MODx CMS - nice

I noticed the MODx content management system a while ago, but only recently had the time to test it out properly when setting up a client website at work. The install is simple enough (not quite WordPress-simple, but still simple): upload the files, change a couple of file permissions and load the installer in the browser. With the code installed, you can have a basic site up and running in minutes. I had the design for the client site sorted in a template within 10 minutes (admittedly I'd already done a dummy HTML page to work from beforehand) and then it was just a case of tweaking certain bits. You can have it set up a load of demo site content to get you started and edit to your liking. The admin parts of the app make good use of AJAX for quick edits and updates, but always with non-JavaScript backups available. A floating toolbar appears on all front-end pages if you're logged in, meaning if you spot a problem you're only a click away from the screen to fix it. The developers have also done a good job of keeping all front-end code valid and accessible, which is another major plus-point over other content management systems. The handling of dynamic content such as blogs or news pages is a little quirky compared to the methods of dedicated blogging/news/forum apps as each item is counted as a page that goes in a folder, with comments being child pages of the article. Not vastly different when you get down to it, just something you have to get used to (and indeed something I haven't tried using yet). Overall, MODx looks very handy so far and is certainly the closest I've seen to how I'd write a CMS. I think I'll try it on a few more sites and see how it goes.