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Drupal was also designed for customization. A drupal web developer who is an expert in the intricacies of the platform can build a completely unique and award-winning website that will manage content, eCommerce, site security, account management and news feeds. Drupal can also be designed to include slideshows, flash, and just about anything else needed or desired in a website.
The basic/core version of Drupal includes many desirable features:
Drupal uses a system of “hooks and callbacks” for modular add-ons. These are accessed internally using an API. This particular feature makes it possible to add virtually any desired modules or to import additional visual themes without changing the core code. This design feature allows unlimited modification while facilitating upgrades to new releases or platform improvements without overriding the add-on module coding. Drupal developers and website designers can either build their own add-on modules for needed functionality or download those created by other members of the Drupal developer community. Some of the add-on modules currently available either form bridges to other applications – such as eCommerce platforms – or to additional functions – such as podcasting, picture galleries, peer-to-peer networking, newsletters and more. Although Drupal is said to be easy to use and its users believe it has good core documentation, it should be considered that those polled were web developers and website designers. Others believe Drupal has a very steep learning curve. There have also been complaints that some parts of the administrator’s interface are confusing and that the interface is intimidating to non-technical people. One reviewer called the administrative interface “clunky and cryptic.” The developers of Drupal do not invest time or effort in ensuring backward compatibility (seamless blend with previous versions) in every aspect of the platform. This can require a developer to revise some of the customization code to make all aspects of a website fully compatible with the latest version of Drupal. In short, Drupal is a very robust content management system platform that can be used to create a unique web presence with all the functionality one could desire. These unique (and sometimes award-winning) sites take time to develop. Drupal is less designed for the average small business owner and built much more for the creativity and ingenuity of expert web designers and website developers. Both the visual and auditory aesthetics of a web site and the content (including the way content is added) can be customized or used in its generic form. Drupal probably offers the greatest flexibility for high-end busy websites that require the greatest range of functionality and flexibility. Drupal is also the leading choice of many designers to manage complex and constantly changing content in a wide variety of formats and accessibility options. Because all content is fully indexed, it is searchable at all times and across all modules or components of the site. The threaded comments model also facilitates comments and discussion on any published content. |
Drupal - Content Management System
Drupal is one of the two leading open source content management system web design platforms. In its basic form, out of the box, Drupal can be used to build a website that is essentially an online marketing brochure. It can also be used to build a simple single-user blog or a community site for user-generated content.
There is a very active community of Drupal developers and designers who use their expertise to build plug-in modules that extend the basic functionality of Drupal in order to meet the needs of their clients. There are, in fact, more than 4500 add-on modules available that were written by the community of Drupal development specialists.