Module 03 -Introduction to Drupal

Introduction
Drupal is a free, open-source Web content management system (WCMS) used for
building and managing websites, web applications. It is written in PHP. Drupal provides
a flexible, modular, and scalable framework that allows developers, designers, and site
administrators to create websites. It is known for its robust content management capabilities,
high customization, security, multilingual support and community-driven development.
Drupal works on GNU GPL (General Public License)
Drupal was created by Dries Buytaert in 2001, a Belgian student, as a small messaging board
for him and his friends to communicate. Initially, it was not a CMS but a personal project. Some
well-known organizations using Drupal include NASA, Harvard University, The Economist,
Tesla etc. With a large, active global community, Drupal receives continuous updates, bug
fixes, and security enhancements, making it one of the most reliable platforms for modern web
development.

Key Features of Drupal

Drupal is a powerful Content Management System (CMS) known for its flexibility, scalability,
and extensibility.
1. Modular and Extensible Architecture
• Drupal follows a modular design, meaning its core system provides basic functionalities
like content management, user management and additional modules can be added to
extend its capabilities. (like pathauto)
• Features like SEO optimization, payment gateways, e-commerce integration,
analytics(Google Analytics), social media integration (Social Auth) can be
implemented using additional modules. Developers can also create custom modules
tailored to specific project requirements.
2. Custom Content Types and Fields
• Users can create custom content types (e.g., articles, blogs, products, events) based on
the project’s needs. It makes Drupal effective for managing complex and structured
content. Drupal also provides Views, a powerful feature that allows displaying and
filtering content dynamically without coding.
• Each content type can have custom fields, such as text, images, videos, dates,
geolocation, or any custom data format.
3. User Roles and Access Controls
• Drupal has a robust user management system that enables defining multiple user roles
(e.g., Administrator, Editor, Author, Subscriber). Each role can be assigned specific
permissions, controlling who can create, edit, delete, or publish content. Users can only
perform allowed actions and it maintains security and organized content management.
4. Multilingual Support
• Drupal has built-in multilingual capabilities to create websites that support multiple
languages. This makes Drupal an excellent choice for global businesses and
international organizations. Automatic language detection based on user preferences or
browser settings. Translation management for content, configuration, and interfaces.
5. API-First and Headless CMS
• Drupal follows an API-first architecture. API-First Architecture is a software design
approach where the Application Programming Interface (API) is treated as the primary
way of interacting with the application’s data and functionality.
• Using RESTful API, JSON API, and GraphQL APIs, developers can integrate Drupal
with front end frameworks like React, Angular, [Link], or other modern front-end
frameworks.
• This approach transforms Drupal into a headless CMS, where the front-end and back-
end are decoupled, allowing faster performance, better scalability, and flexibility. It
emphasises on Reusability and Consistency
Advantages of Drupal
1. Highly Flexible and Extensible
• Drupal’s modular architecture allows developers to add or remove features easily using
thousands of free contributed modules. Drupal allows to create custom content types,
fields, articles, blogs etc.
2. Robust User Roles and Access Control
• It creates multiple user roles with permissions to manage access at every level. This
feature is useful in organisations with multi-author environments. It ensures that each
user can access only the parts of site they are authorized to manage or edit.
3. Multilingual and Global Readiness
• Drupal has built-in multilingual support for managing websites in multiple languages.
It Features automatic language detection, interface translations etc.
4. API-First and Headless CMS
• Drupal follows API first approach. With built-in REST, JSON:API, and GraphQL
support, Drupal works smoothly with JavaScript frameworks like React, [Link], and
Angular. Here front end and back end are separated.
5. High Security and Reliability
• Drupal is widely trusted by governments, financial institutions, and enterprises because
of its robust security architecture. The Drupal Security Team actively monitors
vulnerabilities and provides regular updates and patches.
6. Active Open-Source Community
• A large global community of developers and contributors ensures constant innovation,
active support, and regular enhancements. Thousands of free themes, modules, and
distributions are available.
Disadvantages of Drupal
1. Difficult for beginners
• Drupal is more complex compared to CMS platforms like WordPress or Wix. Beginners
may find it difficult to understand custom modules, configurations, and theming
without prior technical knowledge.
2. Development and Maintenance Cost
• While Drupal itself is free, custom development often requires experienced developers,
which can increase project costs.
3. Limited Ready-to-Use Themes
• Unlike WordPress, Drupal has fewer free themes and templates available. Customizing
themes often requires HTML, CSS, PHP, and Twig knowledge. It is not ideal for simple
projects.
4. Performance Optimization Needed
• Large Drupal websites may require caching mechanisms, content delivery networks
(CDN), and server optimization to handle heavy traffic smoothly. Without proper
optimization, websites may become slow.
5. Module Compatibility Issues
• Some contributed modules may not always work well with new Drupal versions.
Developers often need to troubleshoot compatibility issues during upgrades or when
adding third-party features.
6. Not Ideal for Simple Projects.
• For simple personal blogs Drupal Interface may be too complex.
Comparison between Drupal API-First Approach and Traditional CMS
Model.

