Newbie - first impressions

Quote from: Photowebmax at Nov 12, 2009, 05:51 PM

I have tried all of those ...

I actually agree on all points. I have tried dozens (literally) of CMSystems and know that modifying an existing template is not the cleanest way of creating a website, that’s why I am here.
However, I it’s true that many users do exactly that, either to save time or they are ’codeophobes’ and it’s their only possible way to become acquainted.
I was also trying to point out the marketing aspect. People looking for a CMS (particularly those with limited time) won’t start with reading tons of text, they’ll usually go to the gallery and check: "let’s see what’s possible with this". I also think, someone looking for a CMS to build his company’s website on, will expect a userfriendly and complete site for the candidating CMS, since he/she is likely to associate the condition of the website with the CMS itself.


Quote from: BobRay at Nov 12, 2009, 10:54 PM

I agree completely. At this point, though, MODx isn’t at a point where we could support those users, IMO. Having a lot of template designs available would attract a horde of naive users that would expect MODx to be a plug-and-play platform and would flood the forums with questions like, "why won’t MODx cook my breakfast for me?"

Quote from: BobRay at Nov 12, 2009, 10:54 PM

We need to attract developers and create comprehensive, easy-to-navigate documentmation before we’re ready to try to attract the masses.

You have a point there.

I was also trying to point out the marketing aspect. People looking for a CMS (particularly those with limited time) won’t start with reading tons of text, they’ll usually go to the gallery and check: "let’s see what’s possible with this". I also think, someone looking for a CMS to build his company’s website on, will expect a userfriendly and complete site for the candidating CMS, since he/she is likely to associate the condition of the website with the CMS itself.

Sounds like a great thing to focus on, honestly. (Sometime after the Mayan calendar expires—just in case the point was moot in the first place.)

We’re definitely not looking for people who will get frustrated in 15 minutes and declare it a crap-system. I encourage those to go elsewhere. MODx is a professional tool for enthusiasts and web professionals and those otherwise willing to invest in a small learning curve to save weeks or months of time on the back end.

Any decent CMS is going to take some study. There are some simpler ones for sure, but these have restrictions one way or another.

Many folks just one to download a system, flick a few switches and be up and running. Plug and play if you will. They then want to scroll through a long list of visual templates, pick one and have it work.

MODx really does not fall in that category. Most of the folks here are building custom sites for themselves or for clients. The main attraction is the power and flexibility that programmers and developers love. Everyone who gets involved with more featured CMS platforms have different skills and methods.

One of the key aspects that I do not see highlighted that much is the power and flexibility that MODx offers designers. If you can create good looking and proper functioning sites with clean markup and CSS then adopting MODx is wonderful. There is some jargon and techniques to learn but its all there. Once the documentation gets better I would say the marketing folks really should target the design community. Getting these folks on board will be great - once the core group is ready.

Building that first site can be a chore with some frustration, depending on the skills one brings to the table. The second site gets a little easier. By the forth site you will find that you are learning stuff in great leaps and bounds. Its like a rush of understanding. Especially once you explore how template variables, chunks and snippets go together.

But if you are getting into creating custom presentation and template structure the core skill to have is a thorough knowledge with CSS. CSS is the foundation to everything. Some here value PHP skills higher. Depends on what you want to do of course. While PHP skills are nice to have you can do great things with MODX without it...

Quote from: rthrash at Nov 13, 2009, 07:16 AM

Sounds like a great thing to focus on, honestly. (Sometime after the Mayan calendar expires—just in case the point was moot in the first place.)

We’re definitely not looking for people who will get frustrated in 15 minutes and declare it a crap-system. I encourage those to go elsewhere. MODx is a professional tool for enthusiasts and web professionals and those otherwise willing to invest in a small learning curve to save weeks or months of time on the back end.

You got that sentence the wrong way around, since I doubt you’re planning to finish the site in 7000+ years. Nevermind though, not that it matters too much.
Concerning the user type concentration, that’s probably a good thing to do, since the market for professional designers is less bloated than that for ’plug-and-play’ users.


Quote from: Photowebmax at Nov 13, 2009, 12:33 PM

Any decent CMS is going to take some study... you can do great things with MODX without it...

Nothing to add, I completely agree.