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Is Drupal Right for You?

Is Drupal Right for You?

Many web development firms, non-profits, and individuals wonder if Drupal is the right platform for their websites and web applications. Drupal has a fantastic community and rich eco-system, but how can one know if Drupal is the right fit?

Mark Shropshire brings his Drupal consulting experience to help you understand the good, the bad, and the ugly in the Drupal world.

Mark Shropshire

February 06, 2014
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Transcript

  1. What’s Drupal? • Dries Buytaert started Drupal in 2000 


    (see: https://drupal.org/about/history) • Content Management Framework • Open Source • Community
  2. ThE GOOD • Open Source • Maximum flexibility for site

    builders, themers, and module developers • Every major releases allows for sweeping core API changes. Keeps Drupal technology current.
  3. ThE GOOD • Drupal security team • Options (There are

    usually multiple solutions) • Runs on software available on most Linux servers
 (Apache, PHP, MySQL, etc.)
  4. ThE UGLY • Much of the configuration is stored in

    the database • May need to host on more robust server architecture ! !
  5. Drupal Best Practices • I can’t emphasize enough that is

    it important to learn the Drupal Way™ - Follow Drupal best practices! • Look to the community for those with previous experience making quality Drupal websites and applications
  6. Learning Curve • Drupal is known for a steep learning

    curve. Flexibility leads to more complexity. • The learning curve can be eased by gaining the support of others with Drupal expertise
  7. Drupal Myths • Drupal is not progressive • Drupal 8

    includes some of the latest web technologies: • Backbone and Underscore.js • Modern OOP patterns from Symfony • Twig…and more: https://drupal.org/drupal-8.0
  8. Drupal Myths • Drupal developers are hard to find •

    Sort of true, but I have had amazing success turning PHP developers into Drupal beasts!
  9. Drupal Myths • I should wait until Drupal 8 is

    released • Drupal 7 is a stable and robust platform • Drupal 7 will be supported at least until the release of Drupal 9 (most likely years away)
  10. Drupal Myths • The community is fragmenting! Drupal is doomed!

    • Drupal has been forked 
 (see Backdrop - http://backdropcms.org). • Drush is now hosted on Github • These are natural and logical changes in an open source project
  11. So, IS Drupal Right for You? It may not be

    if…! • You are on your own and don’t have a Drupal Sherpa to help (Drupal expert, local community, etc.) • Your site consists of a small amount of static content
  12. So, IS Drupal Right for You? It may not be

    if…! • You are not willing to invest (Time vs. Money) • You do not need Drupal’s flexibility • You enjoy coding everything from scratch, because your code fu is best!
  13. So, IS Drupal Right for You? It may be if…!

    • You have a need to develop multiple similar sites • You want maximum flexibility • You have access to a Drupal guru and/or support community
  14. So, IS Drupal Right for You? It may be if…!

    • You don’t want to code all needs from scratch • You want to have the benefits of open source • You want a community serious about security
  15. So, IS Drupal Right for You? It may be if…!

    • You need tech proven in the “enterprise” • You want to leverage distributions • You want to build applications and not just websites