Traditional CMS Model API-First Approach (Headless CMS)

Backend and frontend are tightly

Backend (content) and frontend (presentation) are
coupled (content + presentation in one
decoupled, connected via APIs.
system).

Content is delivered mainly as HTML Content is delivered as data

web pages. (JSON/XML/GraphQL) through APIs.

Front end options are Limited → Front end options are Flexible → same API can feed
usually one web-based frontend multiple frontends: websites, mobile apps, IoT,
(themes/templates). kiosks, smart devices.

Designers and developers work within

Backend and frontend teams can work independently
one system (templates + content in
and in parallel.
CMS).

Harder to scale for multi-device Easily scalable → one backend serves unlimited
experiences. clients.

WordPress (classic mode), Joomla, Drupal 9/10 (API-first with JSON:API/GraphQL),

Drupal 7 (mostly coupled). Contentful, Strapi, Sanity.
Comparison of Drupal, WordPress and Joomla
Feature Drupal Joomla WordPress

Initial Release 2001, Written in PHP 2005, Written in PHP 2003, Written in PHP

Enterprise websites,
Medium-sized business Blogs, personal websites,
portals, government sites,
Ideal For sites, community portals, small to medium-sized
complex data-driven
e-commerce business sites
applications

Wide variety of plugins

Extremely flexible & Good customization via
and themes, but less
Customization modular with thousands of extensions, but less
robust for complex
modules and APIs powerful than Drupal
systems

Good content flexibility Simple content

Content Advanced custom content
but less advanced than management, great for
Management types, fields, articles.
Drupal beginners

Highly granular user Decent role

User Roles & Limited user role control;
permissions, best for multi- management but less
Access Control extended via plugins
user environments advanced than Drupal

Requires third-party
Multilingual Built-in multilingual Available but requires
plugins like Polylang or
Support support extensions
WPML

Security depends heavily

Very secure — preferred by Good, but depends on
Security on plugins; more
governments & enterprises proper configuration
vulnerable to attacks

Highly scalable, great for Slower for large-scale

Performance & Scalable but needs
handling high-traffic websites without heavy
Scalability proper optimization
enterprise websites optimization

Advanced SEO control,

Good SEO support, Best out-of-the-box SEO,
SEO Capabilities powerful modules like
flexible customization tons of free SEO plugins
Pathauto

Moderate-sized Huge community, tons of

Community Large, active global
community, good forum tutorials, plugins, and
Support developer community
support guides
Drupal Architecture
Drupal follows a layered and modular architecture where different components work
together to handle user requests, process them via Drupal + PHP, fetch data from the
database, and send back the final output to the browser. Drupal architecture provides
flexibility, scalability and extensibility in building websites.

