New to Modx, Used WP, trying to understand..

Greetings,
Please don't take this as a complaint session from me as it isn't.

I am moving from WP(I think) over to MODX, as I have been told by a few that MODX is the way to go, if your trying to create with a clean slate.

I don't see it... I really don't..

There is lack of documentation. (I have pre-ordered the book) It's really hard to get started in MODX as the documentation for MODX is non-existant other then in the forums. And reading the forums is no easy chore either. I use the search function and think I am getting the info I need to find out that the post I am pulling up is a few years old?

Not everyone is an engineer. Do you want this to take off or do you want it to be your little secret engine that only a few know about. It seems since your going the open source route that we want to get this gem out to the masses etc, so we can build a ground swell and build this thing to be the standard.

Every put down I have read on here about WP or been told about WP being hard to code for, I wonder what version they were using as WP 3.5X is easy as pie now and updates automatically from inside the admin area?

I am trying to see why I should move to this (I want to!) with lack of support and lack of documentation.

I want to use MODX, I want to like it.. But understand, CMS, CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM is built for the business-user etc to be able to update content easily. In MODX right now, it's easy once we turn over a site to a client for them to FUBAR it up easily as they get confused. CMS was made to make it easy on the user to update content, not make it hard.

LIke I said before this is not a complaint from me, just what I see now. There are parts of MODX that I think are really slick, I just wish it was a bit more fleshed out with doc's etc..

Fire away people I expect it as some of you will take this as a slam which it isn't, it's a new set of eyes looking at what is here now giving an honest appraisal.

Hope to keep this dialogue open.

D/C

You can try install evo or revo (i prefer for simple sites evo) and pick the sample site on install, there u can see how it's build. Basicly u have a template (or more) and into there u call ur content, tv's and chunks by using some codes like [*content*].

Please don't take this as a complaint session

I want to use MODX, I want to like it..

as the documentation for MODX is non-existant other then in the forums.

some of you will take this as a slam which it isn't,

Why not in the future ask a question and get some answers before launching into such a, shall we say, lengthy post.
While I might agree that searching the forums is not an easy way to find up to date info there is documentation and many of us on these rather friendly forums would be glad to point you in the right direction or answer questions - So:

Go to the MODX home page
Click on the 'learn' button (top of the page)
now there are choices ... try the 'docs - learn the platform' button ... now tell me that there is no documentation.

learn - http://modx.com/learn/

the docs http://rtfm.modx.com/dashboard.action [ed. note: whistlemaker last edited this post 14 years, 11 months ago.]

Here are some more resources:

http://bobsguides.com/modx.html


http://codingpad.maryspad.com/2010/08/18/modx-revolution-for-beginners-part-1-introduction/


http://sottwell.com/modx-from-the-inside.html


Welcome to MODX.

I can see where the OP is coming from. I'm not a WordPress master, but I have put together sites (that aren't blogs) that do most of what I envisioned them doing. If I don't know how to accomplish something, there are a huge number of WordPress sites where I can find information. And a lot of the tutorials are written for people who are not developers. I'm not a developer; I'm learning some PHP, mostly in order to be able to get WordPress to do what I want it to do.

I, too, want to like MODX. I like a lot of the features and the fact that I wouldn't have to be a PHP wizard to put a good site together. I guess my problem lies with the issue that you can potentially do so much with MODX that the easily understandable tutorials - the MODX trinity of beginner resources that BobRay linked - cover only the basics. (Like at the moment, I'm looking for information so that I can build a portfolio using MODX. I feel like I'm banging my head against a wall.)

WordPress can be a huge pain, but I can easily find out how to hack it into a semblance of what I want. MODX can theoretically do whatever I want it to do, but it's difficult to find tutorials or documentation broken down in a way I'll understand it as a non-developer (which could be my fault for not being a developer!).

If you can specify exactly what you're trying to do and people here can understand it, you'll usually get pretty good advice about how to proceed.


I'd try to give you advice now, but "build a portfolio" could mean a lot of different things.

Do I hijack this thread or start a new one? If so, under which forum section should I post?

Actually, I'll start a new thread regarding my specific questions. I think that this is an interesting topic that could potentially bring WP people over to MODX.

I'm honestly still on the fence and leaning back towards WP simply due to the convenience of 1) already having a grasp of what WP can do and what the hurdles are and 2) the relative ease of finding tips, hacks, tweaks, etc.

That being said, after comparing this article on WP custom meta boxes: http://wp.smashingmagazine.com/2011/10/04/create-custom-post-meta-boxes-wordpress/ to this one on doing basically the same thing in MODX: http://www.splittingred.com/technology/2011/10/how-to-create-custom-post-meta-boxes-in-modx.html - that alone makes MODX look very tempting.

My experience is that *everything* is easier and more efficient in MODX than in WP except creating a bare-bones blog.


That said, I know what it's like to have to pick between a system I know and one I would have to learn.