Learn Open Source CMS with drupalize.me

The internet is like a magic wonderland filled with endless possibilities: you can find an answer to any question you want within a fraction of a second, watch infinite cat videos, connect with people all over the globe and chat with them in real time, find a job or apply for your dream college, build your own website, and of course – learn and teach others.

Not to get too much sentimental, but technology really brought us a fair share of positivity and happiness, especially when it comes to strengthening our sense of belonging. We all heard of the phrase “bringing back to the community”: open source CMS is just one fraction of this wonderful practice, and we’re talking about a global level.

But what is open source CMS anyway?

[su_quote cite=”Joe Shindelar, Lead Developer & Lead Trainer, drupalize.me” class=”right”]
We created the ultimate tutorial architecture wherein we have the flexibility to present information in whatever way makes the most sense. Everything is on 1 page. It’s easy to find, and it gives you the option to learn however you learn best.[/su_quote]Open source software basically means everyone has free access and licence to study, copy, use, and change the software. The source code is open to public with the idea to encourage people to give their contribution and improve the software. So, in whatever corner of the world you live in – you can use your knowledge to better the software, for a greater good: don’t you feel all warm and fuzzy inside because of that?

As for CMS (content management system), it is a computer application that enables the creation and modification of digital content. In layman terms, it is a user-friendly system that helps you prepare all the content (e.g. blog posts, photos), format it, index it, and publish it on your website. Sounds familiar? Yep, WordPress is one of the well known open source CMS.

But have you heard about… *drumroll* … Drupal?

Drupal is an open source CMS (written in PHP) that gathers one of the largest open source communities in the world: over 1 milion enthusiasts collaborate all across the globe! From developers, designers, and strategists to coordinators and sponsors – they all work together to push the Drupal project forward, and you too can get involved! The latest version (Drupal 8) was released in November 2015, making the creation of the content easier than ever before and your website perfectly mobile-responsive thanks to the new built in themes.

In addition, Drupal skills are in high demand, especially in the small business industry: according to a survey conducted by the Drupal Association, 95% of the respondents said Drupal is a valuable skill to have on the job market. You don’t even have to be a Drupal expert as employers are looking for beginner or intermediate skills (33% of the surveyed said so), while 85% of them say there is not enough Drupal talent out there to meet their business needs.

Intrigued now, are you?

If you’re wondering where to start, turn to Drupalize.me, the most renown source of on-demand Drupal training!

Why would you want to get “drupalized”?

Drupalize.me is the largest collection of premium Drupal trainings and it is perfect both for newbies or those who wish to elevate their skills at their own pace. There are thousands of existing modules and themes so finding a way to start learning can be confusing: that’s where Drupalize.me steps in!

Besides, the technical knowledge is nothing unless it’s put to the test with other savvy practices: these include the ways of managing your content, gaining a deeper understanding of coding and servers, and much more. All of the mentioned is covered within the lessons.

The thing that makes Drupalize.me stand out from others lies in the following:

• They nurture the community, help it grow, and encourage interactions
• They constantly provide new lessons based on the requests and questions of Drupal members, ensuring you never stop learning
• You can access the lessons from any given device (PC, tablet, or mobile device)
• They provide excellent customer support to ensure you understand everything regarding managing your account
• The lessons are bundled together so you have an easy-to-follow learning experience: navigate through themed series of lessons or enjoy the insightful curated guides
• With the ever-growing number of international subscribers, Drupalize.me provides transcripts, subtitles, and translations

In addition to free tutorials, you can sign up for a premium membership and enjoy full access to the optimally organized knowledge of Drupal: the videos get constantly updated so you never miss a thing!

What can you expect to learn?

In short – absolutely everything that has to do with Drupal!

The team is really committed to following the latest discussions and updates regarding Drupal so rest assured, they’ve got you covered. You can start with the free introduction video in order to get a clearer idea of how Drupal works. Here, you can find out:

• How to enter and manage your content
• How to handle user permissions
• What is the module system and how it works
• In what way does the chose theme alter the site’s layout and overall visual structure
• Guide through general settings and site configuration

This introduction is a good first step since you’ll learn more about niche-specific terminology and and understand how PHP applications function – all that in the simplest, most consumable way!

Drupalize.me: the mission and the people behind it

The goal at Drupalize.me is to empower anyone interested in building and maintaining Drupal-based websites. Training team behind the idea is a group of curious and driven people, with relevant development expertise.

As you start watching tutorials, you’ll see just how non-techy their approach is as they aim at the widest possible audience: the language is understandable, the visual structure supports every lesson (along with shared screens), while you can expect a few chuckles along the way.

