MODX Cloud Update April 8, 2016

We’re long overdue a MODX Cloud update, but it’s not too late. This update includes the new Add-ons tab, with access to new features, simplified custom domains pricing, and making SSL available on all plans. Read the full announcement.

By Jay Gilmore  |  April 8, 2016  |  3 min read
MODX Cloud Update April 8, 2016

We’ve worked diligently to improve the MODX Cloud platform, both behind the scenes and—more importantly—for all of its users.

Image of the MODX Cloud Add-ons Tab which shows the toggles for activating each of the features including SSL, Managed Cloud and etc.

The New Add-ons Tab

The biggest visible change is the new Add-ons tab for each MODX Cloud instance. This gives you access to additional features for each Cloud:

  • Request SSL for increased security and visitor trust, and to boost your SEO,
  • Order our Managed Cloud service, so you never have to worry about monitoring or maintaining your site at all, and
  • Adding server resources (PHP Workers) for higher traffic or more complex sites.

With this change, we’ve also moved enabling custom domains, installing phpMyAdmin and requesting Compass/Sass/Node.js to the Add-ons tab in the Dashboard. Most Add-ons currently submit a ticket for our team to implement, but we’re rolling out automation one-by-one. Look for additional available upgrades in the coming months.

Accessible Manager Preview

The MODX a11y project, likewise overdue an update, now has a preview available in MODX Cloud. Navigating the entire Manager via a keyboard, and being able to use screen readers and other assistive devices with the Manager will open MODX to everyone. You can find a preview in the Public Snapshots tab under the main Snapshots menu item, and it can be injected into existing instances in MODX Cloud.

More for Less with Custom Domains

One of our key goals in MODX Cloud is to streamline what it takes to create, launch and maintain your sites. Now, you can add up to 25 domains to every Cloud instance for one low price: $5/Cloud per month ($10 on Basic plans). Previously the same price would have only given you to 5 URLS, with 25 costing double. If you need even more, open a ticket and we’ll take care of you.

SSL for Everyone

Running a website under SSL is more important than ever for many reasons, including appeasing Google’s search ranking algorithm and serving sites more quickly with lower overhead. As a result, we decided everyone should be able to have a secure site, with no additional costs. SSL is now available at all plan levels, including Basic. Need a certificate installed today? Just open a ticket and we’ll be happy to assist.

We’re close to releasing a more automated way to add SSL to your Clouds. Look for self-serve SSL certificate installation in the near future, and free SSL certificates after Let’s Encrypt comes out of beta.

Other Notable Improvements

In addition to the main items above, we’ve made some other improvements in MODX Cloud:

  • The MODX Cloud user guide and knowledge base now lives in our Zendesk Help Center. You can search our KB articles straight from the Dashboard help widget, and open a ticket if you don’t find the answer you need.
  • Need to grab a file you accidentally deleted a few days ago? Now it’s a whole lot easier: restore a backup into another Cloud instance straight from your main Backups tab in the MODX Cloud Dashboard.
  • Added latest version of MODX Revolution (2.4.4).
  • Updated to latest nginx and PHP.
  • And finally, we were able to make faster nightly backups. Faster is better, right?

We look forward to continue to bring you the tools you need to create, launch and maintain amazing websites easier, faster and with less hassle than ever before.