MODx or Exponent?

Hi!

I am trying to decide between MODx and Exponent for a major rehaul of our web site.

The general impression I get about MODx is that it is "IT"!! Extendible beyond what you can ever dream. I love its power & the community here is great.

However... Exponent seems alot easier to use. (For example, I can easily share content chunks without having to use a back-end manager...and those chunks are also editable on the front end).

Does anyone have a professional opinion about both CMS’s...a comparison?

Do I have to be a serious PHP programmer to use MODx? I can hack around with the best of them but frankly the whole notion of TVs confuses the heck out of me. : )

Can anyone shed some light here... do I go the safe route with Exponent... or do I take the plunge and try MODx? Will I be able to pull of a multi-themed site (site with differently themed subsites) and actually configure my menus & submenus if I am a relative newbie to PHP and CSS? I am willing to try...but if you guys think I am out of my league here, now is the time to deliver me a reality check.

Thanks!

Vanessa

MODx probably is not the best solution for you at this time, and I say that as the co-founder of the project.

If you need a complete "don’t see any code" experience, then I think you’ll find MODx to be a bit confusing and frustrating, because it’s just not there at the moment. However if you want a system that is really flexible and that has some incredible things coming in the near future, then MODx is probably a good choice. But regardless, our primary focus right now is on people that are at least moderately technically savvy.

It’s all about tradeoffs somewhere along the line.

Hey : )

Thanks for the quick reply.

I am not afraid of the code or the manager or the techincal side of things. I’ve created pages with snippets and chunks.. I "get" that. And I’m willing to keep learning. All I’m saying is that I don’t know PHP...and don’t have the time to learn it at the moment. I jut need to set up a web site with a CMS that is going to serve us well into the future. I’ve "had it" with re-deploying different backends every two years.

However... what I don’t understand is the more specific "how to"s... you know... for instance:

1. I need to set up two separate blogs, with two separate users accessing/writing for the blog. I need to set up a page listing the first 2 entries from each of these blogs with their summaries.

2. I also need certain chunks to be editable by non-technical users with QuickEdit.

Anyways.. I also really would like opinions from you guys on the Exponent thing.. is it a good product or is it a veritable mess behind the scenes? : )

Thanks again

Vanessa

Take a leap with MODx. After you get used to template variables, chunks and snippets building site is like piling lego blocks. Especially unlimited and super-flexible template variables are more than enough reasons to choose MODx over Exponent.

Quote from: Lammikko at Aug 03, 2006, 04:08 PM

Take a leap with MODx. After you get used to template variables...

Ok... so in human terms...can someone re-explain to me EXACTLY how TVs work..what they’re for.. and two practical examples of their use? : )

-V

Quote from: vanessa19 at Aug 03, 2006, 03:53 PM

Anyways.. I also really would like opinions from you guys on the Exponent thing.. is it a good product or is it a veritable mess behind the scenes? : )

Instead of reading feature-lists and doing trial-installs - I’ve got accustomed to look at the forums first.
I did so at the Exponent site. Do so yourself and you’ll have a real comparision between MODx and Exponent.
I never heard of Exponent before, the concept is quite appealing, and in some respect more straightforward than MODx with its Etomite legacies and framework ambitions.
Have you used Exponent for a site? (any URLs?)

EDIT: Think of TVs as individual "custom fields" which you can add to the structure of you pages and fill in content and functionality of ANY kind - even from the frontend (The documentation of TVs seems to be more complicated than the TVs itself.)

TVs are simply extra custom content fields. The list of things they can be used for is honestly quite extensive, and they’re one of the more "different" parts of MODx. Once it clicks though, it’s really eye opening. You can bind custom or dynamic inputs to TVs, and use TV Widgets to transform those inputs into custom outputs like a data grid.

There’s no real quick explanation; you just have to experience it (and how liberating they can be!).

I guess the thing is.. I want to do the "right" thing. The vision of MODx has intrigued me. I set up a trial site and templated it in no time at all. Cool. But.. can I figure out how to get all of the pieces to work together into a REAL functioning web site RIGHT NOW? Or is MODx really just a developer’s tool still...not reall ready for prime time usage by the content managers and web designers out there (like me).

Is the future of MODx going to be a little more GUI friendly... that is... make snippets and chunks more easily accessible/configurable?

Please, sell me on one or the other. : )

V

P.S. And the TV thing... again... I’m lost there. rthrash.. can you give me an example of how a TV would be used?

Vanessa, I don’t really have the time to explain more than what the documentation covers or the tutorial at http://modxhost.com/.

If you ever need more than one slot/block/region/whatever to put bits of content, then TVs are the answer. I use them in ever site I build, and with the @BINDINGS, they’re quite frankly indispensable and make tedious content management chores fade away into distant memories.

MODx will definitely get more "newbie-friendly" but first a robust framework and foundation is the priority; that means you ideally are more technically inclined or willing to do a lot of research and trial and error. There’s unfortunately no quick and easy solution, but I bet you’ll find any efforts extended well worth the effort.

you’ll find any efforts extended well worth the effort

I second that. It’s always difficult, if not impossible, to make decisions like that without having in mind what you really need.
There are a lot of strengths of MODx and still some flaws in the current 0.9.2 version.
If you like, Vanessa19, you can PM me, since I think that your personal/business requirements can and even should not be discussed here in the forum.