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17 Best MODX Developers

modx developers - 17 Best MODX Developers

The MODX community is driven by talented developers who contribute code, build companies, share knowledge, and push the CMS forward.

Below are 17 of the best MODX CMS developers worldwide (in no particular order), all still active in the MODX community. Each has excelled across open-source contributions, startup leadership, community influence, professional achievements, or coding competitions, making a significant impact on MODX’s evolution.

  1. Ryan Thrash
  2. Shaun McCormick
  3. Mark Hamstra
  4. Christian Seel
  5. Benjamin Davis
  6. John-Paul DeVries
  7. Chris Cherrett
  8. Jay Gilmore
  9. Bob Ray
  10. Chris Knellwolf
  11. Jens Wittmann
  12. Marc Jenkins
  13. Thomas Jakobi
  14. Jason Coward
  15. Menno Pietersen
  16. Gauke Pieter Sietzema
  17. John Peca

Now, let’s delve into their remarkable journeys and contributions:

Ryan Thrash

YouTube Video

Nationality: American

Ryan co-founded MODX in 2004 and remains the CEO of MODX LLC.

Under his leadership, MODX won Packt’s Most Promising Open Source CMS in 2007 and grew a global community. A passionate open-source advocate, Ryan continues to guide MODX’s strategic direction and often engages with the community (e.g. via the MODX Advisory Board and events). He champions creative freedom in web development and keeps MODX true to its roots as a flexible, developer-friendly platform.

Shaun McCormick

Good software empowers its users instead of forcing them into someone else’s workflow. That’s what we always aimed for with MODX.

Nationality: American

Shaun (alias “splittingred”) was a key figure in MODX’s transition to Revolution.

He authored numerous core Extras like Gallery, Login, and SimpleSearch, and helped architect the xPDO ORM. Shaun later co-founded MODX Cloud (MODX’s cloud hosting platform). Though he now leads engineering teams at BigCommerce, he fondly credits his MODX days for shaping his open-source ethos. Shaun remains an advocate for MODX and open source, and occasionally shares insights from his MODX past in interviews.

Mark Hamstra

Nationality: Dutch

Mark is a prolific MODX developer-entrepreneur.

He founded modmore, a company providing premium MODX Extras (like ContentBlocks and Commerce) with top-notch support. Mark has contributed heavily to MODX core (maintainer/integrator) and spearheaded community projects like MODX.today and SiteDash. He’s an all-rounder – coding Extras, guiding security fixes, and blogging tutorials. A recognized MODX influencer, Mark organizes hackathons and meetups (e.g. MODXpo Europe) and supports other MODX devs through mentorship and sponsorship. His work exemplifies balancing open-source contribution with startup innovation.

Christian Seel

Christian Seel - 17 Best MODX Developers

Nationality: German

Christian is a prominent MODX developer in Germany and co-founder of SEDA.digital, a MODX-focused agency.

As a longtime MODX Ambassador, Christian has organized German MODX Meetups and contributed to the Advisory Board’s initiatives. He’s known for helping maintain German MODX documentation and evangelizing MODX in Europe. With a background in both development and business, he bridges technical and client worlds. Christian continues to build complex MODX solutions at SEDA.digital and often speaks about MODX at tech events. His advocacy and leadership have expanded MODX’s reach in the DACH region.

Benjamin Davis

Nationality: American

Based in Munich, Benjamin is a long-time MODX developer and was one of the first official MODX Ambassadors.

He co-founded a German MODX agency and has been instrumental in growing the MODX user base in Germany. Benjamin frequently presents at MODX events (like MODXpo) and contributes to MODX.today with news and tutorials. He’s recognized for connecting MODX freelancers and agencies across Europe, and for providing feedback to the core team from a practitioner’s perspective. An active forum member and meetup host, Benjamin’s enthusiasm for MODX helps keep the community engaged and welcoming.

John-Paul DeVries

Nationality: American

JP (John-Paul) is the lead developer of the Redactor rich-text editor integration for MODX, which is widely used to enhance the MODX manager.

With a design background (HTML/CSS), he improves the UX of MODX content editing. JP works with modmore and also mentors new developers (e.g. through Thinkful). He shares accessibility and frontend tips on his blog Markup.tips. A long-time MODXer, JP contributes not only code but also knowledge – he’s spoken at MODX events about front-end best practices. His work ensures MODX remains a pleasure to use for content editors by providing polished, user-friendly interfaces.

Chris Cherrett

Chris Cherrett - 17 Best MODX Developers

Nationality: British

Chris is a veteran MODX developer in the UK, known for his work at Adido and for co-founding Extras.io (an early MODX extras marketplace).

With over a decade of MODX experience, he’s built countless MODX sites focusing on great digital experiences. Chris has contributed back by releasing some custom solutions as open-source and by evangelizing MODX to clients. While managing development teams, he remains hands-on with MODX projects and encourages adoption of MODX in professional circles. His dual role as a developer and consultant has helped many businesses choose MODX for its flexibility.

Jay Gilmore

Nationality: Canadian

Jay has been the public voice of MODX for years, serving as Community Relations Manager and now General Manager at MODX LLC.

He’s an active community builder – organizing events, writing official MODX news, and engaging with developers on forums and social media. Jay’s background in web development and marketing helps bridge the gap between the core MODX team and its user community. He co-hosted MODX conferences and produces content to keep MODX in the spotlight. Jay continues to advocate MODX’s benefits at meetups and online, encouraging new devs to get involved.

Bob Ray

Nationality: American

Bob is renowned for his extensive MODX tutorials and Extras.

