Why Modx is not yet no 1

Hello,

I am new here but not so new. This is because i browse the forums as a guest and have been doing this for a long while.

As the topic of my discussion declares, there are a few reasons why modx is not yet taking the topmost votes at packt and other places.

I have installed modx and seen the ease at which i can get my template to work(I am a designer). Besides a lot of things, including the ease of installation is truely elegant and refreshing which is not what we can say of some others like typo3.

Having said that i have compared modx with joomla and cmsms and have come to some conclusions(personal conclusions but the stakeholders would do well to notice)

1) Joomla and cmsms have a large collection of modules that a newbie or a plain php idiot can just use and plugin to the site (plug and play if you may).
On the other hand, modx seems to pride itself as a software that needs good programers to be able to get specific functionality in your project. This approach is wrong.
You would always tell us to use snippets and do whatever we want and others will yet point us to TVs but what stops the creators and developers from getting a number of the free php scripts for specific functionalities that are available and porting them to modx snippets.

If that is too much, why not a detailed step for converting php scripts to modx snippets? Its only the developers and other php people that know what and what to change in this scripts. Its only you that know where to add the modx specific calls in the snippets or can one use a php script fully as it is to make snippets?

The bottom line is some of us go into brain Hemorrhage at the site of anything code and calculations so our group of users need to be carried along as well.

That is why joomla is so popular and why they will be voted top for a long time to come. Because guess what? Most of the votes come from people like me that are excited at having some script or functionality plugged into my site in a minute with joomla.

And i know that joomla does not match modx when it comes to ease of site design but when it comes to site functionality, you can find a module or component for anything in joomla. Also, the latest version of joomla has tackled most of the design issues but i still think modx.

CMSMS, is another one that comes close to modx in ease of design but modx is still better in initial site design setup. But CMSMS also has a large collection of modules and tags that one can plug and play without trying to figure out @bindings and php calls.

I know there are good php people in this community and is it not time that the community starts pushing modules and snippets converted from php scripts? I mean there are so many scripts at hotscripts for diverse functionalities and can only be converted by the developers and gurus in the house.

I and people like me( we are quite many you know), keep reading all and all that can be achieved in modx but we just cant achieve those because we are just not wired to work with code. I always fall in love with modx when i install a template and it appears exactly as i designed it but thats always where my joy ends.

Someone will point us to Tvs soon but then can we get a step by step written documentation on how to set up the different tvs and actually get them to work?
Be patient with us and dont tell us like you are telling a fellow guru. As clearly and as concise as possible.

This has been my frustration and believe me, those of so many other people who love the general outlook of modx but cant use it for major projects that require some specific functionality.

The modx community must rise up to cater for the users in my category of users. On the net these days, we are actually the majority  .
Lets have a guide on converting third-party php scripts to modx snippets. Let the gurus convert a number of these third-party scripts available freely on hotscripts and every other place and share with the community.

Thats what put joomla at the top. Not because of any excellent templating system. And that is what is currently driving CMSMS UP.

Let the community not always pride itself and place itself on the pedestal of gurus who make modx do things by code. Really think of how the non-gurus can also get the best out of modx.

I am partially agree with you.

MODx lack good tutos on converting existing php codes and modules to use them within MODx.

Maybe and i hope that this state will change when revolution will be out.

you’re right in modx needs better documentation. (you shouldve seen it 3 years ago)

i think it’s just different marketing segments.

joomla is made for anyone to make a simple CMS that is out of the box.
modx allows web developers to create custom, powerful websites for their clients.

joomla is rigid and requires much toil and trouble to customize it (tho it is better w/ 1.5)
modx is flexible and simple to customize if you know what you’re doing

joomla is easy for the novice to pick up and start :: customization takes the pros a lot of time
modx is harder for the novice to pick up and start :: customization is a breeze for the pros

the fact that modx is both a flexible framework you can work with and not against. And a CMS is kudos. It’s not right for everyone. I’m glad I picked it up 3 years ago. The customization and flexibility in solutions I can provide for my clients has more than paid for itself in the learning curve.