1. User Layer (Frontend / Client Layer)

• The user is the person accessing the website through a browser or mobile app.
• Users can be, Anonymous users, who can only view content or Authenticated users who
are Logged-in users with specific permissions. Users can interact with Website content
such as Pages, blogs, media, forms, etc.
2. Admin Layer (Backend / Administrator Interface)
• The Drupal Admin Interface is used by Site Administrators who has Full control over
the website, Content Editors who creates and manage content and Developers who
Install/configure modules, manage themes. Admin can provide access permission to
authorized users and block unauthorized users.
• Administrators feature - User management and roles, Adding/updating content,
installing modules and themes, configuring multilingual support, Managing
permissions and security.
3. Drupal Layer (Application Layer)
This is the core of the system where all business logic resides.
It consists of modules, themes, APIs and routing systems. It allows organizing, managing and
publishing content. Key components of the Drupal layer are.
 • Core Modules → Provide essential features like user authentication, menus, search,
caching, etc.
• Contributed Modules → Extend Drupal's functionality (e.g., Pathauto, Webform).
• Custom Modules → Developed for specific business needs.
• Theme Layer → Handles UI and uses templates for design.
• API Layer → Includes Form API, Entity API, JSON:API, REST, GraphQL, etc.
4. PHP Layer (Scripting Layer)
• Drupal is written in PHP, so the entire backend logic runs on the PHP runtime.
• PHP Processes user requests, Executes Drupal core and module functions, Fetches or
stores data in the database and Renders HTML content for the user’s browser. It requires
a PHP-compatible web server like Apache or Nginx.
5. Web Server Layer
• The web server (Apache, Nginx, or IIS) acts as the bridge between the client and
Drupal. It Receives HTTP/HTTPS requests from the browser. Passes the request to
Drupal via PHP and Sends back the generated HTML page to the client.
• Examples: XAMPP / WAMP / LAMP stacks for local development.
6. Database Layer (Storage Layer)
• Drupal uses relational databases to store, manage, and retrieve website data.
• Supported databases in Drupal are MySQL / MariaDB, PostgreSQL and SQLite
• It Stores Content such as Articles, blogs, media, etc, Users & roles, Site configurations.,
Module and theme settings. It Uses Drupal's Database Abstraction Layer (DBAL) so
the same code works across different databases.
System requirements of Drupal (Installation and Config)
To run Drupal effectively, the following system requirements should be met:
• Web Server: Apache, Nginx, or Microsoft IIS.
• Database: MySQL (5.7+), MariaDB (10.3+), PostgreSQL (10+). or SQLite for
smaller sites.
• PHP: Version 8.1 or higher with necessary extensions like GD, cURL, mbstring, and
PDO.
• Memory & Storage: Minimum 64 MB PHP memory (128 MB recommended) and at
least 100 MB free disk space.
• Operating System: Compatible with Linux, Windows Server, and macOS
• Browser: Modern browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge for
administration.
XAMPP is a free and open-source cross-platform web server solution stack package
developed by Apache Friends. It provides an easy-to-use platform for web development and
testing.

Key Features of XAMPP

1. Cross-Platform Compatibility - Available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
2. Pre-configured Web Server Stack
• Apache: Web server to serve web pages.
• MySQL/MariaDB: Database management system.
• PHP: Server-side scripting language.
• Perl: General-purpose programming language.
3. Control Panel (XAMPP Control Panel) - Simple GUI to start/stop Apache, MySQL,
and other services. Access to configuration, logs, and administrative tools.
4. phpMyAdmin Integration - Web-based GUI to manage MySQL/MariaDB
databases. Allows running queries, managing users, and importing/exporting
databases.
5. Easy Installation & Setup - One-click installation of all components. No need for
manual configuration.
6. Open Source - Completely free and open-source.
7. FTP Server (FileZilla) - Included for file transfer capabilities. Useful for managing
remote servers.
8. Mail Server (Mercury Mail) - Send and receive emails locally (useful for testing
email features in apps).
9. Tomcat Server - Supports Java-based applications (Apache Tomcat integration).
11. Security Configurations - Basic security options for Apache, MySQL, and
phpMyAdmin (can be customized).
12. Add-ons and Extensions - Extendable via plugins and additional modules.
STUDY LAB PROGRAM – XAMPP, DRUPAL INSTALLATION AND CONFIG.
User Management
User Management in Drupal is a core feature that allows administrators to create, manage and
control access for different users based on roles and permissions. It ensures that users will only
have access to features and content that are allowed for their role.
Key Components of User Management
Users
• Each user has a unique username, email, and password.
• Each Users can be assigned one or more roles.
Roles
A role is a set of permissions that you can assign to one or more users. Role defines group
of users with common permissions.
• Anonymous User- visitors who are not logged in to the website. They have minimal
access to the site.
• Authenticated User -A a user who has created an account and successfully logged into
the website. They have access to the features in website.
• Administrator – Admin will have full site access and control.
Custom roles can also be created (e.g.. Editor, Moderator, Viewer).

Examples of Custom Roles

• Author → Can create and edit their own content.
• Editor → Can edit and publish any content.
• Moderator → Can approve comments and manage community content.

