Drupal

The first date(going on since 2001…)

What is Drupal???

• CMS– Content– Management

– System

• Framework

• Free• Open Source

What can it do for me?

• Create a website for you• With a forum• And have registered users• And an email list• And reports• And an e-shop• And a digg-clone• or just a simple humble blog• And manage all of the above very well !!

What qualifications should I have?

• Before installing drupal:– Be familiar with databases– Have a web server and a database server

• After installing drupal:– Nothing really, just common sense– And a bit of server administration skills

• Installation is only needed once, backups and maintenance can be automated so this is not an issue

So… how do I start?

• First of all you prepare your website– Find the idea– Create a basic sitemap

• Then you go shopping for:– Modules– Themes– Other settings (user accounts,menus,

translations)– And the King: Content

Benefits

• REALLY powerful tool (if you are a developer or skilled power user)

• Small choice of modules• Well integrated modules

• Fast

• Browser Compatibility

• The greatest feature: one installation many websites

Difficulties

• Not easy to administer

• Not very friendly interface

• Updates• Frequent version changes (4567)

My experience

• 5 websites averaging 20.000 visitors a month each

• 2 joomla websites (one is getting 30.000 visitors a month)

• MANY wordpress blogs (I don’t know)

• My job: hundrends of netvolution (proprietary CMS) websites (millions of visitors)

Is drupal THE CMS for me?

• Probably but to be honest, it depends. Just like cars.

• If you can afford a Ferrari you better get the Ferrari.

• If you are on a budget or you want to go off-road (and have the skills) then go for the Lada Niva.

• If Ford Focus is THE car for you then Drupal might be THE CMS for you.

• Conclusion: Choosing a CMS depends on your current situation: needs, wants and can afford (not only in money)

How can I learn more?

• First of all: LEARN MORE!! Try, experiment, compare, discuss

• http://www.Drupal.org• Books

• Other websites

• Stay in this room, listen and talk to other people in this room!!

Thank you!

Panos Ladas

http://twitter.com/ladas