Where is a small, simple CMS that has no Front End done in PHP?

The keys are:

1. small and simple
2. PHP MySql
3. no Front End

By "no front end" I mean literally, I can control the look 100%. I just want a CMS on the "backend" to manage content (user login/security, upload images, udate articles, etc.) that will not dictate in anyway how the managed data is presented. Maybe it just keeps the info in a (MySql) database (which I can query and extract myself) or if it writes content, it is in super-clean xhtml fragments or even just xml I will parse myself?

I have looked 开发者_如何学JAVAat Wordpress -- and don't like the code it generates, not to mention the sites look too "canned" (you can usually spot a WP site a mile a way.)

Joomla and Drupal look more customizable, but they are bloated now in my opinion, and really I just want something lightweight and simple. For one-user mom-and-pop sites. (No tiered publishing/approval systems, and all that.)

I envision plugging this CMS into existing websites/web apps where most of the site is made and managed by me, but a few choice areas are managed by the site owner.

Sounds to me like you need a Framework, not necessarily a CMS

Some frameworks, such as Akelos have administration backends that are automatically generated based on your models, Similar to Django [Python] or Ruby on Rails.

Check out PHP Frameworks

Sidenote: One of my favorites is Fat Free PHP Framework ... It's proven helpful for me in numerous situations where I needed something really simple. However, does not provide the backend interface that you desire. Hence the sidenote

Concrete5 is the best CMS I have come across so far for a front end user, especially the not so computer literate. The user can edit the pages from the front end using it's gui.

The template pages you create stay very much like a standard HTML page. The only difference is you indicate editable areas with a simple two line piece of code (can be more if you want to get tricksy). You also have to change things linked with a local address, such as a CSS file, like you would have to with most other CMS's since the template pages aren't necessarily read from where they reside on the server. But all in all, it's a 10 minute process to make a page a Concrete compatible template.

Right now the company I work for uses Drupal exclusively, and while I also like that system, Concrete is still my favorite and it's what I would use for side projects.

Edit: I should mention, it's not small like you requested, you can run large sites with it. But it does work well for small sites and its complexity is not as intimidating as Drupal's

MODX without a doubt is exactly what you are looking for. There are two versions, Evolution is the most stable

http://www.modxcms.com/