MODX (originally MODx) is an
open source content management system and
web application framework
A web framework (WF) or web application framework (WAF) is a software framework that is designed to support the development of web applications including web services, web resources, and web APIs. Web frameworks provide a standard way to build an ...
for publishing content on the
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet.
Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web ...
and
intranets. MODX is licensed under the
GPL
The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general u ...
, is written in the
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1993 and released in 1995. The PHP reference implementation is now produced by The PHP Group. ...
programming language, and supports
MySQL
MySQL () is an open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). Its name is a combination of "My", the name of co-founder Michael Widenius's daughter My, and "SQL", the acronym for Structured Query Language. A relational database ...
,
MariaDB
MariaDB is a community-developed, commercially supported fork of the MySQL relational database management system (RDBMS), intended to remain free and open-source software under the GNU General Public License. Development is led by some of the ori ...
and
Percona Server as the database.
It was awarded Packt Publishing's ''Most Promising Open Source Content Management System'' in 2007.
History
The developers Raymond Irving and Ryan Thrash began the MODX CMS project in 2004 as a
mashup of DocVars for
Etomite and Raymond's web user add-on. In March 2005, all references to "MODX" were removed from the Etomite forums, coupled with a request from its founder to cease MODX support activities there. At this point, MODX became a
fork
In cutlery or kitchenware, a fork (from la, furca 'pitchfork') is a utensil, now usually made of metal, whose long handle terminates in a head that branches into several narrow and often slightly curved tine (structural), tines with which one ...
of Etomite.
By May 2005, the MODX forums were online and Jason Coward joined the project leadership team. In 2007, Raymond left the project on amicable terms. The following year, Shaun McCormick joined the project leadership team.
In 2008, MODX users created a new logo and branding for the project.
In 2010, the first version of MODX Revolution, a complete rewrite of the CMS, was released. MODX LLC was founded in May 2010. May 2010 also saw the first official MODX conference, MODXpo Dallas. The event's main sponsor was
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
.
In July 2012 ClipperCMS, an independent fork of MODX Evolution (MODX 1) was launched.
In October 2012, MODX LLC launched MODX Cloud, a cloud-based hosting service for MODX sites.
In March 2013, MODX LLC split MODX Cloud into another company, SiphonLabs. This separation was short-lived, and MODX Cloud was re-integrated into the parent company in July 2013.
In June 2013, Mark Hamstra—a well-known developer in the MODX community—launched modmore. modmore is the first major source of premium add-ons for MODX. In November of that year the second official MODXpo was held in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
, Germany.
In January 2014, MODX was added to the
BitNami installer library. John Peca joined the core development team, replacing Shaun McCormick who moved on after the SiphonLabs event.
In July 2014, MODX 2.3 was released to the public. The release—the biggest for several years—features a significantly updated manager interface and various minor feature improvements. In September of that year modmore hosted the first MODX Weekend in
Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
,
The Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
In August 2015, MODX 2.4 was released to the public. This version introduce package dependencies for MODX Extras, as well as numerous security, stability and performance improvements.
In November 2015 the MODXpo Conference was hosted by Kochan & Partner in Munich, Germany, with speakers from across Europe and the United States engaging in a 3-day exposition of MODX and the future of the platform.
In February 2016, MODX 2.5 was released to the public.
In November 2017, MODX 2.6 was released to the public.
In July 2018, the alpha version of MODX 3 was released.
In July 2018, a free Extra called FRED for visual drag-and-drop content editing and creation was released - for versions 2.6 and 3 of MODX.
In November 2018, MODX 2.7 was released to the public.
On March 30, 2022 MODX 3.0.0 was released to the public a milestone for the community. Packed with new features.
Current Version
In March 2022, a major version update MODX 3.0 was released.
Features
MODX allows for full segregation of content (plain HTML), appearance and behavior (
standards compliant CSS and JavaScript), and logic (PHP snippets).
Additional MODX features include:
* Graphical web-based installer.
* Supports PHP 5.6 and above.
* Supports
WYSIWYG
In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...
rich-text editors.
