When is a PHP project too small for a framework?

Question

I'm about to start on a small, static website project: no database or CMS required. Basically, a brochure website.

I used the CodeIgniter framework recently to develop a full-blown web application, and I'm wondering if it appropriate to also use CI for smaller, simpler sites.

Typically for a static brochure site I would write regular PHP pages with a few includes thrown in to save on repetition (i.e. HTML with a sprinking of PHP), but this time around I'm wondering if my new friend CodeIgniter might be able to streamline the development process.

Is it sensible to consider a framework for such a simple project, or is it overkill? I'm worried that I might be the proverbial carpenter whose only tool is a hammer, and sees every problem as a nail!

Answer 1

I think almost never, the needs change and come more with time... so it is better to have a good base using a framework to wait the future needs. but if your project will not have a long live time and your needs are reaaally simples then i think is not necesary use a framework.

Answer 2

I personally would never develop a site outside of a framework for anything more than a single page brocure-ware site. I work so much faster inside the framework.

I'm a Python/Django developer but here's my take.

I've done some small non-framework sites with PHP and I don't know how PHP frameworks compare to DJango, but if they're anything alike the fact remains that I'm far more proficient developing within a framework than to code something from scratch by hand.

It helps me stay organized if nothing more than giving me the VC of the MVC. Django provides me with a lot of built-in tools, like form handling, that make my life much easier even for small sites.

I'm going to presume PHP frameworks provide similar things, maybe not though.

You also can't anticipate how the site will grow over time. It's easier to maintain something built in a framework, and if you ever need to extend the site in the future it's nice to have some structure behind it.