SQL

At first glance, a spreadsheet feels like a simple database. It has rows, columns, and structured data. So a natural question arises:

Why can’t a web app like WordPress use a spreadsheet instead of a DBMS?
Is it impossible—or just a design choice?

The short answer: it is technically possible, but practically unworkable once real users and real traffic arrive. Let’s unpack this in a clear, non-theoretical way.

The Temptation: Why Spreadsheets Seem Like a Good Idea

Spreadsheets already offer:

Structured rows and columns
Easy editing and visualization
Familiarity for non-technical users
Cloud versions with sharing (Google Sheets)

For a beginner or solo creator, it feels reasonable to ask:

“Why not store posts, users, and comments in sheets?”

In fact, some prototypes and internal tools do exactly this. But the moment you aim for a WordPress-scale CMS, the cracks appear.

1. Concurrency: Web Apps Are Multi-User by Nature

A typical WordPress site may have:

Hundreds of visitors reading simultaneously
Multiple authors editing posts
Plugins logging data
Background tasks running every minute

Databases are built for this reality.

What goes wrong with spreadsheets?

File locking conflicts
Overwrites during simultaneous edits
Delays or corrupted data

Spreadsheets assume a few humans working slowly.
Web apps assume machines hitting data thousands of times per second.

2. Relationships: WordPress Is Not “Just Posts”

Behind the scenes, WordPress manages:

Posts
Users
Comments
Categories & tags
Metadata
Plugin-specific data

These are relational structures.

Databases enforce relationships using:

Foreign keys
Constraints
Indexed joins

Spreadsheets can simulate relationships using IDs—but:

Nothing enforces correctness
Deletions don’t cascade
Errors accumulate silently

What’s manageable at 100 rows becomes chaos at 100,000.

3. Performance: Searching and Filtering at Scale

Common WordPress actions:

“Latest posts in category X”
“Search content by keyword”
“Posts by author with tag Y”

Databases:

Use indexes
Optimize queries
Fetch only what’s needed

Spreadsheets:

Scan rows sequentially
Slow down dramatically as size grows
Are not optimized for text search or joins

A spreadsheet may feel fine today—but performance collapses tomorrow.

4. Data Integrity: Partial Saves Are Dangerous

When you publish a WordPress post:

Content is saved
Metadata is saved
Taxonomies are updated
Cache is refreshed

Databases use transactions to ensure:

Either everything succeeds—or nothing does.

Spreadsheets have no true rollback mechanism.
A failure halfway through leaves data inconsistent.

For a CMS, that’s unacceptable.

5. Security: File-Based Storage Is a Risk

Databases provide:

User roles and permissions
Isolated access
Protection against injection attacks

Spreadsheets are:

Often stored as files
Hard to secure at row-level
Easy to leak or duplicate

One exposed spreadsheet can mean total data compromise.

6. Scalability: Growth Is Where Spreadsheets Collapse

WordPress can scale by:

Caching
Replication
Optimized queries
Load balancing

Spreadsheets:

Are single-document systems
Don’t shard or replicate well
Become bottlenecks very quickly

A CMS must assume growth—even if traffic is small today.

When Do Spreadsheets Make Sense?

Spreadsheets are still useful in limited contexts:

✅ Internal dashboards
✅ Low-traffic tools
✅ Prototypes and MVPs
✅ Read-heavy, write-light apps
✅ Single-user workflows

But not for a public, multi-user CMS.

Why WordPress (and Similar Web Apps) Use DBMS by Design

WordPress was built for:

Collaboration
Plugins and extensibility
Long-term content storage
Millions of reads and writes

Databases are:

Predictable
Transaction-safe
Designed for automation
Built for the web