* The Manager application works cross-browser and cross-platform, including
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current ...
,
Safari, and
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft which was used in the Windows line of operating systems ( ...
on
Windows
Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for ser ...
,
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and la ...
(Firefox and Safari), and
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
(Firefox).
* Can be installed under
IIS,
Apache,
Lighttpd
lighttpd (pronounced "lighty") is an open-source web server optimized for speed-critical environments while remaining standards-compliant, secure and flexible. It was originally written by Jan Kneschke as a proof-of-concept of the c10k problem ...
,
Hiawatha
Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some account ...
,
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...
,
nginx
Nginx (pronounced "engine x" ) is a web server that can also be used as a reverse proxy, load balancer, mail proxy and HTTP cache. The software was created by Igor Sysoev and publicly released in 2004. Nginx is free and open-source software ...
, and
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...
web servers.
* Supports any
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Gree ...
library, including
jQuery
jQuery is a JavaScript library designed to simplify HTML DOM tree traversal and manipulation, as well as event handling, CSS animation, and Ajax. It is free, open-source software using the permissive MIT License. As of Aug 2022, jQuery is u ...
,
MooTools
MooTools (My Object-Oriented Tools) is a lightweight, object-oriented JavaScript framework. It is released under the free, open-source MIT License.
Overview
MooTools provides the user with a number of options beyond native JavaScript. These inc ...
,
ExtJS, and
Prototype.
* Recursive
parser
Parsing, syntax analysis, or syntactic analysis is the process of analyzing a string of symbols, either in natural language, computer languages or data structures, conforming to the rules of a formal grammar. The term ''parsing'' comes from Lat ...
for nested functionality.
* Complete control of all
metadata and
URL structure for
Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic (known as "natural" or " organic" results) rather than dire ...
(SEO) purposes.
* Object-oriented,
MVC compliant core code.
* Role-based permissions for the Manager.
* Ability to customize the Manager on a per-deployment basis.
* Ability to install add-ons right from the Manager.
* Ecommerce integration via Foxy Cart.
Extensions and Modules
Additional extensions or modules for MODX (installed to enhance the CMS or add additional features) are called "Extras". These extras are installed within the manager as "Packages", delivered by package providers. Out of the box MODX comes with one "Provider", which is MODX's own core package platform.
Additional package providers can be added by administrators, and a number of providers are found on the MODX forums.
Translations and community
MODX has active, global end-user and developer communities. These communities have translated MODX into their native languages, including:
Alsatian,
Bulgarian,
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
,
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
,
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
,
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
,
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
,
French,
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
,
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
,
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Norwegian
Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe
* Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway
* Demographics of Norway
*The Norwegian language, including ...
,
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
,
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
,
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
(
Brazilian and
European),
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
Serbian,
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
, and
Turkish. Other active communities reside in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
.
Recognition, awards, and publications
Packt Publishing
In July 2007, MODX was awarded Packt Publishing's ''Most Promising Open Source Content Management System'' award.
[Packt Publishing 2007 award](_blank)
CMS Critic
In 2012, MODX won CMS Critic's ''Best Open Source CMS (Critic's Choice)'' award.
In 2013, it won ''Best Open Source CMS (People's Choice)''.
Reviews
Linux.com reviewed MODX on January 14, 2008. Its author concluded that "MODX is an easy-to-use, standards-compliant, search-engine-friendly, functional, and extensible CMS…".
sitepoint.com reviewed MODX on May 13, 2016. ". MODX is not my recommendation for a non-technical person to build a website, but it’s a great choice for a developer who needs to give clients protected access to editing content. MODX is excellent, with a pretty strait learning curve, if you’re a developer and want freedom to design how you wish."
Publications
Several MODX books have been published, including:
* Bob Ray - MODX: The Official Guide
* W. Shawn Wilkerson - MODX Revolution: Building The Web Your Way
*
Antano Solar John - MODX Web Development
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{Application frameworks
Computer-related introductions in 2004
Free content management systems
PHP frameworks
MySQL
MariaDB