Learning to use a CMS

I’ve been trying to learn to use a CMS (content management system) called MODx. For those of you who are just about as ignorant as me and who don’t know what it means, here’s a really basic and bad explanation. It’s a system that lets a designer/programmer build a “frame” of a website. Then, anyone who has the login details to the site can update the content of the site without fear of messing up the design. Kinda like a blog, really!

I’m trying to learn to do this because I would like to give my own gallery page a complete overhaul. This would mean that I would update my art gallery more frequently, since it would be easier to update. Hopefully this would make the place more alive again.

I’ve just spend one whole day going through an 11-part tutorial on the subject. It’s beginning to make some sense, but there is still so very much to learn! I’m still rather pleased. I managed to create what I wanted to:
A ‘container’ page that contains images and short texts for other pages that are linked to it. So there’s one page that has small pictures and a small amount of text, and when you click on it, you get to the main article. I’m happy. I also managed to implement an e-mail for which may or may not work, a commenting system, and a menu that updates by itself according to what categories I add to it.

I think next I will try see if I can implement things such as automatically creating thumbnail images, or resizing images, or implementing lightbox functionality.  

Phew! Maybe when I get good at this, I can take a look at scripting and creating my own fancy thingies and gizmos.