MODX is a powerful and flexible content management system (CMS) that allows you to build dynamic and engaging websites without needing to write complex code.
It’s a great choice for anyone who wants to build a website that’s both visually appealing and easy to manage.
Learning MODX can give you the skills to create a wide range of websites, from simple blogs and portfolios to complex e-commerce stores and membership sites.
Finding a good MODX course on Udemy can feel like a daunting task.
There are so many options available, and it’s hard to know which ones are worth your time and money.
You want a course that is comprehensive, engaging, and taught by experienced instructors, but also fits your learning style and goals.
For the best MODX course overall on Udemy, we recommend "Using MODX CMS to Build Websites: A Beginner’s Guide".
This course provides a comprehensive introduction to MODX, covering everything from installation and basic concepts to building a full-fledged website.
It’s perfect for beginners who want to learn how to use MODX to create their own website.
While "Using MODX CMS to Build Websites: A Beginner’s Guide" is our top pick, there are other great options available.
Keep reading to explore our recommendations for different learning levels and specific areas of MODX, from beginner-friendly introductions to advanced courses focused on specific MODX features and techniques.
Using MODX CMS to Build Websites: A Beginner’s Guide
The course starts by introducing you to MODX and setting goals for what you’ll learn.
It guides you through downloading and installing MODX, creating a database, and understanding key concepts.
Once you have the basics down, you’ll dive into building your website.
You’ll learn how to find and use themes, create page templates, and work with website assets like images and files.
The course covers creating pages, working with reusable code for navigation, and adapting templates to fit your needs.
An important aspect is getting user data through forms, like a contact us page.
The course will show you how to set that up.
As you build your site, you’ll also learn crucial skills for optimizing it for search engines.
This includes configuring SEO settings, following best practices, creating a sitemap for better crawlability, and setting up Google Analytics to track statistics.
The course doesn’t stop there - it also covers leveraging social media.
You’ll learn how to improve the quality of social shares for your website content.
Using MODX CMS to Build Websites: Intermediate Course
You will start by learning about MODX tags and filters, which are essential for controlling the content and output on your site.
With this knowledge, you can set up a blog section complete with article summaries, categories, archives, and pagination.
The course covers dynamic images using template variables, allowing you to easily manage and update images across your site.
You will also learn how to create custom forms with various input types like checkboxes and dropdowns.
This is useful for collecting data from visitors.
User registration is another key topic covered, enabling you to create membership areas on your website.
The course walks you through setting up the registration process and creating dedicated membership pages.
Throughout the course, you will gain hands-on experience with essential MODX features like the Wayfinder menu builder and the comments system with reCAPTCHA integration for spam prevention.
Troubleshooting techniques are also included to help you debug and resolve issues that may arise during development.
You will learn by doing, with exercises and practical examples guiding you through each step.
Website Development With MODX CMS
You’ll start by learning what MODX is and why it’s a better choice than WordPress for certain use cases.
The course walks you through setting up a server and installing MODX, either manually or using the MODX cloud.
You’ll become familiar with the MODX admin panel and learn how to install extras (plugins) like Wayfinder for dynamic navigation menus.
One of the first hands-on exercises is outputting “Hello World” with MODX, helping you understand the basics.
You’ll then create your first template and build an entire MODX site from scratch.
Steps include adding an external CSS file, coding the header, using Wayfinder for the navigation, working with MODX chunks, and adding template variables for a hero text and image.
The course covers creating different page templates, setting a default one, implementing friendly URLs, and linking internal pages.
You’ll also integrate a contact form using the FormIt Extra and finish coding the footer.
Moving to more intermediate techniques, you’ll explore different content and resource types in MODX, work with snippets, and learn how to use global variables with the ClientConfig extra.
The Collections Extra is covered for grouping related content.
Before launching your MODX site, the course provides a pre-launch checklist to ensure you’ve covered all the necessary steps.
There’s also a bonus lecture section included.