Drupal CMS is an open-source that runs millions of websites and applications across the globe. It is recognized for its adaptability and scalability, thus making it suitable for both small businesses and large organizations alike. This application provides a solid foundation to create various web-based solutions such as blogs, corporate sites, e-commerce platforms among others.
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History of Drupal CMS
Initially, Dries Buytaert developed Drupal in 2000 to make it work like an online bulletin board which could be used by different people when there was no internet access. Today, Drupal has grown into one of the most versatile and powerful CMS frameworks available in the market. Due to constant updates as well as support from a vast community base, developers and firms still consider this platform as their first choice.
Lesser-Known Facts About Drupal CMS
Drupal Name Origin: The word “Drupal” comes from a Dutch term called “druppel” which means “drop”. Its name was influenced by Drop.org website which was an experimental site created by Dries Buytaert back then.
Government Adoption: One reason why government websites all over the world including U.S. Department of Commerce have preferred using Drupal is due to its strong security features and scalability.
Multilingual Capabilities: Around 100 languages are supported by Drupal out-of-the-box making it a favorite option for global multinational entities or websites that target international audiences.
Accessibility: Drupal CMS has over a hundred languages build into it, hence the best choice for global online audiences and multinational firms.
Web accessibility: This content management system follows the web accessibility guidelines which are essential in making websites accessible to individuals with various forms of disabilities.
First API architecture: Drupal CMS is characterized by an excellent API-first approach, thus making it a good option for creating headless CMS applications and integrating with various third-party services.
Community engagement: The community of Drupal developers is one of its greatest strengths. Even though thousands of people work on developing Drupal’s core and module, this platform keeps growing and evolving with time.
Drupal Distributions: The installation process is simplified with Drupal that provides pre-configured distributions such as GovCMS (government), OpenEDU (education), and Drupal Commerce (e-commerce).
Design Patterns and Frameworks used in Drupal CMS
Design Patterns
Current version of Drupal CMS, incorporates several design patterns which you can think of in modern software development. Here are some design patterns which Drupal CMS uses:
- Singleton Pattern:
- The Singleton pattern ensures that a class has only one instance and provides a global point of access to that instance
- The database connection in Drupal uses the Singleton pattern. The Database class ensures that only one instance of the database connection exists, providing a global point of access.
use Drupal\Core\Database\Database; // database connection instance.
$connection = Database::getConnection();This is crucial for resource management, avoiding the overhead of multiple connections.
- Factory Pattern:
- The Factory pattern provides an interface for creating objects in a superclass but allows subclasses to alter the type of objects that will be created.
- The service container in Drupal uses the Factory pattern to create and manage service objects. \Drupal::service(‘service_name’) method creates service instances as needed.
// Get the 'mailer' service.
$mailer = \Drupal::service('plugin.manager.mail');This allows Drupal to create objects without specifying the exact class of the object, supporting flexibility and extensibility.
- Dependency Injection:
- Dependency Injection is a design pattern in which an object receives other objects that it depends on, rather than creating them itself. This promotes loose coupling and enhances testability.
- Many classes in Drupal are designed to receive their dependencies through their constructors. For instance, controllers and services often have dependencies injected into them, rather than creating their own dependencies.
use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\ContainerInterface;
use Drupal\Core\Controller\ControllerBase;
class MyController extends ControllerBase {
protected $myService;
public function __construct(MyServiceInterface $my_service) {
$this->myService = $my_service;
}
public static function create(ContainerInterface $container) {
return new static(
$container->get('my_module.my_service')
);
}
} This pattern enhances modularity and testability by decoupling classes from their dependencies.
- Observer Pattern:
- The Observer pattern defines a one-to-many dependency between objects so that when one object changes state, all its dependents are notified and updated automatically.
- The event system in Drupal uses the Observer pattern. For example, modules can subscribe to events like
hook_entity_insert()to react to entity insertions.
/**
* Implements hook_entity_insert().
