Even if you have been using Drupal for a while, there is a good chance you have not explored everything the platform has to offer. You may even miss key aspects that could provide new options or streamline your workflow. Fortunately, there are a variety of tips, tools, and techniques that can help you master the Drupal platform.
Familiarizing yourself with these can ensure you’re getting the most out of your Drupal site, whether you’ve built it or run it for a while. In this article, we will look at the most important things that every Drupal user should know. Let’s continue!
1. How to install an automated module
This code extension can be installed on your site to add new functionality and features. However, you’ll want to be careful how you install Drupal modules, especially if you’re a technical novice. In particular, you will have the choice of a manual or automatic install. If you’ve never interacted directly with files on a website’s server before, you should probably stick with an automatic installation.
If you try to manually install files on your server using File Transfer Protocol (FTP), without understanding how it works and what can go wrong, you may accidentally create errors in your site’s directory. Therefore, automatic installs are a much safer (and faster) choice for most beginners.
To perform an automatic install, first, copy the URL of the add-on you want from Drupal’s modules directory. Next, from your site’s admin dashboard, go to Extend > Install New Module:
Paste the URL into the appropriate box, and click the blue Install button. Drupal will automatically add the module file to your site’s database:
You will then be redirected to your site’s module listing. Click the box next to the module you installed to enable it and your new add-on will be ready to go.
2. How to decide which modules are safe to use
Because Drupal is an open-source platform, anyone can create modules. Inexperienced developers may write modules that contain errors or security vulnerabilities. Installing the wrong module can damage or break your site, which is why it’s important to only install add-ons from trusted sources.
If you install a module from Drupal’s own directory, check for the stamp of approval from the Drupal Security Advisory. This is a positive sign when a module has a large number of active installations. Also, you’ll want to check reviews from other users and take a look at how the module has been updated (a year or more is a warning sign).
However, since the security advisory only covers projects hosted on Drupal.org, you need to be more careful if you purchase a premium module from a developer. Again, this is where ratings and reviews from other Drupal users come into play. When in doubt, test any new modules on a staging site before installing them on your live site.
Finally, if your budget allows, you might want to hire a developer to build a custom module. In that case, look for well-reviewed programmers who can show evidence of other successful modules they’ve developed in the past. We will go into more detail on how to select a qualified candidate in the next section.
Finally, it’s also important to scan your site with the Security Review module and back up your site before and after installing new software.
3. How to hire an honest programmer
Next, knowing how to hire a reputable programmer is important. Since Drupal can be challenging to use for beginners, you may want to have someone put your site together for you. Additionally, since Drupal doesn’t have a variety of pre-built tools, you may need to enable some custom features.
However, it can be difficult to determine whether a given programmer is going to be worth your money. An unscrupulous person could skip key details or leave a security vulnerability in their work, leaving your site open to hackers.
To find an honest programmer, you’ll want to stick with high-quality job sites like Smashing Jobs and Authentic Jobs. Be prepared to spend a bit of money – a professional developer will charge their price, so be wary of fees that seem a lot lower than the competition. Also, as we mentioned earlier, ask to see work samples and references before adding a new programmer.
Additionally, make sure the programmer is well-versed in Drupal. Just because he has an impressive portfolio in WordPress, for example, doesn’t mean those skills will translate to Drupal. Even for pros, each platform has its own learning curve, so you should make sure to hire a programmer with plenty of Drupal experience.
4. How to optimize your website
Once your site is up and running, you still need to maintain it and monitor its performance. This includes making sure your site is running at peak speed. You want to keep your site’s performance high because impatient users often abandon a site that takes more than a few seconds to load.
Luckily, there are many steps you can take to optimize the speed in Drupal. For example, make sure to enable caching, which uses cached browser files to reduce page load times. You can also install modules like Image Optimizer, which automatically minimizes your site’s image files for improved speed.
5. What to do if your website hacked
Last but not least, it is important to plan for the worst-case scenario. No matter how careful you are, there is always a chance that your site will be hacked. In fact, there is a new hacker attack about every 40 seconds. Prevention is the best policy when it comes to hacking. The first and most important thing you can do is maintain regular website backups. This gives you the option to easily restore your website if something goes wrong.
Additionally, make sure you’re using the most up-to-date version of Drupal and always update your modules when new versions are released. It gives you ingress to the latest security patches. Of course, you will also need to use a strong password.
Conclusion
When you first build a Drupal site, it can seem like there’s a lot of information to take in. You’ll want to focus on the most important details first to prioritize your site maintenance without getting overwhelmed.
