Perhaps the most popular of all up and coming content management systems is Drupal. The Drupal content management system, according to Drupal.org, was first released as an open-source project in 2001, and it is now used by over 900,000 people. It’s not terribly surprising that Drupal development has seen such geometric growth. After all, as DigiSecrets writes, it’s a multi-functional system with dynamic design controls and a management system that has grown a dedicated Drupal development community.
The community of hundreds of thousands has spawned well over 20,000 Drupal custom modules. These modules do everything from adding a hit counter to adding greater designer controls for all developers. Many of these modules are written to make custom Drupal design easier, both for novice Drupal developers and professionals. Here are four of the best.
Administration Menu
Voted as the best module for custom Drupal design by Drupal.org, Administration Menu is the best way for any developer to get from page to page, from design to design. Say, for example, you need to get to a page that’s multiple layers down in your custom Drupal design. In that instance, you can use Administration Menu to quickly search for and access that page.
Webform
Code Karate, a community of Drupal programmers, writes that Webform is one of the best modules for custom Drupal design, especially if you plan to use your website as a marketing tool. Webform gives webmasters a simple way to get visitor contact information, allowing you to add them to your e-mail list and easily send marketing materials their way.
Backup and Migrate
The worst thing you can do as a designer, whether you’re using Drupal or not, is change and update your designs without backing them up. Unfortunately, Drupal doesn’t come with a backup solution out of the box. Never fear, however, as Backup and Migrate allows designers to backup their work on a custom schedule, according to Friendly Machine. In other words, you’ll never have to worry about having a working version of your site again.
ImageCache
As the mobile market continues to expand, the market that already dominates over 50% of the American people, according to Pew Internet, finding ways to optimize your design for mobile users is increasingly important. One of the best ways to optimize mobile design is by limiting the size of your images. Using ImageCache for custom Drupal design, you can easily resize your images, ensuring they don’t negatively affect the loading speed of your site for mobile users.
If you’re trying to design high quality sites in Drupal, then consider using these four powerful modules. You’d be hard-pressed to find any modules that assist custom Drupal design so effectively.
