Using MODX CMS to Build Websites: A Beginner's Guide

Name: Using MODX CMS to Build Websites: A Beginner's Guide
Rating: 4.2 (76 reviews)

Achieve total creative freedom using MODX, and do away with the restraints of Wordpress, Drupal and Joomla.

Created byMike Nuttall

Last updated 10/2014

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

An understanding of the versatility, power and ease of use of MODX
The knowledge of how to build an attractive, functional, and responsive website step-by-step with MODX

Course content

6 sections • 20 lectures • 2h 14m total length

Course Goals2:51
This lesson gives you a brief overview of the course and tells you what you will achieve by completing the course.

Downloading MODX0:49
You need to go to the MODX site and download the files you will need to install MODX. This lesson speedily goes through those steps.
Hosting6:09
In this lesson we go through a typical scenario getting set up in a standard hosting environment. Including uploading the MODX files to your chosen web host, and preparing for setup.
Creating a Database1:53
Setting up the database you will use for your website.
Installing MODX3:07
In this lesson we walk through of the installation process of MODX.
Key Concepts10:54
In this lesson you are introduced to the key concepts of MODX: pages in the resource tree; editing content, templates; MODX tags, system settings; and, packages/extras.

Finding a Theme3:40
We will build our website based on a free theme available on the internet, in this lesson we select a theme and download it to our hard drive.
Your Web Page Templates6:43
MODX has re-usable templates for its webpages. This lesson looks at how to set those up based on our free website theme.
Website Assets6:29
In this lesson we learn how to link the stylesheets, images and javascript files from our free template to our pages in the MODX manager.
Creating Pages6:09
In this lesson we learn how to set up our website's pages with human readable URL's
Working With Reusable Code And Navigation12:11
In this lesson we work with reusable code and learn how to create dynamic menus.
Adapting Templates For Your Website13:56
In this lesson we learn some more about MODX templates; specifically, how to adapt our free website templates to be efficient, neat and tidy MODX templates. We also learn how to add unique content to our pages.
Getting User Data: The Contact Us Page16:23
Every website needs some way for users to contact you or input the data you need from them. This lesson shows you how MODX handles input forms.
Summary1:16
In this lesson we review what we have learned in this section.

SEO Settings And Best Practices7:05
If you want your website to do well in the search engine rankings there are some options and settings you need from the start. This lesson tells you what they are and how to set them up.
Improve Your Website's Crawlability With A Sitemap3:48
Google and other search engines like to see a sitemap.xml file for your website. It helps search engines become aware of all the pages on your site. This lesson shows you how to create the file automatically
Get Statistics With Google Analytics7:53
Who's visiting your website? Where are they? What pages are they looking at? How long are they spending on those pages? Are they viewing your website from their desktop computer or a mobile device? These are some of the questions that will help you develop and promote your site, and they are all (and more) questions you can get answered by using Google Analytics.

This lesson shows you how to set-up Google Analytics for your site. Also how to view the analytics data in the back-end manager of your site by customising the dashboard.
Webmaster Tools5:00
Google's Webmaster Tools provides valuable insights into how our website is performing in the search engine results. The lesson shows you how to register your website with Webmaster Tools and how to add the appropriate code to your pages.

Requirements

Knowledge of HTML
Knowledge of CSS
Familiarity using computers on-line

Description

Content Management Systems (CMS's) help you create and manage your website on-line. This course will guide you through using MODX to build and maintain your website with total creative freedom.

Why does MODX win out over other CMS's? Too often they get in the way. You want to add something but you have to add it as a "widget" or a "block". You want to change the layout of your site but you don't have access to the code. MODX changes all that, you have total control over the code.

You may be familiar with Drupal, Joomla and Wordpress, while these are good at what they do, they all have their limitations. MODX is different, you are unrestrained, you can design your website exactly how you want, to look like you want it to look and do what you want it to do.

This course introduces you to the basic concepts of the MODX content management system so you can get up and running with a website that is totally under your control in no time at all. You will learn:

how to download MODX
how to host MODX
how to create the required database
how to install MODX
what are the key concepts for using MODX
finding and using a free website theme
adapting a theme to your requirements
collecting data from your users
how to implement search engine optimisation best practices
how to set up Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools to help optimise your site
how to make your website social media friendly

The objectives are to:

Use MODX with power, ease, and flexibility
Build an attractive, functional, and responsive website step-by-step with MODX.

MODX is an open source CMS software project which means it has been developed by a community of programmers around the world and is given away for free.

The course is made up of step-by-step video lessons in which a responsive website is built using the MODX system and a free template.

A basic understanding of HTML and CSS is all that is required to discover the power of MODX.

You can learn all you need to know to start using MODX in just two and a half hours.

You should take this course if:

You have just completed one of the many HTML and CSS courses and want to check out the different CMS options open to you.

You use another content management system such as Joomla, Drupal or Wordpress and you want to compare it to MODX.

The instructor will be available to answer any questions you have during the course.

Who this course is for:

Those wanting to develop a website with complete creative control
Web developers who use other content management systems
Artist, designers, photogrophers who want control of their website
Anyone who is ready to take the next steps after studying HTML and CSS
Those wanting to earn money by building websites

Using MODX CMS to Build Websites: A Beginner's Guide

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction To The Course1 lecture • 3min

Setting Up For Development5 lectures • 23min

Building Your Website8 lectures • 1hr 7min

Search Engine Optimisation4 lectures • 24min

Social Media1 lecture • 14min

Conclusion1 lecture • 4min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: