The redesigned Syfy.com website is a beautiful example of the latest in front-end technology. Lullabot developers Mike Herchel and Chris Albrecht join the Drupalize.Me podcast to explain it all.
Monthly Update
Blog postApril was a busy month for our team! We published tons of new Drupal content and updated lots of site features. Here's a quick recap:
In this tutorial we will get hands-on with Domain Access by getting the module installed. This is a more involved process than a regular module installation, but we just need to make sure we have a few things in place first. We're going to need to make sure we have our domains functioning correctly through Apache, and then add the Domain Access include file to our settings.php. With the configuration and module in place, we'll also verify that it is working properly and take a look at our domain list.
After watching this tutorial you will be able to properly install the Domain Access module, with its additional steps, and then verify that the installation was correct.
Additional resources
Domain Access project (drupal.org)
Domain Access Configuring settings.php (drupal.org handbook)
Installing the Domain Access module (Drush instructions) (drupal.org handbook)
With the main Domain Access site installed, we now need to get our other domain names added to the site and working. In this tutorial we'll review the settings for domains, add the Alumni and News domain names, and then test that all three domains are working properly.
Additional resources
Basic Domain Access module configuration (drupal.org handbook)
One of the biggest reasons to use Domain Access is to control the content for multiple domain names. In this tutorial we'll dive into content on our three sites. We'll start by sharing content across all the domains, and then create domain-specific content. To make managing the content across our domains easier, we'll then enable the included Domain Content module. This will provide us with some nice administrative tools to keep track of things.
Release Day: Hands-on with Domain Access
Blog postThis week we get hands-on with Domain Access as we continue the Introduction to Domain Access for Drupal 7 series. We'll walk through configuring our Apache virtual host (vhost) so all three of our domain names are pointing to the same Drupal site. With that configured properly we can get the Drupal site installed and then install Domain Access. There is a little extra installation step required for Domain Access to do its magic. After we have it up and running we spend some time looking at and understanding the main Domain Access settings, get our other domain names added to the site, and dive into working with content. We're going to learn how to share content across all three domains, as well as be able to restrict some content to only certain domains.
Trello for Publication Workflow
Blog postWe've recently been using Trello to help us track our content publication workflow. Here's a little bit about why and how we use it.
Help Drupal 8 and Win!
Blog postWe're kicking off a campaign to help the Drupal 8 Accelerate Fund. If you donate $50 or more to the community fund, you have a chance to win a free annual membership and if you donate $100, you can choose a new video for us to create.
Drupalize.Me at DrupalCon Los Angeles
Blog postOur entire team will be at DrupalCon Los Angeles in just a few weeks. We'd love to chat with you, so here is where you'll be able to find us.
This week we're pleased to add another series that addresses multiple sites in a different way from the core multisite feature, with the Introduction to Domain Access for Drupal 7 series. This series covers the basics of working with Domain Access to manage multiple domain names all on one Drupal instance—only one code base and one database.
In this introductory series you will learn how use the Domain Access project to let you manage multiple "sites" with different domain names from just one Drupal installation. Domain Access "multisite" works differently from the core multisite feature in that you truly only have one site to manage. There is just one code base and one database. Domain Access takes advantage of Drupal's node access system to give the illusion of multiple sites. In this series we start off by getting some context through several presentations that explain what Domain Access offers, and why you might use it, how DNS and Apache web servers work, and what you need to understand about the node access system. Once we dive into the hands-on work, you will configure Apache to work with multiple domain names, and get Domain Access installed on your site. Then you will configure a very basic Domain Access site, learning how to share and restrict content, change themes, and set up permissions for fine-grained access control.
Additional resources
Domain Access project (drupal.org)
This series will implement the same example as the Multisite series did, but with Domain Access instead. You can see and compare the two methods. First, let's look at some other examples using Domain Access and see what we get when we download the package from Drupal.org. We'll also talk about the features provided, along with some things to be aware of and consider when choosing Domain Access.
Additional resources
Domain Access project (drupal.org)
Domain Access can do its magic because of the Drupal node access system. In this tutorial we'll walk through the basics of how this system works, highlighting the two main methods, and then explain why this may be important information for you. We won't be diving into the code side of things, but instead outline the basic concepts for anyone who needs to interact with this system. When using a module like Domain Access, you should be aware of the Drupal context in which you are working, even if you hopefully never have to dive into the details.
Additional resources
Controlling Access to Content Overview (drupal.org handbook)
Node access developer documentation (api.drupal.org)
Let’s take a brief look at how translation contributions work in Drupal. This written tutorial is based on the free video, Translation in Drupal.
Podcast Episode 62: Distributed Design
Blog postDesign work is a lot of show-and-tell. It can be challenging to effectively communicate and collaborate on a distributed team. Join hostess Amber Matz, Lullabot Creative Director Jared Ponchot, Lullabot UX Designer Jen Witkowski, and Justin Harrell, Interactive Designer for Drupalize.Me, as they talk about the unique challenges, processes, and tools they use as part of a distributed team.
This week, we're wrapping up our series, Introduction to Object-oriented PHP, in partnership with KnpUniversity, with tutorials on access control for properties, type hinting, and constructors in PHP.
Here's an example of an assumption; The sun will rise tomorrow. An assumption is something that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof. This kind of thinking, while convenient, is prone to concealing facts, and troublesome when debugging code. This article defines what an assumption is, and provides some techniques for helping to eliminate them during debugging.
Release Day: Working with PHP Objects
Blog postThis week, we continue our Introduction to Object-oriented PHP series, in partnership with KnpUniversity (now SymfonyCasts), with tutorials that mostly focus on working with objects in PHP. You'll also learn how to add a specially formatted comment to your code that will enable code autocomplete functionality in your IDE.
While a lot of our days are focused on Drupal, as web developers there are other pieces of tech that we need to understand and use on a regular basis. One example is Apache web server. This is the most popular web server on the web and likely the one your site uses. While you don't need to be a system administrator to use Drupal, you do need to understand some basics of Apache when working with domain names, especially if you're managing multiple domain names on one web server.
Self-Serve Group Memberships
Blog postAt the beginning of this month, we introduced a new feature on the site: self-serve group memberships! In the olden days, when a group wanted to purchase a membership, we asked that they email us. We then generated an invoice and emailed it back. No longer! Now, groups can purchase 5-seat memberships directly from our site—no emailing or invoicing required. Not only is the signup process now very straightforward, but you can purchase a group membership on a monthly basis in addition to the annual option.