MODx NOT USER FRIENDLY

I have spent the better part of the weekend messing around with MODx and I am sorry but I am at my end with it. I have come to the sad realization that it is just NOT <insert word here> ex: USER, NEWBIE, INEXPERIENCED etc etc friendly and that the reviews and website I read great things about MODx on are full of it!.
I was hoping to find something that would not require a steep learning curve and that could be implemented quickly with minimal effort but MODx is NOT that. While in my trial I have seen that MODx is very versatile and can produce excellent material, it requires massive editing and knowledge about code.
Why am I writing this? Because I sort of feel cheated. Cheated out of the last 96 hours trying to learn what was needed to get my site up and running. I kept thinking...well this is the only hard part needed and the rest will be easy, only to be let down in the fact that I had to scour the forums and tutorials for the information needed to do the next part. I really wanted to make this work because I read so many good things about MODx and it seems like a great tool, but I just don’t have the patience to learn something this complicated. MODx is NOT!!! a novice tool. Please make this clear to the next poor sap that thinks they are going to Joomla, drupal out a site in no time flat because it isn’t like that.

Building a Site using a CMS never was a simple Task as far as i remember. All the known CMS like Typo3, Joomla, Drupal etc. require quite some time to learn and get started.
Who told you that it’s going to be different with MODx? Sure, there are some systems that are easy to learn and install, but they don’t offer the power of the "bigger" CMS. It’s all about your needs and how much time you’re willing to put into something.
Sometimes a very simple Administration Software is good enough though: http://www.cmsimple.dk/

All nice things you say here

Modx is is not out of the box site : yes its not. (not a USER, NEWBIE, INEXPERIENCED tool unless you want to learn a great tool)
its not like joomla or drupal : I am glad its not that complicated (if you need to do something more then out of the box stuff)
its a framework not a slap another portal in the air software, but it is fast if you are just not lazy to learn the basics, we make sites is less then 6 hours complete with lots of nice features in modx.
massive editing is not required (unless you mean making a chunk for a form or menu is massive work?)

but as we say here in Holland you hit the nail on the head when you say this about your self

but I just don’t have the patience to learn something this complicated.

MODx is complex and in some places a bit complicated but much more flexible than joomla or drupal.
when you get over the learning curve than its all a pice of cake and you will see that when you get the MODx way of thinking that you can not go back from it, all the freedom MODx gives you to be able to think outside the box and really create whats in your mind without compromise.

In the end this great tool is maybe not the way for you Lazy8

Dimmy

I make no bones about it and I don’t have my feelings hurt by the fact that I do not want something with a steep learning curve. I’m not bashing MODx and I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. I just now got very frustrated and realized this is not going to work for me and in that moment I took the time to register and type out my frustrations.
I was not trying to imply that joomla and drupal are better either. I threw those out there because I am familiar with those and find those to be easier to manage and learn by leaps and bounds then MODx.
But I am confused by the fact that I have heard this quote from other sources as well

its not like joomla or drupal : I am glad its not that complicated (if you need to do something more then out of the box stuff)

I think Joomla was very easy to learn but did not provide some of the things I was looking for and I could future problems looming that I would not want to deal with. Is MODx really easier than Joomla??? I am confused.

In my experience CMS’s like Joomla, Drupal & e107 enable you to get a web site up and running fairly quickly with out of the box modules for News, Forums etc. Their problem is that if you want to change the look or add your own features it can be very difficult.
MODx offers less out of the box features but infinite customisation for both the layout and features.
The down side to this is the steep learning curve, the up side is that no two MODx sites look the same and almost anything can be achieved.
If you have very explicit features you need then it could be frustrating in the beginning trying to get your head round it!
Persevere, you will be rewarded.

David

Ok, I will give it a little more effort and try to see if I can grasp this, but the task ahead looks daunting and yes, it’s not so much that I am lazy as it is that I have limited free time. I hate the idea of spending time learning something only to find out that it’s not for me and then have to data dump all the info. I just felt misled into this venture with the promise that it was "EASY". Minimal effort and maximum gain.
By the way my user name is not reflective of being "Lazy" but is an aeronautical maneuver in pilot training. My poor choice in selecting a user name so easily misunderstood.

I thought the name was ironic
If you need any help the forums are very good, or PM me.

David

Indeed, this self-taught grandmother of 8 learned it after using Nuke, Mambo, the-cms-that-became-Joomla (or was that one Mambo?), as well at tried out several others that just didn’t have what I wanted, and now I won’t use anything else.

You made this statement:

I think Joomla was very easy to learn but did not provide some of the things I was looking for and I could future problems looming that I would not want to deal with. Is MODx really easier than Joomla??? I am confused.

And you quoted this:

its not like joomla or drupal : I am glad its not that complicated (if you need to do something more then out of the box stuff)

which exactly answers your point.

So yes, MODx might be more difficult to learn in the beginning (although I will dispute that point, as it was not so for me, merely different), but that effort now more than pays off when you want to go your own way.

Something not jelling for you? Ask. That’s what the forums are for.

based on my experience, I think Modx is very easy for anyone who has a good knowledge of doing CSS layout. It took me about 8 hours to setup my first Modx site (installation, poking around forum, read the wiki, documentation, check out the resources for menu and form snippets etc). It gets difficult when I started trying out other snippets such as Ditto, Wayfinder for more complex menu).

I read posts in other lists I subscribed to, that people were complaining about the learning curve and that they couldn’t get it even with a simple site configuration. Well, my response (sometime I don’t care to say anything) always is, you go to a new place, the first thing you should do is get yourself familiar with the surroundings; you buy a new gadget, the first thing you should do is read the manual. Modx documentation is poor, no doubt about it, but it does cover the very basic how to setup a page and how to use internal Modx tags etc (these are essential).

Then it comes to you, the first time user: are you a web designer (mileage varies here) or just someone who wanted to have a site, yet has no knowledge of basic web design whatsoever and fancy yourself be able to setup a CMS site for your business.

Don’t blame any CMS you attempt to try, blame yourself.

It might just click better with some people. I tried to be friendly with Joomla and a handful of others but just could not get a relationship going. I came to MODx and clicked with it’s basic template system immediately, a simple site could be working in minutes which is something that I could not manage with any other CMS I tried. The second level, getting into the coding part, took a little longer to get comfortable with, but not because it was difficult.

What takes some adjusting to is controlling snippets by parameters and chunks. Those used to Menu Builders and visual guis will have a bit of a struggle with parameters and template chunks. But once you get the hang of it and feel the power and freedom you get from controlling the output in the call itself...man, it is good stuff.

I think that MODx should come with a warning label: Highly Addictive Content Inside!

Now, there are plenty of misconceptions around regarding MODx, and unfortunately it is billed as being very easy to use (which it is once you learn it). Most people think that it is a basic CMS, but it is in reality a CMF (the F is for Framework) and it can be very easy to build some sites while it can be an effort for others.

Depending on the type of site you build this could be the perfect tool for you. For others it just won’t work.