.... That's a start!

@bentossell Grav was built to address problems that modern web design was asking, and traditional CMS platforms were not solving. In essence, it's a simple but flexible flat-file CMS that has been designed from the ground-up to be fast and enjoyable to develop with. Unlike WordPress and other traditional CMS platforms, Grav lets you realize your design goals and your clients needs without compromise. You are not limited by your platform, Grav is a platform that adapts to your needs, not the other way around. It just sorta flips the traditional CMS paradigm on it's head. Really it just strives to make the whole process of creating sites fun again :) I wrote up a more detailed blog post when I initially release the beta of Grav last year: http://getgrav.org/blog/grav-bet...

@lynnfredricks Yup, there is a "Skeletons" (ready-to-run packages), "Themes", and "Plugins" section of the downloads page: http://getgrav.org/downloads/plu... Also this information is available via the CLI of Grav (bin/gpm index), or via the Grav Admin plugin: http://getgrav.org/blog/beta-adm...

@avatter I see the grav admin is gracing your header :) Did you write flatphile.co in Grav too? I would suggest having an easier navigation than just that dropdown. Not super easy to *browse* you know? :)

@rhuk Hehe, no - it's in Bludit and, yes: the navigation is the next thing that's being taken care of... ;)

@_yannbertrand I posted this over on designer news today, but to save cross-linking i'll paste :) WordPress is fundamentally a blog platform. Under the covers its a **PHP4-based** system that over the years has developed into what exists today. New things have been added to provide enhanced functionality but there's lots of **old legacy code** in there. WordPress also relies on a **database** to store data. Grav, is a modern flat file CMS that requires **PHP 5.4** and newer. Being flat file based, means it can easily be moved, copied, stored on Dropbox, Github wherever. You can instantly have a **100% identical copy** on your local, staging, production environments. Grav is not a blog, but can be, it really can be anything. There are **no limits to what you can build**. The Grav docs are built with it, the Grav site is built with it. You can build anything, your not constantly working around a 'blog' mentality. This is because in traditional CMS platforms (WordPress included) the **platform dictates everything**, It dictates what kind of content you can use, what functionality is available, how you build your pages, everything that impacts how your is built, really is about following what the platform can do. Of course you can extend this by installing plugins and extensions, but then you follow those rules. Grav is different, there is a much **closer relationship between your content and your theme**. There are no fixed rules for what types of pages are supported, there is no fixed structure to follow. This may sound daunting at first, but we have built many pre-built **skeleton** packages that are a **ready-to-run Grav install** with content+theme+plugins that show how varied your setups can be. We have an RTFM package that shows how Grav can be used to build a powerful documentation site (http://learn.getgrav.org), we have many one-page skeletons that make use of Grav's powerful **modular pages** to show you how easy it is to build modern landing pages. We have blog skeletons with a variety of themes that have been easily ported from other platforms, Business sites, even a resume example! Grav is also **much faster**, **more secure**, more **extensible**, etc, but it comes down the fact that you have more control, and frankly it's a helluva lot **more enjoyable** process to build a site with Grav than WordPress. OK, longer than I intended. Apologies for that, but so summaries: Grav is built for a few audiences: 1. It's better for Designers to more easily realize their design goals 2. It's better for Developers that need to easily add custom functionality 3. It's better for Users because it's fast, solid, reliable, easily maintainable, and the admin is simple and focused Join us the dev team and the users of Grav our on Gitter.im Chat Room (https://gitter.im/getgrav/grav) to chat about it in more depth :)

@rhuk @_yannbertrand Grav seems cool, but when comparing your product to any other product, especially product that have been there for years with huge community and almost every second site using it as cms, it should be compared with more respect instead of bashing it. Wordpress core isnt slow, its not unsecure, non extensible or else it would not be so popular. Bad written plugins and uninformed users are another story, but that comes with popularity.

@frenkix @_yannbertrand I have upmost respect for WordPress :) I just think that there is room for an alternative approach.