FA-0605Software DevelopmentDevOps, Cloud & Infrastructure

Drupal Site Building and Content Management Essentials

Content structure, taxonomy, display and access management

Configure content types, taxonomy and basic displays in a prepared Drupal site, with an optional second day for theming and administration.

Introduction

Why this course

This introductory course teaches Drupal site-building and content-management fundamentals using a prepared, supported Drupal environment. The one-day core covers navigation, content types, fields, taxonomy and basic Views/blocks. The two-day option adds theme configuration, a selected CSS/template example, access management and maintenance.

Drupal is both an underlying framework and a content-management platform; the newer ready-to-use Drupal CMS product builds on Drupal core and may provide a different configured experience. The course does not promise every product feature or advanced integration in one day. Installation, module and theme choices follow the selected release's requirements.

Learning outcomes

The course teaches participants to:

Explain Drupal content, structure, theme and user-management concepts.
Create and edit a selected content type and its fields.
Organise sample content with taxonomy and reference fields.
Build a basic View and place a selected block.
Review user permissions and content-workflow requirements.
In the extended option, practise a bounded theme customisation and plan maintenance/backup tasks.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of web development (HTML, CSS).
Familiarity with using web-based applications.
An understanding of basic content management principles.

Use a prepared local or authorised training site; administrative tasks require suitable permissions.

Training outline

2 modules

01Core Day 1 — Site Setup and Content Structure1 topics

Drupal and the learning environment

Overview of Drupal as a CMS
What is a Content Management System?
Drupal capabilities and trade-offs for the selected release and configuration.
Use Cases and Examples of Drupal Sites

Distinguish Drupal core from the ready-to-use Drupal CMS product; compare the selected site's installed capabilities.

Review local or authorised training-server installation paths and requirements.
System Requirements and Preparation
Step-by-Step Installation Guide
Initial Configuration and Setup

Use a supported Composer-managed project or prepared environment; installation is guided or demonstrated rather than assumed to work on every host.

Interface and initial roles

Navigating the Admin Dashboard
Overview of the Admin Toolbar
Key Sections: Content, Structure, Appearance, Extend, Configuration, People, Reports

Managing User Accounts and Roles

Creating and Managing User Accounts
Configuring User Roles and Permissions

Content types, fields and content items

Creating and Managing Content Types
Understanding Content Types and Their Importance
Creating Custom Content Types
Configuring Fields and Display Settings

Using Nodes to Manage Content

What are Nodes?
Creating and Editing Nodes
Organise related content using appropriate entity/content reference fields.

Taxonomy and display

Introduction to Taxonomy in Drupal
What is Taxonomy and Why is it Important?
Creating and Managing Vocabularies
Adding and Organizing Terms
Using Taxonomy for Content Categorization
Assigning Taxonomy Terms to Content
Filtering and Displaying Content by Taxonomy

Customizing Content Display

Introduction to Views
What are Views and Their Importance?
Creating Basic Views
Configuring Filters, Sort Criteria, and Display Formats

Customizing Content with Blocks

Understanding Blocks and Regions
Creating and Managing Custom Blocks
Placing Blocks in Different Regions

Complete a small sample content structure, vocabulary, View and block.

02Extended Day 2 — Theming, Access and Maintenance1 topics

Themes and a small customisation

Overview of Drupal Themes
What are Themes and Their Role in Drupal?
Installing and Activating Themes
Configuring Theme Settings

Basic Theme Customization

Customizing Site Appearance with CSS
A guided overview of template overrides for the selected theme, using Twig where applicable.
Using Theme Regions to Organize Content

Access management

Managing User Roles and Permissions
Understanding the Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) System
Creating and Configuring Custom Roles
Assigning Permissions to Control Access
Implementing Access Control for Content
Review access behaviours using test roles; visibility depends on the site's permissions and modules.
Evaluate compatible access-control modules and their limitations rather than assume extra modules ensure security.

Content quality and workflows

Maintaining Content Quality and Consistency
Establishing Content Guidelines and Standards
Using Workflow Modules for Content Approval

Maintenance planning

Updating Drupal Core and Modules
Backing Up Content and Configurations
Monitoring Site Performance and Security

Back up files, database and configuration as appropriate; test updates and recovery in a non-production environment.

Optional demonstrations

Multilingual Content Management
Enabling and Configuring Multilingual Support
Translating Content and Interface
Integrating with External Services
Connecting to APIs and External Data Sources
Using Modules for Enhanced Functionality

Multilingual configuration and external APIs are selected demonstrations or follow-up topics, not promised full implementations.

A programme built around your team.

Share your training goals and requirements.