Blog

In this introduction, we’ll explore what Drupal is, its core features, its advantages and drawbacks, and why it’s considered one of the leading CMS platforms for websites of all scales—from personal blogs to government portals and large-scale corporate websites.

What is Drupal

Drupal is a free and open-source content-management framework that can be customized and is suitable for developing simple websites or complex web applications. Drupal grows as you grow with thousands of free modules and themes that will help you attract the web audience you need to deliver your message, grow brand awareness, and build your community.

It is an open-source Content Management System built by a community of over 630,000+ developers and users. Its open-source model ensures continuous development with the help of the latest technologies and abilities characterized by standard, ease of use, and modularity.

It is a convenient solution that enables its users to develop and administer comprehensive web content. It comes with a special structure, that can be utilized to develop various kinds of web applications, this distinguishes Drupal from CMS systems.

The Drupal engine is coded in the PHP language and uses PostgreSQL and MySQL databases at the backend. Unlike other CMS, it offers the ability to inflate its functionality by incorporating additional modules.

History:

It was created by Dries Buytaert in 2001 as a message board. Over time, it evolved into a full-fledged open-source CMS. Since then, Drupal has grown into one of the most popular CMS platforms in the world, supported by a large and active global community of developers, contributors, and users.

Each new version of it has brought with it significant improvements in functionality, usability, and performance. Drupal 7, released in 2011, introduced major usability improvements, especially for non-technical users. Drupal 8, launched in 2015, brought modern object-oriented programming practices to the core and introduced powerful tools like the Symfony framework and Twig templating engine.

Drupal 9, released in 2020, streamlined the upgrade process and moved toward deprecating outdated code, ensuring a smoother transition between versions. Drupal 10, launched in December 2022, brought significant updates, including Symfony 6 support, a new admin theme (Claro), and the next-generation text editor CKEditor 5.

In 2024, the release of Drupal marks the latest chapter in the platform’s evolution. Drupal 11 continues to build on its reputation for being a secure, customizable, and future-proof CMS, with updates designed to make site management even more efficient and intuitive.

Key Features

Here are some of its most defining features:

Modular System: Its modular system is one of its most powerful aspects. The core system is minimal, with only the essential features needed to run a basic website. Additional functionality can be added through modules, which are packages of code that extend Drupal’s capabilities. The Drupal community offers thousands of contributed modules for everything from search engine optimization (SEO) to e-commerce.

Content Types and Taxonomy: It excels at managing structured content. You can create custom content types, each with its fields and settings, allowing you to organize different types of information efficiently. The taxonomy system allows for easy categorization and tagging of content, making it easier to organize and present information to your users.

Advanced User Permissions: It’s permission system is highly customizable, allowing you to define specific roles for users and assign them detailed access rights. This is particularly useful for websites with multiple contributors or large organizations that need to control access at granular levels.

Scalability and Performance: One of the reasons large enterprises and governments favor Drupal is its ability to handle large volumes of traffic and data. Drupal’s caching capabilities, along with support for external caching systems like Varnish and Memcache, help to ensure that even the most content-heavy websites can perform well under high traffic loads.

Multilingual Support: It comes with built-in multilingual capabilities, making it easy to create websites that support multiple languages. This feature is essential for global organizations, as it allows them to deliver content to users in their native language while maintaining a unified website architecture.

Security: It is known for its strong security framework. It has a dedicated security team that regularly releases updates and patches to protect websites from vulnerabilities. The platform includes features like role-based permissions, database encryption, and support for best-in-class security modules, making it a trusted choice for high-security websites like government portals and financial institutions.

Responsive Design and Accessibility: Modern Drupal themes are responsive, ensuring that websites built on the platform work well across devices, from mobile phones to large desktop screens. It is also highly focused on web accessibility, ensuring that websites meet standards for users with disabilities.

Headless CMS Capabilities: It has embraced the idea of decoupled or headless architecture, which allows the CMS to be used as a backend system while using a modern JavaScript framework (such as React, Vue.js, or Angular) to build the front-end experience. This approach is particularly useful for delivering content across multiple platforms, including web apps, mobile apps, and IoT devices.

Installations:

Below is a detailed step-by-step guide on how to install it, either on a local machine (for development) or a production server.

