What does flat file actually mean? Find out inside PCMag's comprehensive tech and computer-related encyclopedia.

Because there’s no database involved, a flat-file CMS is supremely easy to deploy and super lightweight in terms of size. Some flat-file CMS even run on as little as five core files.

A flat-file CMS allows you to edit website content through a user interface. Most traditional CMS store page data in a database but a flat-file CMS uses files instead.

“Flat files are a representation of data and oftentimes they actually are a representation of very complex structures. Like you’ll try to serialize a relational database into a flat file, and get ...