He wrote “MODX: The Official Guide” and dozens of popular MODX Extras, becoming a go-to mentor for MODX beginners and experts alike. Bob shares countless tips on his “Bob’s Guides” website and was a top contributor on MODX forums (with nearly 20,000 posts). He’s a freelance developer who specializes in solving complex MODX problems (Unicorn Web Works). Bob’s commitment to documentation and community Q&A has empowered thousands of MODX developers, cementing his legacy as a MODX community legend.

Chris Knellwolf

Chris Knellwolf - 17 Best MODX Developers

Nationality: Swiss

Chris founded Cloudtec, a Swiss web agency that specializes in MODX development.

A MODX user since the early days, he has overseen the build of numerous MODX sites spanning government, finance, and education sectors. Chris’s agency not only delivers MODX solutions to clients, but also contributes to the community by sponsoring events (Cloudtec helped organize MODX Meetup in Malta 2017). He personally remains an active MODX coder and promotes MODX’s benefits (security, flexibility) to the Swiss tech scene. His leadership demonstrates how MODX can be the backbone of a successful web agency.

Jens Wittmann

Nationality: German

Jens is a MODX developer from Leipzig who’s been using MODX since 2006.

He is known for sharing daily MODX learnings on his blog “CurlyFramework” and has contributed Extras like JoliTypo (a typography tool). Jens recently guest-authored “MODX Field Notes” on the official MODX blog, curating community news and tips. Professionally, he focuses on accessible and sustainable web development, often implementing MODX in projects with those values. Jens exemplifies the MODX influencer who isn’t just coding, but also teaching – his consistent blogging and community tips help many MODXers discover new tools and best practices.

Marc Jenkins

Marc Jenkins - 17 Best MODX Developers

Nationality: British

Marc is a UK-based front-end dev who has long adopted MODX for building websites.

He works at 16BY9 and often writes about MODX on his personal blog and on modmore’s site. Marc focuses on modern frontend techniques – ensuring MODX sites are not just functional but also performant and accessible. He’s contributed code for front-end related improvements (like Manager UI tweaks and Babel SEO fixes) and shares tutorials with the community. Marc’s articles (covering everything from custom theming to SEO with MODX) help developers get more out of MODX. He exemplifies community knowledge sharing and keeps MODX relevant in the ever-evolving front-end landscape.

Thomas Jakobi

Nationality: German

Thomas has developed or maintains around 35 open-source MODX Extras – a staggering contribution.

Based in Germany, he runs Treehill Studio, a MODX-focused agency. Thomas’s open-source work includes favorites like SEO Tab, GoogleSiteMap, AjaxUpload, and TwoFactorAuth (2FA) for MODX. He is also a MODX core integrator, contributing code especially for MODX3 compatibility. Thomas exemplifies community spirit: he creates solutions, shares code on GitHub, and even gives back by sponsoring and mentoring. If you’re using a MODX site, chances are you’re running one of Thomas’s Extras!

Jason Coward

Nationality: American

Known by the alias “opengeek,” Jason joined the MODX leadership team in 2005 and was instrumental in architecting MODX Revolution’s core.

He developed fundamental components (like caching and template engines) and many Extras. Jason’s deep open-source contributions and guidance earned him a revered status in the community. He remains active with MODX LLC (Durango, CO) and continues to mentor and contribute code to ensure MODX’s technical excellence.

Menno Pietersen

Menno Pietersen - 17 Best MODX Developers

Nationality: Dutch

Menno is a co-founder of Sterc (NL), one of MODX’s earliest and most successful partner agencies.

As a “MODX Founding Partner,” Sterc (under Menno’s leadership) not only built numerous high-profile MODX sites but also developed dozens of Extras now freely used by the community. Menno has been deeply involved in MODX strategy – Sterc sponsored core development and hosted events like the MODX Snowup hackathon. While Menno’s day-to-day is running businesses (he has launched other startups as well), he remains a MODX coder at heart and ensures Sterc’s dev team contributes back. Sterc’s motto is “Sharing is caring,” reflected in Menno’s decision to open-source all Sterc’s premium add-ons in 2020. His entrepreneurial success with MODX proves that you can build a thriving company while still engaging and enriching the open-source community.

Gauke Pieter Sietzema

Nationality: Dutch

Gauke is the CTO of Sterc, the Netherlands-based agency famed as the “largest dedicated MODX agency worldwide.”

With 19+ years in MODX, Sterc (co-led by Gauke) has developed 25+ Extras (Formalicious, SEO Suite, etc.) used on 170k+ sites. Gauke himself has been central in community leadership: he was elected Chair of the MODX Advisory Board when it formed in 2016, guiding MODX’s open-source governance. He also organizes community events (e.g. MODX Meetups, SnowUp) and fosters collaboration between agencies. Gauke’s blend of technical skill and community vision helps keep MODX sustainable and innovative.

John Peca

Nationality: Slovak

John (alias theboxer) is the developer behind popular Extras such as Collections and Tagger, which enhance MODX resource management and tagging.

His contributions are so trusted that he later joined the MODX core team. In fact, John is now on staff at MODX LLC and was highlighted as a “key player” in recent MODX initiatives. He’s also exploring new horizons like integrating AI (creator of “modAI” per community buzz). John’s Extras have greatly improved MODX site-building workflows (e.g., Collections for custom resource views are widely adopted). He remains very active: updating Extras for MODX3 and collaborating in hackathons.

Wrap Up

These legends represent exceptional talent, making them extremely challenging to headhunt. However, there are thousands of other highly skilled IT professionals available to hire with our help. Contact us, and we will be happy to discuss your hiring needs.

Note: We’ve dedicated significant time and effort to creating and verifying this curated list of top talent. However, if you believe a correction or addition is needed, feel free to reach out. We’ll gladly review and update the page.

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