Moving away from Joomla

Hello all,

I run a UK based web design business and have been using Joomla for 4 to 5 years. Recently my main UK development resource became unavailable so I decided to outsource to a team in India for all my design and development work. They have had to learn Joomla but after a number of months I’m wondering if it would be a good option to switch.

Having not programmed (mainly actionScript)for many years I’m also toying with the idea of learning php, MySQL and whatever it takes to develop dynamic websites with the view to be able to respond to clients more quickly and also manage a remote team more effectively.

My questions are:

- What would be the skill set required to develop a website using MODX to an intermediate/advanced level. My clients range from individuals who need a simple brochure site right through to a large corporate that is running a complex intranet (currently using Joomla).
- As a beginner wanting to learn, what would be a good starting point?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks

http://modxcms.com/learn/it.html

Thanks for that. Will be working through these resources.

In terms of other skills that would compliment MODX - would there be any others apart from:

PHP/MySQL
HTML/CSS

Just so that I can figure out how prioritise learning?

Thanks again.

Focus on HTML/CSS and Javascript first and foremost. I suggest adopting the standards for coding as outlined here to get off on a good start: http://developer.fellowshipone.com/patterns/code.php

Go through Mary’s, Susan’s and Bob’s sites to learn how MODx works (the tutorial sites listed on that page). Only after you know how to tweak Ditto and Wayfinder, should you likely dive into learning PHP and SQL. You’ll find most likely that you won’t need to do the later very soon.

1. HTML/CSS
2. PHP (you need this badly for building Module, Snippet, & Plugin)
3. MODx terminology

(Although it’s recommended to learn some common SQL commands) leave the SQL stuff with MODx’s API calls.

Thank you both for your comments - very helpful.