Might as well go the full route: CREATE TABLE `sites` ( `site_id` varchar(50) NOT NULL, `owner_id` varchar(50) NOT NULL, `schema_version` varchar

Might as well go the full route: CREATE TABLE `sites` ( `site_id` varchar(50) NOT NULL, `owner_id` varchar(50) NOT NULL, `schema_version` varchar(10) NOT NULL DEFAULT '1.0', `site_data` text NOT NULL, `last_update_date` bigint NOT NULL, `route` varchar(255) NOT NULL, PRIMARY KEY (`site_id`) ) /*ENGINE=InnoDB DEFAULT CHARSET=utf8 ROW_FORMAT=COMPRESSED KEY_BLOCK_SIZE=16*/; select * from sites where route = ? No join (truly, this time), no need for transaction (whether in the DB or softly in the application). If you want improvements in performance you need to stop using your DB as a way to model your data and start using it as a way to model your queries. Considering that the data is already stored in the site_data field, they already started on this path.