Item: MODX
Rating: 10
Author: Philipp Schmidt

Overall Satisfaction with MODX

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Great system, really flexible, really fast, really secure especially when hardened (which only takes a few minutes and no plugins are required unlike other CMS)...

Content creation is easy, however this often depends on how it was implemented, a bad implementation (like in any other CMS) will make content creators dislike the system, hence good implementation is key. This would also be the case in any other CMS. If implemented correctly it is way easier [and is] more enjoyable to use than WordPress. For example have had client that came from a WP as well as a typo3 background and they preferred MODX.

As a designer you are not limited to anything. No html code is generated by the CMS. Hence anything goes, we have even build apps that only output json, and the client edits the pages all the same on the backoffice. Very few limits.

Writing custom code is easy using "snippets" hence it is extremely scalable.

It is also fast, really fast, faster than most out of the box, even faster than many flat-file CMS.

Bad things are, that the learning curve is higher than in other cms, and that the community is not as big. However they are very active on slack and questions get answered very fast.

Hosting can be done by MODX directly using their cloud (for a monthly fee), or on your own server.

And it is mature, all in all it is our fav CMS out there.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Customize, no limits anything is possible in terms of design and output.
Scalable, can grow fast in terms of page numbers and still serve them faster than most CMS out there.
Security - its really secure esp if you harden it. Knock on wood, but we never had a MODX site hacked.
Fast - caching is great really great speeds
Quality add ons - instead of 1000000 plugins MODX has a few that are written really well and do everything you need, fast and optimized.

Cons

Releases - MODX 3 is taking long to get released
Small community

Return on Investment

Bigger learning curve but well worth it

Alternatives Considered

WordPress, Joomla!, Drupal and Concrete5

After having built sites with WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, october cms, craft cms, magento, presstashop, opencart, os commerce and more it is my number 1 (october cms is 2).

Once you know what you are doing it is faster and easier to build amazing sites that have really clean good code, great SEO, are scalable and are fast, compared to he other systems.

Problem is most people only try 1 CMS which is usually wordpresss and then stick to it without testing others and what advantages they yield, its a bit sad but thats human nature I guess......

Key Insights

Do you think MODX delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with MODX's feature set?

Yes

Did MODX live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of MODX go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy MODX again?

Yes

Other Software Used

PrestaShop, Drupal

Usability

Great and easy to use for both the coder and the end user. Especially if setup correctly by the coder.

Support Rating

Great community support on slack.

If you have a paid plugin great support also esp from modmore

If you have cloud hosting MODX support is fast and all servers are optimized for MODX

Likelihood to Recommend

[MODX is well suited for] all websites, from blogs to corporate sites. It is fast scalable and really good. A small site can be build really fast, and a large site can be made extremely scalable. A website redesign is easy to implement with a new template, without having to redo the content. It got great user groups and users and back-office access can be completely customized.

While ecommerce is possible with some really good plugins I would only use MODX with ecommerce for sites where ecommerce is not the primary role. For pure ecommerce sites rather use a dedicated system like e.g. PrestaShop (i would say the same thing with other ecommerce plugins e.g. WP woo commerce don't do it unless its a site add on.)

MODX Feature Ratings

Using MODX

Users and Roles

4 - We all use [MODX] to both create and manage websites.

Support Headcount Required

1 - We have 1 person doing support

Business Processes Supported

Provide us with a really good CMS solution
Provide clients and content creators with a excellent CMS solutions

Innovative Uses

Output just json and then use jasonelle to build native mobile apps in record time

Future Planned Uses

Hopefully [MODX] 3 will make everything faster, better and future proof the CMS

Likelihood to Renew

It is the CMS we use the most, not because we know it well but because we literally tried many of other CMS and this one did it for us.

However having said we really do not like the one shoe fits all approach. E..g for eCommerce we usually use PrestaShop etc. if a specialized CMS can do a task rather use that.

However for a general CMS [MODX] is hard to beat.

Evaluating MODX and Competitors

Products Replaced

Yes -

WordPress, Drupal, Joomla.

clutterd, bad security not scalable , or complicated. the best out of the 3 above is Drupal. We decided [MODX] works much better for us

Key Differentiators

Product Features
Product Usability
Product Reputation

no clutter / bloat, great security, fast, scalable, customizable

Evaluation Lessons Learned

try even more CMS if and when time allows

MODX Implementation

Implementation Rating

Good system

Implementation Details / Implementation Partner

Implemented in-house

Implementation Phases

Change Management Lessons

Change management was minimal - No change management needed. Just a little training

Implementation Issues

Back-office needs to be setup well and easy for inexperience content editors to be happy

MODX Training

Training Types Used

no training

In-Person Training

Online Training

Ease of MODX Training

Lots of tutorials if someone builds a [MODX] site for you then you will get training.

There are also great videos and books

Configuring MODX

Product Configurability

Literally everything can be configured which is really great

However it does take time.....

Configuration Lessons

Harden it

Slight manager changes to make it easier for content editors

UI Customization

Some - we have done small customizations to the interface - Just small changes, like adding client logos and sometimes colors

Extensibility and Customization

Some - we have added small pieces of custom code - You can write snippets and plugins and customize everything

Additional Customization Considerations

None

MODX Support

MODX Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response	None

Premium Support

No - It is available but I do not host in the [MODX] cloud because my clients are in south africa and our sites need to be hosted locally to optimize speed.

Bug Resolution

Yes - Report on github like any opensource software

Exceptional Examples of MODX Support

On slack, people explained exactly how CMP with MIGX worked very helpful

Using MODX

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Convenient Feel confident using	None

Easy Tasks

Template variable

Difficult Tasks

CMP migx need better tutorial for lower learning curve

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes - Well it is responsive

MODX Reliability

Scalability

Very scalable. e.g. in the [MODX] manager you can manage multiple websites at once without having to login else where. it is very convenient and this way resources and be easily managed and shared.