Quote from: ChuckTrukk at Mar 18, 2009, 05:53 PM

joomla is made for anyone to make a simple CMS that is out of the box.
modx allows web developers to create custom, powerful websites for their clients.

joomla is rigid and requires much toil and trouble to customize it (tho it is better w/ 1.5)
modx is flexible and simple to customize if you know what you’re doing

joomla is easy for the novice to pick up and start :: customization takes the pros a lot of time
modx is harder for the novice to pick up and start :: customization is a breeze for the pros

the fact that modx is both a flexible framework you can work with and not against. And a CMS is kudos. It’s not right for everyone. I’m glad I picked it up 3 years ago. The customization and flexibility in solutions I can provide for my clients has more than paid for itself in the learning curve.

Hi Chuck,

You say joomla is for people to make simple cms? Have you seen the type of sites are being created now with joomla. Just the array of components and modules points to the fact that its not just for simple cms anymore. Yes the 1.5 has made it easier with templating.

You say modx is not "right for everyone". Does it mean that those of us without the php skills should move on?

I think its just a matter of rethinking the documentation for users.

Its also a matter of making the community stronger. I pose the question again. What stops the gurus from converting a number of the php scripts with some specific functionalities found at hotscripts and elsewhere into modx snippets and sharing with the community?

Also those converted phpscripts could be used as case-studies with tutorials on how to convert php scripts and codes to modx snippets

I agree with you Ynotmodx. 1000%. Your analysis is dead on.

But what you must understand, is that we’re not trying to be like other systems. If we tried to serve the needs of a diverse set of users—from designers to developers to normal end users—we’d simply do a mediocre job at some of them and fail miserably at most to be honest.

Instead, we have chosen first to serve a much, much narrower set of users: the ones that are willing to get their hands dirty. Does that mean we’re missing out on becoming the Wal-Mart of the web development world? Yep. Are we sad about that? Not a bit.

Running this project costs a tremendous amount of time and money. We’re scratching the itch that fits our daily needs the most, and that’s a totally flexible content managment framework that can absolutely rock in the SEO game.

So, here’s what it would take to make your request a reality: someone comes along and says, "We think there’s so much merit to the technology, and we’ve seen thousands of requests for making your technology more broadly approachable by those that are less technically oriented, we want to invest in making it happen. Here’s $2.5 million," At this point we hire a team of community members to document, streamline and compartmentalize MODx, start up user groups all over the globe, and put a marketing team in place to focus more on the B2C type folks.

Until that time, we’re gonna keep working things that put food on the plates for our families and sharing the results with the world. I do invite you to participate in that sharing and to become a community member that contributes back to MODx. Perhaps you could dive in, learn some things, and write those tutorials that you’d like to see in the first place.

And, welcome to MODx.

Ynotmodx has some good points.

I think that things are getting so much better with the recent flux of new users and will continue to get better as the community grows. With growth comes new views and new requirements which will lead to diverse development. There are also a growing number of sites/blogs giving MODx more attention with tutorials and development tips which may fuel more development as well. I feel that MODx is in the initial phase of a fast growth period, emanating with the new site and new branding, as well as the eventual beta release of Revolution. Early growth periods are always awkward as the pieces begin to fall into place. However, once the foundation gets well established the growth will get much smoother.

As large as the MODx community is getting to be (15,212 Members/513 Resources), it is still a fraction of the size of Joomla’s (265,276 Members/4,516 Resources). This will reflect directly in the number of resources made available by the community. As we grow I am confident that many more resources will be made available.

This is irrelevant, but if you do the math you will notice that there are more resources/user in MODx than with Joomla, which would indicate that there is a larger ratio of contributing users in MODx.

Thanks for all the replies.

@rthrash

I wonder how concentrating on fewer userbase (those willing to get their hands dirty as you say), will put more food on your table as opposed to a wider userbase for the product. I am baffled at the logic in that.

@dev_cw

I see hope and a direction in your post. I have also read about the Revolution. Is it in anyway going to clarify things more than it is now?

Mostly, it’s because we don’t charge anything for MODx itself, but we do for our own development projects.

And if you think about it, a larger group of less-technical end users will only increase the support demands for the project in general. Which again, doesn’t generate revenues.

I’d be curious as to how you see it differently?

Oh ok, Now I see it.

Quote from: Ynotmodx at Mar 18, 2009, 06:09 PM

I pose the question again. What stops the gurus from converting a number of the php scripts with some specific functionalities found at hotscripts and elsewhere into modx snippets and sharing with the community?

Lack of time.

Let me ask you one: What stops you from learning a little PHP so you can contribute to the process? It’s not brain surgery.