Permissions
Each role has specific permissions to access parts of the site. Permissions are the rules in
Drupal that control what users can and cannot do on a website.
Common Permissions
• Content-related Permissions
o Create new content (e.g., articles, pages)
o Edit own content
o Edit any content
o Delete content
• User-related Permissions
o Create user accounts
o Assign roles to users
o Block or delete users
• Permission for Site administration
o Administer site configuration
o Manage themes and modules
o Access administration pages
• Other features
o Post comments
o Upload files/images
Account Settings
In Drupal, Account Settings control how user accounts (like administrators, editors, and visitors
who register) are created, managed, and behave across the site. These settings define user
registration options, email notifications, password rules, and more. In Account Settings, login
options, password policies, email behaviour etc are available.
Configuration -> People -> Account Settings
User Management Interface
In Drupal, the User Management Interface is the section of the administration dashboard that
allows site administrators to manage users, roles, and permissions. Here user can
Add/Edit/Delete Users, Assign Roles, Block or Activate User Accounts. (Found in People
Menu)

STUDY LAB PROGRAM – CREATE USER ROLES AND ASSIGN PERMISSIONS

Content Type and Fields

• A Content Type is a predefined template that structures how specific kinds of
content are created and managed on a website.
• In Drupal, both Content Types and Fields are fundamental building blocks used
to structure and organize content.
• A field is an individual piece of information that you can add to a content type.
 Each content type can have a unique combination of fields , for example, an "Event" content
type may include fields like event name, date, and location.
This allows consistent creation, storage, and display of content and it offers flexibility to
customize content structures based on the needs of the site.

Each Content Type in Drupal can have custom fields such as:
• Title • Body (text area) • Image •Date
Default Content Types in Drupal
• Article: Used for time-sensitive content like blog posts or news items.
• Basic Page: Used for static content such as an "About Us" page.
Each content type can have its own:
• Fields for input - Defines what data is collected (e.g., text, image, date).
• Form display - Controls how fields appear on the content editing form for users.
• View display - Determines how the content is displayed to visitors on the website.

Basic Page Article

For static, infrequent content For time-sensitive, blog-like content

About Us, Contact, Privacy Policy

News, Blog Posts, Announcements Pages
Pages

Not promoted to front page by

Promoted to front page by default
default

No tags by default Has "Tags" field

Comments Disabled by default Comments Enabled by default

Created Date Usually hidden Created Date Typically displayed

Image field Not included by default Includes an image field

Static pages Dynamic, regularly updated content

Create a new content type in Drupal
1. Log in to the Admin Dashboard
2. Navigate to Content Types
• In the admin toolbar, go to: Structure → Content types
3. Add a New Content Type
• Click on the “+ Add content type” button.
4. Fill in Basic Information
• Name: Enter name for the content type (e.g., News Article, Event, Product).
• Description: Optional

• Configure the Optional settings as needed:

o Publishing options (published by default, promoted to front page, sticky at top
of content lists etc.)
o Display settings (show/hide author, post date info)
o Comment settings (enable/disable comments)
o Choose whether to display author info
o Allow whether content type to be added to Menu
• Click “Save and manage fields” when done.
5. Add Fields to the Content Type
Click + Add Field, Then Choose field types and labels. (Add new field/ Re-use existing
field)
• Text, Text(long) Image, File upload, Date, Link to external or internal webpages, List
(dropdown)
• Provide label for the field(such as event_type, event_name)
6. Click save and continue to proceed with any additional settings.
Example
If you create a content type called Event, you might add fields like:
• Event Date (Date), Location (Text), Event Image (Image), Registration Link
(Link)
Promote Options in a Content Type (Basic Page/ article etc)
"Publishing options" (Promote options ) is used to modify publishing settings.
1. Published
• Checked: The content is visible to users.
2. Promoted to front page
• Checked: The content will appear on the front page (homepage). Example – For
articles
3. Sticky at top of lists
• Checked: The content stays at the top of lists (Pinned)
WYSIWYG Editor
In Drupal, a WYSIWYG editor (short for “What You See Is What You Get”) is a visual text
editor that allows users to create and format content (like pages, articles, or blocks) easily
without writing HTML code manually. The most commonly used WYSIWYG editor in Drupal
is CKEditor. It has optional tools for list, link, images, Plain Text, text formatting etc.
A WYSIWYG editor allows to
• Format text (bold, italic, underline, headings, colors)
• Add links and images
• Create lists and tables
• Embed media (videos, files)
• Align text or insert horizontal lines
• View and edit HTML source if needed