System Requirements

Before starting the installation, ensure your server meets these minimum requirements:

• Web Server: Apache (recommended), Nginx, or IIS
• PHP Version: PHP 8.1 or higher
• Database: MySQL 5.7.8 or higher, MariaDB 10.3.7 or higher, PostgreSQL 12 or higher, SQLite 3.28 or higher
• Composer: Required for managing Drupal dependencies

Step 1: Download Drupal

Once Composer is installed, you can download Drupal using the following command:

composer create-project drupal/recommended-project my_site_name_dir

This command will create a new directory for your Drupal project with all necessary dependencies. Change to that directory:

cd my_site_name_dir

Step 2: Set Up a Database

It requires a database to store its content and configuration. Create a new database using your preferred database management system (MySQL, MariaDB, or PostgreSQL). For example, in MySQL:

CREATE DATABASE drupal11_db;
CREATE USER 'drupaluser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON drupal11_db.* TO 'drupaluser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Take note of the database name, username, and password, as you will need them during the installation process.

Step 3: Configure the Web Server

For Apache, ensure that mod_rewrite is enabled, as It requires clean URLs. You can enable it with the following command:

sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo service apache2 restart

For Nginx, make sure the server block is configured correctly to point to your Drupal directory.

Step 4: Install Drupal

1. Navigate to your Drupal site URL using your web browser. If installed locally, it may be something like http://localhost/my_site_name_dir/web.
2. You will be greeted by the Drupal installation screen. Select your preferred language and click “Save and Continue.”
3. In the “Choose Profile” section, select Standard for a full Drupal installation with commonly used modules, or Minimal if you prefer to install only the essential components.
4. On the “Set up Database” screen, enter the database credentials (name, username, and password) you created earlier, then click “Save and Continue.”
5. Drupal will now install the necessary files and modules. Once installation is complete, you will be prompted to configure your site.
6. Provide a site name, administrative email, and credentials for the site administrator. You can also configure regional settings such as time zone and default country.
7. Click Save and Continue to finalize the installation.

Step 5: Post-Installation Configuration

Once it is installed, you’ll be directed to the administrative dashboard, where you can:

• Install and configure additional modules.
• Set up themes to customize the appearance of your site.
• Manage content types and user roles.

Advantages and Disadvantages:

Advantages

• Technically Advanced – It stands out as the most technically advanced of the three major content management systems. It uses fewer system resources than WordPress, which means users won’t need to upgrade to more expensive hosting options as quickly.
• Improved Performance – Websites built with it generally load faster and offer better response times compared to those built on WordPress or Joomla. However, performance can vary depending on the number of plug-ins and customizations you add.
• Highly Customizable – It offers extensive customization options through various modules, themes, and configuration settings. For users with programming expertise, even the core files of the system can be modified, making it the most flexible platform among the three.
• Robust and Flexible Content Management – It excels in content creation and management. It supports a wide range of content types such as video, polls, blogs, podcasts, user management, and more. With advanced features like revision control and real-time stats, it offers exceptional versatility.
• Advanced Administrative Controls – It provides powerful tools for managing users and permissions. Administrators can set detailed user roles and permissions, ensuring fine-grained control over who can create, edit, and manage content.

Disadvantages

• Steep Learning Curve – It is not the most user-friendly platform, particularly for beginners. It requires more technical knowledge than WordPress and Joomla, both of which are easier to use but lack the depth of It’s features.
• Limited Backward Compatibility – It doesn’t guarantee backward compatibility between major versions, which can require developers to update or rewrite modules and themes for compatibility. However, it ensures that user data is not affected during upgrades, providing some level of stability.

References:

• https://www.drupal.org/docs/getting-started/understanding-drupal/overview-of-drupal

Credits:

• Photo by Rubaitul Azad on Unsplash

Conclusion:

It stands as a robust content management system designed for developers and groups in need of extensive customization, adaptability, and protection. Although it presents a more challenging learning experience compared to certain other options, its versatility renders it perfect for creating intricate websites and applications.

With the recent updates in Drupal 10, the system keeps advancing, solidifying its position as a leading force in content management. Whether your organization is a small company or a large corporation, it can be customized to suit your specific requirements for web development.