jlahijani / awesome-processwire

Awesome ProcessWire Bookmarks

Awesome ProcessWire

A curated list of awesome bookmarks, modules, tutorials, videos and other cool resources from the ProcessWire ecosystem. Maintained by Jonathan Lahijani.

• Awesome ProcessWire
  • Essentials
  • Why ProcessWire?
  • Important Docs
  • Modules
    • Pro Modules
    • Community Modules
  • Site Profiles
  • Social
  • Notable People
  • Other
  • Frontend Recommendations
    • CSS Frameworks
    • Libraries

Essentials

• ProcessWire Website
• ProcessWire GitHub (dev branch)
• Docs
• API Reference
• API Cheatsheet
• Blog
• ProcessWire Developer Directory: not maintained well / needs work
• ProcessWire Weekly
• WordPress vs. ProcessWire: 36 comparison videos

Why ProcessWire?

• Free and open-source (an unbelievable value!)
• Uses classic LAMP stack (it still rocks)
• Developed consistently since 2003 (and only getting better)
• Updated nearly every single Friday (see the dev branch)
• Fun (and perhaps addictive; seriously I've been using it for over 10 years straight)
• Simple (fields, templates and pages can pretty much do everything)
• Fast (built for speed)
• Secure (a 10 year old, neglected ProcessWire site won't get hacked)
• Developer-oriented (but easy for non-technical users to manage content)
• Unopinionated (do things your way)
• Completely markup agnostic on the frontend (for the OCD people out there)
• Well architected OOP and API (it's a work of art)
• Powerful hook system (modify core functionality with ease)
• Strong data relationships (relate pages with each other)
• Everything is a custom field (no 'metadata' like WordPress)
• Multi-lingual capability (a native feature and why so many non-Americans use it 😊)
• Friendly community (from all parts of the planet)
• Small but high-quality (less is more; for example, one great caching module instead of 347)
• The lead developer is a super human "10x" developer, excellent writer with Cal Ripken-like dedication (rare to find)

Important Docs

• $pages
• $page
• $config
• $sanitizer
• Selectors
• Hooks
• Markup Regions
• setting() Function
• datetime() Function
• WireHttp class

Modules

Pro Modules

Pro modules are first party modules developed by Ryan Cramer, the lead developer of ProcessWire and help support continued development of the project. Unlike community modules, Pro modules are downloaded from forum threads after purchasing a license (they cannot be updated from GitHub or the ProcessWire Upgrade module). The links labeled "Forum Thread / Download" are the direct links to the forum threads which are viewable if you are (a) a forum member and (b) have an active module subscription:

• ProFields: Forum Thread / Download
  • Combo
  • Repeater Matrix
  • Table
  • Date Range
  • Verified URL
  • Textareas
  • Multiplier
  • AutoLinks
  • Functional Fields
  • Fieldset Group
  • Text Blocks
• ProDevTools: Forum Thread / Download
  • ProfilerPro
  • UserActivity
  • ProcessWire API Explorer
  • WireSitemapXML
  • WireRequestBlocker
  • FormAutosaver
  • PageAutoSave
• ProCache: Forum Thread / Download
• FormBuilder: Forum Thread / Download
• ListerPro: Forum Thread / Download
• ProMailer: Forum Thread / Download
• LoginRegisterPro: Forum Thread / Download
• PagesVersionsPro: Forum Thread / Download
• ProDrafts: Forum Thread / Download
• Likes

Community Modules

• Primary Modules
  • Tracy Debugger: It is strongly recommended you install and understand how to use this module.
  • Hanna Code
  • ProcessWire Upgrade
  • Database Backups
  • ProcessRedirects
• Secondary Modules
  • Dashboard
  • AppApi
  • GraphQL
  • Pages2JSON
• Fields
  • Mystique
  • Select File
• Ecommerce
  • Padloper
  • SnipWire
• Admin Tools
  • Batcher
  • Admin Template Columns

Site Profiles

When installing ProcessWire, you are only given the option to use the Blank Site Profile, which demonstrates a ProcessWire site in its purest, most minimal form. While this suits the needs for experienced ProcessWire developers looking for a clean starting point, it may be too minimal for those just starting out.

Consider using the Regular Site Profile to get a better idea of how to build a typical website.

If you are creating something more app-like with a strong emphasis on the admin interface, consider studying the Invoices Site Profile which demonstrates the use of Page Classes.

Social

• GitHub
• Twitter
• Facebook

Notable People

• Ryan Cramer: Founder and lead ProcessWire developer; BDFL.
• Teppo Koivula: Author of ProcessWire Weekly newsletter and module developer.
• Robin Sallis: Author of dozens of useful ProcessWire modules.
• Adrian Jones: Author of several ProcessWire modules, including the strongly recommended TracyDebugger.
• Bernhard Baumrock: Author of several key ProcessWire modules, including RockMigrations, RockFrontend and RockShell.

Other

• ProcessWire Asset Catalog

Frontend Recommendations

Keep it simple! Use a CSS framework combined with Alpine.js and HTMX and you'll have 99% of what you need on the frontend. Embrace the concept of HTML Over The Wire and consider ditching Node-based solutions for radical simplicity.

CSS Frameworks

• UIkit: CSS framework with JavaScript components
• Bootstrap: CSS framework with JavaScript components
• Tailwind CSS: CSS utility framework (no JavaScript components); Flowbite is strongly recommended for the JavaScript components

Libraries

• jQuery: JavaScript library (or just use vanilla JavaScript)
• Alpine.js: Lightweight JavaScript framework
• HTMX: HTML Over The Wire library