Are there any real benefits to using a RDBMS vs. flat files on a simple Web doc system (or basic CMS)?

Question

The Project

I\'ve been asked to work on an interesting project -- what amounts to a basic Web CMS -- that uses HTML/CSS/jQuery with PHP. However, on

Answer 1

Will this be installed on any shared hosting sites. For this to work somewhat safely, a mechanism like suEXEC needs to be set up properly as the web server will need write permissions to various directories.

Answer 2

Then again, if the CSM is designed right, then switching between a flat file to RDMS should be as simple as using a different data access file.

Answer 3

Well, isn't there a problem with they being distrustful to any database system? Isn't the problem more in their thinking than in technology? Maybe they are afraid of database because it sounds complex to them. In that case, if you just present them some very simple CMS (like CMS made simple, which I've heard is really simple and the learning process is very fast), if they see everything is easy then may be they just don't care what's behind, if it's a database or whatever!

They could hear to arguments like better maintenance, lower cost of maintenance, much better handover to another webmaster than proprietary solutions (they are not dependent on you) etc.