Modx CMS… What do you think?

[milehighdesigner]

Anyone use this before?

If so, ProsCons? I’m getting a little tired of doing 74923478923 things to WordPress to get it working somewhat like a CMS, unless I’m doing everything wrong.

Thanks!

[apostrophe]

I have played around with most of the main open source options at one time or another, but I keep coming back to WordPress. I find it the easiest to work with, the best supported and I’ve never had a question about wp that somebody else hasn’t already asked, so a quick google search will always get you back on track.
I confess I haven’t used modX but it does look interesting, I even had a copy on my hard drive for a while but never got around to installing.
To be honest, if you have a paying client that wants a full blown cms and you don’t think that WordPress is up to the job, then spend the money and get Expression Engine.

[AshtonSanders]

I’m currently in the same boat as Apostrophe: I do love my WordPress.

I also have wanted to check it out. You can fiddle with a live copy of it here:
http://php.opensourcecms.com/scripts/details.php?scriptid=48name=MODx&name=MODx&page=7&sortby=dateasc

(Thanks Doc ;))

[apostrophe]

You don’t have to do 74923478923 things to make it work like a cms. That’s less than one third of a cent each, seems like a bargain to me. :D

[davesgonebananas]

And the winner of "Best answer on the forums, 2009" goes too…….

[apostrophe]

Quote:

Thing is, these days I don’t have time to try something out for hours, to find out I don’t like it.

And there you have hit the nail on the head.

At one time or another I have messed around with Drupal, Joomla, Textpattern, CMS Made Simple and Frog CMS. They all suffer from outdated or incomplete documentation, they all have a learning curve (some steeper than others) and if you need support you are totally dependant on user forums and communities, some larger than others and some more active than others.
I once got three quarters of the way through a project with Drupal only to find that a module(plugin) I was planning to use wasn’t compatible with the version I was using, changing versions, apart from being a major job, wasn’t an option as that would render three other plugins useless. Then, to add insult to injury, I was told in a forum that "that is the beauty of open source" as I now had the opportunity to bring the plugin up to date for the community.

That’s why I always come back to WordPress, there is so much information and advice out there and, having used it so much, I now know it inside out and back to front.

Seriously, if I had a job that required a full blown cms, I would go with EE and pass the cost on to the client. It is a "proper" cms with a totally customisable backend that would please any client. Best of all, what you get with that price is real support. No posting on a forum and checking back every five minutes for an answer while the clock ticks and deadlines approach.

That’s my (not so) humble opinion anyhow.

[Donna]

I did take the time to learn modx and I was quite impressed with it, but it just doesn’t have the level of plugins that wordpress has. If I could combine the two, then I would use wordpress for the blog capability and modx for everything else. The one thing I don’t like about modx is that EVERYTHING is in the database (including all the html and php code) not just the content.

I do want to learn expressionEngine some day. It is another project by the same folks who created codeigniter so if it is anything like codeigniter, it must be good! Codeigniter is fantastic — very easy to use, clean, great and well thought out design!

[AshtonSanders]

"milehighdesigner" wrote:

I guess I’ll just keep trucking with WordPress… I’ve only attempted 2 sites with it, so I guess I just need to keep using it until I know it inside and out like you do.

Yea, I definitely recommend reading about the wordpress templating system. It’s very well documented. Their codex is soooo full of useful information. I feel like I know a lot about it, but I’m sure I’d learn a lot more by spending an hour in that site.

"Donna" wrote:

The one thing I don’t like about modx is that EVERYTHING is in the database (including all the html and php code) not just the content.

Thanks for the notes/review. That is an odd feature.

[BigBrotherBiggs]

***** I am not trying to sell you anything just tell you about another CMS that I use. If you want to use it I can help you take full advantage of the system so that you can make residuals off of the website you design using this system.

Commercially the System is Called GoodBarry, the Developers are Business Catalyst.

You have three options with this company… you can buy it from them (or a reseller) to design a site for your client, you can be a reseller and get a 20% cut of the pie each time your client renews (monthly or annually) or you can be a Partner and you have all that plus you can rebrand the system to what ever you want Partners can also get a sign on bonus for referring other designers.

I am a partner reseller and am just in the process of finally rebanding the system. The cool thing about this is that your customers see your brand every time they log in so if they have an issue that needs addressing or any other service you provide they think of you.

I currently use it on 98% of my sites that I have designed as of Dec 07.

They are located in Australia and have a good following here in the US (now with a local server now here..) and they have just finished or are finishing up a new server location in England.

GREAT SUPPORT and TRAINNING via Videos and Online Webinars.

One of the cool features about this too is that they do not design websites… so any lead they get (and they get a lot) goes out to their resellers and partners. I have landed 5 projects just from their referrals. (of course they give them like 5 to choose from) They also have a great network of designers that collaborate a lot too.

This is actually the first time i have actually told other designers about this CMS.

I just set up a direct page you can go to for more information on the system…

http://designedbyjeff.com/freetrial.htm

Or you can go right to the source at http://goodBarry.com

If you want to hook up with them as a reseller or partner give them my Seller ID 190 or Designedbyjeff

Hope this gives you more options.

[AshtonSanders]

Hey Jeff,

Thanks for the link. Sounds like a quality program, but I fear it’s lacking on the Front End of things. I just ran through the video, but didn’t see much on the front end development. He mentioned that there are "modules" that can be added to the site, and I saw one for "forum."

Here’s my questions =)
How quality are the modules?
How many are there?
Is it easy to create your own modules to the site, or are you pretty well stuck within their frame?
How easy is it to totally change the template?

Thanks,

[BigBrotherBiggs]

"AshtonSanders" wrote:

How quality are the modules?
How many are there?
Is it easy to create your own modules to the site, or are you pretty well stuck within their frame?
How easy is it to totally change the template?

Lets see if I can do this justice

Quality of the Modules. I have only found one fault with the shopping cart module and that is ONLY becasue my current client wants more than it can handle and I do not have the expertise in Javascript to tweak it yet. but that being said it has the BEST shopping cart module I have ever used .

Other modules currently available are: these images are taken right from my dash board and I can explain any you may have questions about…

[attachment=0]Picture 20.png[/attachment]

There is a Module called Web Apps where you can create your own modules.

The templates are your creation. I use Coda to create my templates. I then indicate with a tag where the content goes… if you have need of several layouts you can do several templates… plus you can modify the system templates such as the shopping cart product layouts and all that.

They do have a plug-in for people who like Dreamweaver called Triangle and it works seamlessly with their system.

here are some sites I am working on right now that can give you an idea as to layout…
Mine… still working on the copy and some CSS http://designedbyjeff.com
Dev site… http://cutiepetutiejewelry.designedbyjeff.com
Dev site… http://guybiggsconstruction.designedbyjeff.com
http://giveralliance.com waiting on content from partners
http://donabramharris.comwaiting on content from client

Remember the video you saw… was really intended for non designers or programmers…

Let me know if you have anymore questions am glad to share what I know.

[AshtonSanders]

hmmm. It definitely sounds interesting. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine it having anywhere close to the modules that WordPress has, but WordPress doesn’t have a good Ecommerce plugin…

I just don’t have time to look into another CMS right now especially a paid one. Thanks for the info though.

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