if i knew then what i know now

If I Knew Then What I Know Now...

Christina Dulude

DrupalCamp Boone

August 28, 2010

One

• While Drupal can be used for many types of sites, it might not be the best tool for every site

Two

• Use a book or tutorial; don’t just dive right in.

• I recommend Using Drupal by Angela Byron, et al. Published by O’Reilly.

Three

• Drupal can be thought of more of a "framework" than a CMS.

Four

• In the beginning, you spend a lot of time researching modules

• But after a while, you’ll have a default set that you always install right off the bat

Here are mine:• CCK: http://drupal.org/project/cck• Views: http://drupal.org/project/views• Admin: http://drupal.org/project/admin• Vertical tabs:

http://drupal.org/project/vertical_tabs• Pathauto: http://drupal.org/project/pathauto (and

Token)• CKEditor: http://drupal.org/project/ckeditor• IMCE: http://drupal.org/project/imce• Nodequeue: http://drupal.org/project/nodequeue• Realname: http://drupal.org/project/realname

Five

• Modules are a way of life in Drupal.

• Face it: You will use them.

• Drupal modules are much better supported than WordPress plugins– (yes, that is a gross generalization)

• But, don't go overboard

Six

• Don't give new Drupal users full permissions.

• It's not doing them any favors.

Seven

• Caching is your friend

• Cache in Drupal, cache on the server

Eight

• Theming goes beyond graphic design

Nine

• Using a base theme is a huge time saver

• Rather than creating your own theme from scratch

• Examples: Zen, Blueprint, Fusion

• Extend them with your own customizations

Ten

In order of difficulty, least to greatest:

1. Using an existing Drupal theme

2. Working with a designer familiar with Drupal, or building your own theme

3. Taking existing HTML/CSS/JS and Drupalizing it

Eleven

• You can theme Views.• And output from other modules.

Twelve

• Drupal Multisite allows you to run several sites off of one codebase

• Share modules, themes

Thirteen

• Setting up a development and production environment is a challenge

• Especially if you want them synced

Fourteen

• Drupal is very flexible• You can build a dynamic website that’s

easy to navigate and a breeze to manage

• Or a supremely terrible one that lies dormant because it’s too difficult to manage

• Plan, plan plan

Fifteen

• It gets easier

• Took about 3 Drupal sites before I really got in my groove

Sixteen

• The Drupal user community is awesome.

Thank you

• Christina Dulude

• cdulude@gmail.com

• @cdulude