The Theory vs. The Practice

In my last entry, I theorized that the CMS is dead. Today, I am confirming the kill.

I just migrated Hawaii-Guide.com—a massive, 20-year-old site with over 1,000 pages of legacy code—from a complex database-driven CMS to a pure static site. I did it in an afternoon.

Here is the "Oversimplified Instruction Manual" for how to escape the 2010s and enter 2026.

Step 1: The Vacuum (SiteSucker)

First, I had to get the data out of the "Database Prison." I didn't write an export script. I used a tool called SiteSucker. It literally crawled my own site, downloading every page as a flat HTML file.

It was like taking a snapshot of a building and turning it into a 3D model. I had the look of the site, but none of the machinery (PHP, SQL).

Step 2: The File Cabinet (Git)

I admit, I am a dinosaur. I avoided Git for years because FTP felt "real." But I finally bit the bullet. I dumped those 1,000 HTML files into a Git Repository.

For the uninitiated: Git is just a file cabinet that remembers history. Once I uploaded the files, I realized why everyone uses it. It is the perfect "Stage" for the AI to perform on.

Step 3: The Agentic Surgeon (Claude Code)

This is where the magic happened.

When you turn a Dynamic Site (CMS) into a Static Site (HTML), things break. specifically, Forms. Contact forms usually rely on a server to process the email. My static files had nowhere to send the data.

I didn't hire a developer. I opened my terminal and typed: "Scan the repository. Identify all contact forms. They are broken because we removed the backend. Recommend a serverless solution and refactor the code to make them work."

The Agent didn't just give advice. It:

• Identified the form blocks across the files.
• Recommended a form handling service (Formspree/Netlify Forms).
• Asked me for my API Key (which I signed up for in 2 minutes).
• Rewrote the code in all the necessary files to point to the new service.

Step 4: The Fortress (Cloudflare)

I pushed the "Fixed" site to the cloud, put Cloudflare in front of it, and hit publish.

The Result

I now have a 1,000-page website that loads instantly.

• Database Cost: $0.
• Security Risk: Near Zero (you can't hack a text file).
• Maintenance: None. No plugins to update.

I realized I wasn't just "updating my website." I was deleting 15 years of technical debt.

The Protocol: If you are holding onto a CMS because you are afraid of the migration, let the Agent do the heavy lifting. The Escape Hatch is open.