Considering MODx

Hi Everyone,

I’ve been fishing around for a CMS for a little while now, and from what I’ve read in the documenatation, MODx sounds like it might fit the bill. I really don’t like the idea of a CMS trying to "Design" my site for me, and it looks like the templating system in MODx will allow me to easily integrage my own html/css, which has really perked my interest. Most of the sites I’ve worked on have been relatively static "information" sites, using html/css and includes. On one site, in particular, I wanted to get an image gallery and blog up and running, and found it pretty easy to plug in Word Press (blog) and Plogger (gallery) to my existing html/css site. It’s a total hack though, and the site is a bit clunky. For what it is, it works fine, but my next project will need something a little more robust.

Like I mentioned, I still want full control over the design, I just need a system to help manage my content and make the site a little more interactive. I would like to list a few of the high level goals of this site and was wondering if anyone could help tell me if MODx will be the right tool. I don’t really need any detail "how-to" information just yet (though I’ll gladly take links), just want to get a general idea if I’m in the right place.

The gist of the site is to be a place where users can create a free account, setup a basic profile, and post information about their business and upcoming events. For the average visitor, the site would feature some search functions for finding upcoming events in their area and/or browse for businesses in a directory. This part I’m not too worried about. Where I’m really curious if MODx will work for me is with my desired functions for the registered users who will actually be posting information. Ideally, after logging in, they would be able to do the following:

1) Update basic profile info (ie. change contact information, email addresses, etc)
2) Modify information about their business that would be posted to a business directory (ie. business name, location, maybe post a logo, etc)
3) Add events by date/time and location, and be able to include a description (and *maybe* images)

This is going to be for a specific nitch and area, so it won’t likely be too huge of a user base to start. On the front end, the events will NOT be used for something like an "Event Calendar" but rather for a craigslist-style search function. For example, end user visits site and enters their zipcode. A search is then invoked which will list header information for upcoming events near the zipcode they entered.

I’m a total newb when it comes to anything more advanced than posting blog entries, so I’m not sure if this task is totally simple or really difficult. Does MODx sound like the right tool for this job?

Thanks!

Swill

Quote from: Mr. at Mar 24, 2011, 01:18 PM

1) Update basic profile info (ie. change contact information, email addresses, etc)
2) Modify information about their business that would be posted to a business directory (ie. business name, location, maybe post a logo, etc)
3) Add events by date/time and location, and be able to include a description (and *maybe* images)

1) no problem. formIt and some other addons will do it for you
2) no problem with MODX revolution (don’t know about evo), too.
3) via churchevents or wait for MArk Hamstra’s EventManager.

I think you could do that with MODX.

MODX completely separates design from structure from function - you can knit them back together as closely or as loosely as you like. You have CSS for the look, templates, chunks and template variables for the ’boxes’, snippets and plugins for the functionality.

As such, it can be customised to suit almost any need. The issue really is how much customised (or standard with tweaks) functionality you require. Revolution can do (1 - probably, it depends a little on exactly what fields you want) and (3) natively, and (2) is a fairly straightforward custom table.

It will almost certainly require some effort though. Whether this is a little or a lot will depend a little on how clear /flexible your requirements are, and how comfortable you are with learning new ways of doing things - eg have a look at http://rtfm.modx.com/display/revolution20/Using+Custom+Database+Tables+in+your+3rd+Party+Components to see how that feels.

There are some excellent beginner tutorials on the web, on both Youtube and in pages. The documentation varies in depth, but never quality - although there are one or two niggles. The community is excellent and really helpful....

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to a client or anyone interested in a really well-thought out, and for the most part straightforward... CMS.

If I may add some input; it appears as though I share a similar background to you, having plugged in a few web-tools here and there, without ever really using a dedicated CMS before.

The likes of Joomla and Drupal were, from the outset, not designed for people like me - I found the entire experience obscenely off-putting in terms of considering using a CMS. I’d gone so far as to almost enlist the help of some coder friends to design one for me from the ground up - which I now know would’ve been a very expensive and timely procedure - but luckily just happened to come across a video tutorial for Modx.

I have to say, I’ve been pretty much hooked to it ever since. It is lacking in official documentation, in my opinion at least, but there are plenty of third-party sites that cover a fair amount of ground and - as has already been mentioned - the community here is generally extremely helpful. It certainly seems, from what I’ve read on these forums, that you should be able to implement your project with Modx successfully, but it will be a bit of a learning curve. Although saying that, your programming knowledge may put you in better stead.

1) Update basic profile info (ie. change contact information, email addresses, etc)
No problem - just use the user system in place and the Login addon.

2) Modify information about their business that would be posted to a business directory (ie. business name, location, maybe post a logo, etc)
I would make a custom solution for this, or use an addon such as xdbedit which allows you to perform CRUD actions on any custom table. Should be able to plug the front-end into that with FormIt.

3) Add events by date/time and location, and be able to include a description (and *maybe* images)
Thanks smooth-graphics for the plug, but I also think it would be quite easy to extend the EventManager to also allow front-end event creation. EventManager is not finished yet but I hope to be making progress on that over the coming weeks.

You could also use NewsPublisher to use resources as events.

Welcome to MODX

Thanks for all the replies everyone. So far, it sounds like MODx might be the ticket. I really like the idea of being able to use my own html/css templates, and I’m no stranger with SQL and databases. My main weakspot is PHP. I understand some basics like includes and using variables to make my CSS more dynamic, but that’s about it One of the main reasons I started looking for a ready-made CMS is that I simply don’t want to waste a bunch of time trying to re-invent the wheel with content management.

I’ve was able to get Revolution installed successfully on my Arch Linux box this morning and shall commence tinkering. Based on the replies, it sounds like MODx (perhaps with some add-ons) will do what I need. I’m sure I’ll be back with some more questions later once I get the ball rolling, but I still need to hack out some of the basics before I get to the advanced functionality. The documentation seems great so far, so I’ll make sure to read up before wasting anyone’s time

Thanks again for the prompt replies. This seems like a great community.

Swill

Good to have you on board!! You made the right choice. I had a VERY frustrating few months when I was going trial and error with CMS’s, constantly beginning to use them and then realizing ’there has got to be a better way to do this! Why am I hacking away at these systems to display the content?’ (there was some TERRIBLE experiences with XCart as well - anytime you want to change 1 thing, start opening little PHP includes in 1500 different folders!). Suffice it to say, MODX rocks, you won’t regret it!

Just remember, as with any software, there is a learning curve, and it may take a while to really be proficient. If you are getting stuck, perhaps try to hire one of the developers to smooth out the rough patches for you, and to help you roll your own custom code.

Yeah, this is definitely the money I’ve got a test site ported over already from a pretty plain php/html/css setup and have been messing around with some random plugins. MODx seems to be the greatest solution for hackers or designers with code skills. I’m kicking myself for not finding this sooner and wasting time trying to hack around the default settings or other CMS apps. The concepts of things like chunks, snippets, and TVs made perfect sense to me.

BTW, any Arch Linux users out there? MODx compared to other CMSs feels to me like Arch Linux does compared to other Linux Distros. Perfect analogy in my mind. Total control without having to re-invent the basics.

I have a couple of projects now where MODx will be my tool of choice. Thanks MODx developers and community for showing me the light

Swill