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Choosing the Right Date Field for Sorting Resources in Evolution CMS
A clear best-practices article about why `createdon`, `publishedon`, and `pub_date` are not interchangeable.
Almost every Evo site needs sorted lists of news, events, or articles, and that is exactly why this article is so useful. It explains that the three date fields people reach for most often — createdon, publishedon, and pub_date — each behave differently and can create subtle mistakes.
The practical comparison
- createdon records when the resource was created, not when it became relevant for readers.
- publishedon is automatic, but can drift when publication depends on the first request.
- pub_date reflects scheduled publication intent, but only if editors remember to fill it.
Why this matters
It is one of the best examples of a mundane but high-impact Evo best practice. Sorting by the wrong date field can make the whole site look wrong even when everything else is built correctly.
Related reading: publishedon vs pub_date discussion.
Reducing Homepage Overhead When Multiple Ditto Calls Compete on One Page
A performance-minded article about homepage layouts that overuse parallel Ditto listings.
Hardening PHx: Placeholder Cleanup and Safer then/else Parsing
A technical PHx article about safer placeholder cleanup and avoiding premature parsing of then/else branches.