Tips and Tricks for Building Drupal Websites

"A successful website does three things:

• It attracts the right kind of visitors
• It guides them to the main services or products you offer
• It collects contact details for future ongoing relation." - Mohamed Saad

When embarking on the quest to building successful websites, developers and website builders face various challenges such as:

• Crafting the site without coding
• Designing a good structure and making it appealing to visitors
• Adding specific modules and features
• Fixing bugs and disrupted features
• Connecting your brand new website to services like Google Analytics

Sailing through the rough waters of web development can be tricky at times. However, you shouldn't be discouraged. There are plenty of tools and techniques that can help you navigate website creation more skillfully, and this article will guide you through leveraging some of them. More specifically, we'll focus on Drupal web development and outline some essential tips for crafting more successful Drupal websites. 

What types of websites can you create with Drupal?

If your new to using this CMS, then you might be asking what Drupal can do for you. Well, Drupal is an excellent choice for almost any type of project:

• Personal or business websites
• E-commerce sites
• Blogs, portfolio, art, social networking websites
• Forums and news sites, etc.

As you can see, Drupal is a versatile software that can address a wide range of needs and requirements. You only have to know how to use it to your advantage. 

Keep reading and get more familiar with the world of Drupal web development.

3 Elements to Consider When You Start Building Drupal Website

1. Drupal modules. From managing user accounts to organizing basic content, Drupal offers a wide range of functional modules. It's important to remember that Drupal is known for its fantastic customization capabilities. Take advantage of the suitable modules to build personalized sites that match the needs of your visitors. 

"Optimizing for impact means creating software that works for everyone. In recent years, our community has prioritized accessibility for users with disabilities, and features like lazy loading of images that help users with slower internet connections. Drupal's priority is to continue to foster diversity and inclusion within our community so all voices are represented in building an Open Web." - Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal.

2. Web hosting allows all your site content to be seen anywhere at any time. There are some key factors to consider when choosing your web hosting service: 

             - loading speed: consider a host that loads faster than the current average, 850 ms. 

             - uptime score: look for hosts that provide high uptime scores, preferably above 99.5%.

             - customer support: collaborate with a host that provides high-quality, responsive, and reliable support.

             - cost: choose a host that you can afford and count on for reliability and professionalism.

3. Environment. Drupal web development is a complex process that requires focusing on functionality, appearance, or code integrity. Many elements contribute to successful side building and the environment that revolves around your Drupal project is one of them. Good environments can foster growth and are usually dependant on the following factors:

               - How big the project is. This allows you to plan more efficiently, especially when dealing with multi-project environments.  

               - The size of your company. This is related to the growth of your business and is underpinned by elements like discipline, culture, management, knowledge, etc.

               - How skillful your team is. Having a highly experienced team that is reliable and efficient is essential when it comes to the environment. 

How to maintain your Drupal website

Proper website maintenance can be challenging. Here are some aspects to pay attention to.

Status report

This is a feature provided by Drupal that monitors your site's health. It checks folder permissions, disruptive modules, or libraries. The Status Report feature also helps with debugging technical support issues, providing excellent support for your maintenance practices. 

Cron 

This is an automated task that your Drupal website runs on periodically. It performs scheduled duties like cache clearing, sending emails, or reminders, and it doesn't involve any manual intervention. This tool also performs routine maintenance for the System Module and checks for available updates. 

Caching

In Drupal web development, there are two modules for caching:

• The Internal Dynamic Page Cache Module that aims to accelerate site speed.
• The Internal Page Cache Module which caches pages for anonymous users in the database. 

Deployment

Drupal deployment allows users to move content from one Drupal site to another. More precisely, when editing your Drupal site, it is helpful to use different environments to modify or test your content without harming the live site's performance. The changes are then deployed through an automated process. 

When it comes to Drupal website maintenance, it often saves a lot of resources to hire a Drupal agency to do it for you. 

Optasy can help you navigate the sea of challenges that come with your Drupal project. Be it your digital strategy, web design project, or maintenance services, count on us and leave your worries behind!

Photo credit: Sam Dan Truong on Unsplash.