Developer Notes: Why We Rebuilt BlueOnyx.it the Way We Did
A technical look at the new BlueOnyx.it platform: why we moved away from CMSMS, why WordPress was not an option, and how security-first architecture shaped the final implementation.
This is the technical background on the new BlueOnyx.it platform and the reasoning behind key architecture decisions.
Why move away from the old site?
The previous website ran on CMS Made Simple (CMSMS). It served us well since 2008, and we are genuinely grateful for that. But over time, template work and long-term maintainability became increasingly painful. Creating and evolving templates was harder than it needed to be, and the overall system no longer matched our current requirements.
Why not WordPress?
WordPress was not an option for us. For this project, it would have meant unnecessary complexity, constant update pressure, and a much larger attack surface. That does not align with how we design BlueOnyx itself.
Security first, security by design
Our design principle was straightforward: build only what we actually need.
- Administrative backend in CodeIgniter (same ecosystem we already know and use)
- Tight control over features and moving parts
- State-of-the-art hardening, including MFA support
- Minimal exposed surface area
The backend is purpose-built for page/news/media/menu/publish workflows and avoids unnecessary public complexity.
Dynamic pages? Not required
Most website content changes infrequently. Rendering everything dynamically via PHP and MariaDB on every request adds complexity and runtime overhead without real benefit for this use case.
So we chose static publishing:
- Content is managed in the backend
- Publish generates static HTML output
- Public delivery is fast and lightweight
- Traffic spikes create very little server load
- Public attack surface is reduced significantly
The only intentional dynamic component is search, implemented in a narrow, controlled way.
Implementation highlights
- CodeIgniter admin backend for full editorial control
- Static publisher with managed output and safe overwrite rules
- Legacy URL redirect layer for smooth transition from old links
- Structured SEO metadata and improved content rendering
- Integrated news feed generation and improved navigation behavior
- Matomo analytics integrated centrally in the template pipeline
- Straight up database import/migration from CMSMS for news and content
In short: the new platform is simpler, faster, safer, and easier to maintain. Exactly what we wanted.
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