Using the same method to control pages (files) in a website is not necessarily a bad thing. Just as a CSS file can save hundreds of changes, so can include files. Dreamweaver templates deserve to die a horrible death - you're better off with proper php includes. E.g. a navigation system placed in its own include file can save a LOT of time when it comes to debugging/changes.
That's my main reason for wanting to make it all PHP. The Dreamweaver templates cause annoying problems, especially when I sometimes edit outside dreamweaver. Having a similar modularized system without the nasty effects would be the biggest benefit I can see.
If you're importing CSV files, perhaps getting to grips with MySQL would be beneficial. You just upload the CSV, let php do some processing on it - or even load it directly into MySQL. The MySQL data output will always be under control via php-generated html.
MySQL is the next step in the plan. I went with CSV at first because my supervisor (who updates the tables) is comfortable with spreadsheets, I already had some code for handling CSV files, and I wanted to get something out quickly. I managed to get a system in place within a week. I'd like to convert the backend to MySQL but keep CSV as the method for updating, for my supervisor's use. It doesn't sound too hard to do.
Personally, I'm not a big fan of CMSes as they tend to be too restrictive, that's why I go for include files, BUT, if there are a few of you working on content, CMSes are probably the way to design your site - sharing source files and uploading them after each edit is not a good way to do things. There are ways around this, but they tend to be too heavy handed for the casual updater.
Only my supervisor and I ever change the site. She doesn't know web technologies well, but she can update without too much trouble. However, I'm trying to remove the need for her to touch the source directly. I've done so with the pages containing tabular data, but another page, which contains press releases, will be trickier.
As it stands, the press release page hasn't been updated in over a year. This needs to change, so I've begun implementing a page with a form for adding press releases similar to the forms used on other sites to add forum posts. I haven't decided exactly how to do this, though. For one thing, I'll need the page to be only accessible to me and her. I'm not sure how involved a secure login system would be. Next would be the backend. Is MySQL conductive to holding large blocks of text? A press release usually contains well over 1000 characters. I've considered using XML, too; I have a little experience with XML parsing.
A CMS would be useful for this one page, but this is just one page. I'd hate to go through the process of converting to a CMS and enduring the restrictions for a page that's seldom updated anyway.
I'm not sure about your intended use of Ajax - do you really need it? It won't make updating easier and less error-prone. Although it's flavour of the month, it's just adding another layer of complexity. IMO, you're better off constructing a robust php/MySQL solution.
My idea for Ajax was for updating one of the tables. Essentially, my supervisor would click a button beside a row to delete the entry, type in a textbox within a cell to update the field, etc. It would be a little more intuitive for this table than using CSV. It would be dependent on my ability to keep this secure against anyone besides my supervisor and I, though.
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