Revision Log
A revision is a saved version of a piece of content (like an article or page) at a particular point
in time. Whenever the content is updated, Drupal can store it as a new revision without deleting
the old one. This makes it possible to review, compare, or revert to earlier versions.
In Drupal, the Revision Log is part of the content revision system that keeps track
of changes made to content items (nodes). It allows editors and administrators to
maintain a history of who changed the data. It allows editors to add a message
describing what changes were made. Example messages: “Fixed spelling errors.”,
“Updated event date and location.”, “Rewrote introduction for clarity.”
Key Features
1. Tracks history → lists all revisions for a content. Maintains the complete edit history.
2. Accountability and transparency → Show who made the change and why.
3. Collaboration → Helpful for teams of editors working on the same content.
4. Error recovery and Reverting → User can roll back to a previous revision if needed.
How to enable revision in Basic Page
Enable Revisions
1. Click the Edit tab (on the “Basic page” content type).
2. Scroll down to the Publishing options section.
3. Check the box:
Create new revision
This ensures each time you edit a Basic page, Drupal will store a new revision.
4. Click Save content type at the bottom.

Managing Comments
Comments are user responses attached to content (e.g., articles, blog posts). Drupal allows to
configure comments per content type, per field, and per user permissions.
1. Enable Comments on a Content Type
To allow comments on a content type (e.g., Article):
• Go to: Structure → Content types → Choose a content type (e.g., Article) → Manage
fields
 • Check if there is a field named comment, if not click “Add field” and Select
“Comments”
• In the comment field settings, configure
o Set the default value to
▪ Open(user can post new comments)

▪ Closed(comments are disabled for new posts)

▪ Hidden(existing comments are not shown).
o Choose comment threading type (flat or threaded)
• Save the field settings
In each Content Item, comments can be allowed or disallowed In Comment Settings
Section.

2. View and manage all comments

To manage and moderate submitted comments:
• Go to: Content → Comments [from this screen user can unpublish or delete
comments, filter comments etc.]
• Filter by:
o Published
o Unpublished
o Pending approval
• Perform bulk operations (publish, unpublish, delete)
• Approve or delete individual comments

3. Permissions
Go to: People → Permissions → Choose a role (e.g., Anonymous, Authenticated) → Edit
Under "Comment": Admin can edit comment permissions

4. Comment Threads and Pagination

In the comment field settings:
• Choose Flat list or Threaded
• Set comments per page(Pagination)
• Control ordering: newest first / oldest first
5. Deleting or Disabling Comments Sitewide
To remove comments from a content type:
• Go to the Structure → content type → Manage fields
• Delete the Comment field or set comment field to Closed or Hidden by default
To completely disable comments:
• Uninstall the Comment module (only if you’re not using comments anywhere)

Theme in Drupal
A theme in Drupal controls the visual appearance of the site, including layout, fonts, colors,
and the arrangement of blocks or regions. Themes control everything including layout
structure, typography, colors, icons, and spacing, ensuring a consistent and user-friendly design
across all pages.
A Drupal theme provides the presentation layer of the website. It separates content (handled by
modules and the backend) from design (handled by the theme).
• Themes do not affect functionality, only presentation.
• Drupal separates logic (modules) and appearance (themes).
• Drupal supports:
o Core themes (bundled with Drupal)
o Contributed (contrib) themes (downloaded from [Link])
o Custom themes (build them yourself)
PART 1: Enable an Existing (Pre-Installed) Theme in Drupal 10
These are themes that are already included in Drupal installation (e.g., Olivero, Claro, Stark,
etc.)
1. Log in to your Drupal site as an administrator.
2. Go to the Appearance page: Find the theme you want to use (e.g., Stark, Claro).
3. Click Install and set as default.
4. Theme is now active. A confirmation message will be seen: Visit site homepage to see
the new theme.
PART 2: Install a New Theme (Not Pre-Installed)
Step 1: Download a New Theme
1. Go to Drupal Themes Page
2. Find a theme compatible with Drupal 10.4.6
3. Click the .zip file to download the theme.
Step 2: Extract the ZIP to themes/contrib/
1. Go to C:\xampp\htdocs\your-drupal-site\
2. Navigate to: /themes/contrib/
3. If contrib doesn't exist, create it.
4. Extract the downloaded ZIP into this folder: /themes/contrib/vani/

Step 3: Clear Cache

1. Go to: Configuration -> Development -> Performance
2. Click Clear all caches

Step 4: Enable the New Theme

1. Go to: Appearance
2. Scroll down to find the new theme under Uninstalled themes.
3. Click Install and set as default. Theme is now active

Common Theme Settings

Setting Purpose

Logo Upload site logo

Favicon Upload browser tab icon

User Pictures Show user avatars in posts/profiles

Color Scheme Change color palette

Custom CSS Add extra styles