What will you learn
- How to clear Drupal's cache
- Overview of the configuration management system
- Methods for synchronizing configuration changes across environments
- Installing the Search API module and connecting it with Solr to improve internal site search
- The main components affecting Drupal site performance including caching, server scaling, CDNs, and performance monitoring
- How to use the Workflows and Content Moderation modules to enforce editorial guidelines
Overview
Drupal site administrators use a combination of configuration changes made in Drupal's UI, command line tools, and their knowledge of the contributed module ecosystem to deploy application updates, configure new site-specific features, and keep a Drupal site running smoothly.
Essential guides for site administrators
If you're new to Drupal site administration, we recommend you first go through the Drupal User Guide. In that guide, you will build the Anytown Farmers Market site. Along the way, you will learn essential site building and administrative concepts and tasks -- common prerequisite skills and knowledge that you'll need as you dive deeper into learning and using Drupal.
Drupal User Guide
GuideSooner rather than later, you'll want to get comfortable with using command line tools for common tasks such as:
- Downloading and installing contributed modules and themes using Composer
- Installing (enabling) modules using Drush
- Committing and pushing new or revised files -- such as new modules or configuration changes using Git, a version control system
- Clearing and rebuilding caches using Drush
See our Command Line Tools for Drupal guide to dive into any of these topics. Or pick and choose individual tutorials in the courses to learn or remind yourself of command syntax.
Setting up a local development environment is an essential skill for any Drupal site administrator. We use and recommend DDEV. You can test out updates, configuration changes, and new features safely, try out new versions of Drupal, go through tutorials in a sandbox, or create an environment that mirrors your live site.
Installing Drupal using the instructions in this tutorial will give you a working Drupal site that can be used for learning, or real-world project development.
Before you can work on a Drupal site locally (on your computer), you'll need to set up a local development environment. This includes all the system requirements like PHP and a web server, that Drupal needs in order to run. Our favorite way to accomplish this is using DDEV.
In this tutorial we'll learn:
- How to install and configure DDEV for use with a Drupal project.
- How to use DDEV's integrated Composer to download Drupal and Drush.
- How to install Drupal inside DDEV so you can access the site and start doing development.
By the end of this tutorial, you should be able to set up a local development environment for learning Drupal or working on a new Drupal project.
Learn how to keep your Drupal site up-to-date using Composer. The tutorials in these courses assume you have a local development environment up and running and if you're working on a "real" site, that you have a process and system set up for pushing code to a remote Git repository and to test and deploy change to the live site.
Keep Drupal Up-To-Date
GuideThis guide includes courses covering features and essential administrative tasks common to many Drupal site-builds.
This includes:
- Methods for clearing Drupal’s cache.
- A deep dive into Drupal's configuration management system, that teaches you how to export, import, and synchronize configuration changes across environments.
- Integration of the Search API and Search API Solr modules with Drupal, highlighting how to leverage Apache Solr's advanced search capabilities for improved search functionalities.
- A comprehensive look at Drupal performance and scalability to manage high traffic loads efficiently, ensuring a fast and stable user experience.
- Configuring the content moderation and workflow systems to manage content approval processes and implement structured content governance.
Courses
Clear Drupal's Cache
This course covers the various methods for clearing Drupal’s cache, including using the administrative user interface, Drush commands, and directly manipulating the database.
Configuration Management
This course covers the basics of the configuration system, setting up and securing the configuration sync directory, and creating clones of Drupal sites for development and testing.
Search API and Solr
This course covers the installation and configuration of Solr and the Search API module, setting up and managing Solr cores, creating and populating Search API indexes, and using Views to create custom search pages and blocks. And advanced features such as facets, autocomplete, and search result excerpts.
Performance and scalability
This course covers performance concepts and terminology, the use of contributed modules for performance enhancement, and methodologies for profiling and benchmarking site performance. You will also explore advanced caching mechanisms, server scaling, configuring Drupal for commonly used hosting environments, and the use of Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to improve site speed and reliability.
Content Moderation and Workflows in Drupal
This course covers the basics of setting up workflows, creating and managing content revisions, and applying these workflows to specific content types. Learners will also explore how to plan and create custom workflows, manage moderated content, and use Views to display moderated content effectively.
