Content management systems - occasionally they're the kind of things that give website developers and designers a bad name. At a recent networking event someone told me a story about the wholly inadequate and vastly overpriced bespoke CMS he had been sold. When he asked me if I could do better I should have been poised to launch into my well rehearsed sales pitch to clinch the deal. Instead I probably said something like 'yes' or 'I'm sure I could'. Ok I may never have a glittering career in sales but that reply really doesn't do justice to the kind of websites I build using my content management system of choice - MODx.

For the uninitiated MODx is an open source content management system (CMS) for websites. In layman's terms this means you can have a website that you can add text to, update images, add links, add pages, add sub-pages, add menus, add submenus, create members pages, contact forms etc. Granted, there is a multitude of similar software packages around these days so why is this one better than any other? Well I haven't tried them all but I have tried quite a few and for me MODx ticks some important boxes.

MODx is a designer's dream; sites look as great as the original visual I've created because the templating system in MODx is as flexible or as complicated as I want it to be. Clients can have as many different layouts within their website as they need; 3 column layout on the home page - sure; switch to 2 column on inside page - no problem; 3 x 3 grid on services page - absolutely!

Importantly, this versatility in the templating system in underpined by the clean, structured HTML that MODx generates. I have an unhealthy obsession with coding HTML and stylesheets and the last thing I want is for all my efforts to be undone because the CMS says 'good stuff in =  garbage out'. This doesn't happen with MODx. For those amongst you reading this who aren't designers or coders and have no interest in the nuances of XHTML there are a few reasons why this is important. Well written code is generally treated more favourably by search engines. Also if the correct HTML tags are used and are in the right place it generally makes your website more accessible, thus broadening its audience reach. Well structured code also makes a website easier to maintain so is more cost effective in the long run should you ever wish to restructure or alter the site.

Another great thing about MODx is its administrative system. It provides a clear, intuitive manager that allows users (with different levels of access if necessary) to login and edit content. The site structure is represented as a menu tree so you can quickly navigate to any page within the site. It also has a QuickEdit function that allows you to edit the content of the site right from the page. Training clients is usually a quick and painless process for me as they invariably get to grips with the website manager very easily.

MODx is also incredibly strong on search engine optimisation features. My clients are constantly surprised at the degree of control they have over meta tags, page titles and descriptions and headers. It also has the added bonus of generating SEO friendly urls - by this I mean the pages that are created have plain english names of your choosing.

MODx is perhaps less well known than other content management systems but its popularity and reputation is growing all the time and with a new release scheduled later in 2009 it’s certainly going to be my choice for some time to come.