[su_quote cite=”Addison Berry, CEO, drupalize.me ” class=”left”]

Drupal matters in many more ways than being able to build websites. It is easy to get into the routine of working in open source and handling the tool we are familiar with, working on the project or deadline in front of us, while having the larger impact of our work fade in the background. We, the open source community, are changing individual lives every. single. day.[/su_quote]

Here’s what Addison Berry, the CEO at Drupalize.me, had to say about the first steps in creating tutorials:

I made my first Drupal video on the spur of the moment because I had finally figured out how to properly create a patch and was going to submit one. I decided that it had been a struggle for me, even with written documentation, so I decided to capture what I had learned in a video, to help others. It was pretty messy and low quality so I was really nervous about putting it out but the response from the community was great.

The thing about the Drupal community is that all its members share an honest passion for knowledge and aren’t selfish to share their findings. Those who know more, value the importance of teaching others as it is the only way the whole community will continue to grow.

Drupalize.me is backed by Lullabot, one of the worlds best open source we strategy, design, and development companies. It is part of its educational series and it also contributes to other projects. Take the Druppal Ladder project as an inspiring example: it aims to provide a systematic way of obtaining Drupal knowledge (the “learning ladder”), with a specific goal: to empower others with their tutorials and study materials, and make at least 1% of the community contributing to the source code. Progress – guaranteed!

Drupal creates amazing digital experiences

Still wondering about the true potential of Drupal?

[su_box title=”Renown institutions, organizations, and companies such as Smithsonian Institute, NBC Universal, NASA, Sony Pictures, and ebay – all rely on Drupal trainings for their business growth and professional development.” class=”trap small right”][/su_box]

With Drupal, the future is now! As Amber Matz, Production Manager and Trainer at Drupalize.me pointed out, Drupal can even be implemented in the industry of IoT, especially when it comes to the possibility of building cloud systems via this CMS.

When compared to WordPress and Joomla!, Drupal stands out as the most powerful CMS suitable for building dynamic, interactive, and visually demanding websites. Here’s why it’s so amazing:

• It’s perfect for trying out different digital innovations: With the support of a highly-educated community that also thinks outside of the box, you can improve your website and play with it
• It enables you to build a website from scratch in record time: This is fairly important if you’re a marketer – time is money!
• It can handle busy websites: No worries – high level of traffic is a breeze with Drupal! Expect improved performance and faster loading pages.
• It’s free of charge: ka-ching!

Renown institutions, organizations, and companies such as Smithsonian Institute, NBC Universal, NASA, Sony Pictures, and ebay – all rely on Drupal training for their business growth and professional development.

Plunging into the Drupal world and building your own website

[su_quote cite=”Kyle Hofmeyer, Filmmaker and Video Producer, drupalize.me” class=”right”]

We live in the 21st century and building online presence is important. Whether you’re looking to start your online business or let the world know about your amazing artwork, it’s good to know where to start when thinking about your personal website.

It is a lot of work making tutorials for Drupalize.Me and keeping our production quality high. Why do we do it? For many reasons: 1) we love our jobs, 2) we love Drupal, and 3) most importantly, we understand our members pay for quality and we want to deliver[/su_quote]

You’re likely to hear different opinions about Drupal, but in the end – the steepness of the learning curve depends on your previous knowledge. If you’re looking to become a developer and you’re starting from ground zero, encountering Drupal for the first time might be a bit overwhelming. By gradually learning lessons from the on-demand trainings, you can understand the basics within six months.

However, you don’t have to know PHP or to write a single line of code to use Drupal as CMS. The more you’re familiar with PHP, HTMLS, and CSS – the better! But rest assured, you can still create beautiful websites with using existing themes and being flexible. Here’s a quick step-by-step:

• Choose a domain name: If you take a look at Drupalize.me, they’ve managed to create their own custom verb out of the name “Drupal” that with .me creates a catchy domain name. Drupalize.me is a call to action that users associate with knowledge and learning, similar to the phrase “teach me”. This helped them create a brand and become more recognizable on the market. In addition, our research showed personalization is the key to success with 73% of the respondents saying having a personalized domain name is important for their online brand.
• Get a web hosting service
• Install Drupal: You can download it here.
• Choose a title for your site
• Follow the instructions and add content
• Manage modules and blocks: Feel free to ask the Drupal community for advice.

For all those looking to become a part of Drupal community and contribute with coding knowledge, listen to the wise words of Helena Zubkow, a front-end developer at Lullabot:

Make work-life balance a priority. Coding can be easy to get absorbed into because it’s engaging and mentally stimulating, and the field can produce serious workaholism. You can easily sit down for five minutes and realize that it’s actually been twelve hours and there’s a Dorito in your hair, but putting your sanity and health first will make you better at your job.

In case you’ve actually thought – yes, this is so me!, but you don’t actually do anything productive during those twelve hours (other than scrolling down your Facebook news feed), it’s definitely time to make a big change in your life.

Start by trying something new that could potentially launch your career: with Drupalize.me, you can count on learning while having fun!

The future of Drupal is looking rather bright and we at Domain.me are proud to be chosen as the domain registrar of such a reputable and noble project like Drupalize.me!