choosing a web cms and intro to modx
DESCRIPTION
An introduction to web based CMS, points to consider when choosing one and an intro to ModxTRANSCRIPT
Choosing a web CMS and an introduction to Modx
March 2010
• Joe Lee• Senior Developer at Artemis 8• Digital Performance Agency• Develop mainly in PHP / Mysql• Enjoy working with Javascript• ...enough about me... NEXT!
Who is this guy ?
What I will be babbling about...
• What is a Web CMS?• CMS or development framework?• What choices are there?• What I wanted from a CMS• Introducing Modx• Building a website in <5mins• Questions?
What is a Web CMS ?• Content management system
“…implemented as a Web application , for creating and managing HTML content. It is used to manage and control a large, dynamic collection of Web material (HTML documents and their associated images). A WCMS facilitates content creation, content control, editing, and essential Web maintenance functions."
CMS or development framework?• Brochureware = few pages and minimal
functionality? CMS• How many ‘types ’ of pages? – All holding copy or media we produce? CMS
• What is the content?– Most data driven from and/or aggregated
from external source. Dev Framework• How rich is the functionality?– Sounds like a web app? Dev framework
• Can’t be bothered with building another admin system ? CMS ;)
What are the choices ?
Some choices:• Joomla• Drupal• Wordpress• Mambo• MojoPortal• Umbraco• DotNetNuke ....Plus loads more
http://php.opensourcecms.com/
“Where do I start?”
What I was looking for…
• Flexible - Good templating system• Easy to pick up - No learning new
mark up language• Doesn’t mess with their mark up!
Designer friendly
Developer friendly• Easy code integration• Good hook system for future
extensibility• Handy core libraries to help with the
boring stuff• Flexible content fields• Efficient solution for tiered content
structures• Active dev forums
SEO / Content people friendly
• Fast way to manage the META tags
• Easy to change friendly URLS /Slugs
• Flexibility to change meta tags without hassling the developers/designer
• Intuitive content management workflow
The solution?
Modx Introduction bit
• CMS framework• Written in PHP / Mysql• Two flavours– Evolution – Production ready (1.0.2)– Revolution – Complete rewrite, beta.
Full api and OOP based. (2.0)
History lesson bit
• Started life as a mashup of another CMS, Etomite 2004
• Modx mention got removed from the forum and got forked.
• Won “Most Promising Open Source CMS” Packt award in 2007
Cool modx stuff
Simple template system• Basic markup = “Chunk”• Chunk can be used in templates• Allows the static content to be
separated in any way you like• Nice logical separation of content
elements• Modx does not try add anything
(aka muck up) your tags• Makes it very easy for designers
to pick up
Easy to put in code!
• Code bits = “Snippet”• Eg snippet called “greeting”
<phpEcho “Hello “.$person;?>[[greeting? &person=`joe`]]
• Separate admin system to manage code snippets
Great core functionality• Wayfinder – Powerful snippet to
build navigation elements eg main nav, sub nav and site map
• Ditto – A content aggregator snippet eg blogging and news
• Eform – Build forms quickly• WebLogin – Registered user
management• Changing content from the
public pages
Great core functionality (pt2)
• Chunks/snippets can be cached• Scheduled publishing/unpublishing• Full user access level control and
defining “roles”
Template variables!• Powerful way to create custom fields• Placed anywhere in a template/chunk• Or as a variable into a snippet
Building a Modx site in < 5 mins
5 part plan to start on Modx1. Download Modx from http://modxcms.com/2. Read through the excellent tutorials from
http://codingpad.maryspad.com/beginner-tutorials/
3. Bookmark modx cheatsheet http://tinyurl.com/modxCheatsheet
4. Browse through the plugins/addins available http://modxcms.com/extras/
5. Ask questions on the forums - they are a friendly and active bunch! http://modxcms.com/forums/
Questions?
