Should I use flat tables or a normalized database?

Question

I have a web application that I am currently working on that uses a MySQL database for the back-end, and I need to know what is better for my situation before I continue any fur

Answer 1

Normalized == fast searches, easier to maintain indexes, slower insert transactions (on multiple rows)

Denormalized == fast inserts, ususally this is used when there are a lot of inserts (data warehouses that collect and record chronological data)