*/
function mymodule_entity_insert(Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityInterface $entity) {
if ($entity->getEntityTypeId() == 'node') {
\Drupal::messenger()->addMessage('A new node has been created.');
}
}
This allows different parts of the system to react to events or changes in state without being tightly coupled to the event emitters.
Framework
Drupal leverages the Symfony framework, which is a set of reusable PHP components and a web application framework. Symfony provides a robust and scalable foundation for Drupal, bringing in modern PHP practices and components such as:
- Routing: Symfony’s routing component allows Drupal to handle URLs in a flexible and powerful way.
- Dependency Injection Container: Symfony’s service container is used extensively in Drupal to manage service objects and their dependencies.
- Event Dispatcher: This component allows for event-driven programming, making it easier to extend and customize Drupal’s behavior without modifying core code.
- Twig Templating Engine: Twig is used for rendering HTML, providing a clean and secure way to create templates.
By using Symfony, Drupal benefits from a strong, community-supported framework that enhances its capabilities, performance, and security.
Major features of Drupal CMS
Flexibility: Thousands of plugins and add-ons can be used when extending the core functionality because of the modular structure employed in building drupal. Whether you want to implement a new feature or modify an existing one, drupal gives room for such customization.
Scalability: Drupal CMS can handle high traffic websites with ease, a fact that makes it suitable for large organizations. Some of its performance optimization features include caching and load-balancing which guarantee smooth running of your site even in cases of heavy traffic.
Security: With a strong security framework, Drupal is often the CMS of choice for government and enterprise-level websites. It provides various security modules as well as timely updates which protect your site against vulnerabilities.
Community Support: Drupal has an ever-growing community of developers and users who keep it current and secure. Additionally, the community offers extensive documentation, forums and support channels to assist you in tackling any problems that may arise.
SEO-Friendly: Built-in SEO tools and modules help to enhance websites search engine rankings is something that Drupal offers. This encompasses customizable meta tags, clean URLs and XML sitemaps that makes your site easy to be indexed by search engines.
Why to Choose Drupal as CMS
Customization: Drupal CMS has a modular architecture allowing for extensive customization. Be it a simple blog or complex e-commerce sites; you can have Drupal tailored to suit all your needs. You will find thousands of themes and modules to make your website unique and functional one.
Performance: Drupal CMS has features that optimize its performance such as caching and load balancing ensuring that your site does not crash under heavy traffic. You can also connect advanced caching like Varnish and Memcached for improved performance.
SEO-Friendly: Drupal CMS offers a set of tools and modules which are SEO friendly thus improving the website’s search engine rankings. Such elements here include customizable meta tags, clean URLs, XML sitemaps among others go along way enhancing indexing by search engines.
Best 4 Drupal Web Hosting Providers 2024
The right choice of web hosting provider is essential when it comes to the efficiency and reliability of your Drupal site. Below are some of the best Drupal hosting providers for 2024.
Acquia Web Hosting
Acquia is a cloud platform specifically designed for Drupal CMS. Dries Buytaert, the founder of Acquia, developed this platform with its range of services made especially for drupal websites.
Detailed Key Features:
Optimized Performance: Acquia provides specific performance optimization features formulated just for Drupal including advanced caching and load balancing.
Managed Services: Full managed hosting solutions composed of automatic security updates, daily backups as well as disaster recovery facilities.
Scalability: Easily scalable to meet growing traffic demands, making it ideal for large enterprises and high-traffic websites.
Security: The advanced security available in the form of SSL Certificates, DDoS protection and proactive threat detection.
Developer Tools: Integrated Development tools including Version Control Systems and Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) Pipelines.
Support: 24/7 Customer Support with Drupal Specific Expertise
Pantheon
Pantheon like many other great hosting providers is optimized for Drupal. It is packed with features that make it a great platform for developing, testing, and deploying Drupal sites.
Detailed Key Features:
DevOps Tools: DevOps tools integrated into the system to automate workflows, continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD).
High Performance: Outstanding caching technologies, load balancing services and high-performance servers combine to give users excellent site performance in any conditions.
Collaborative Environment: Multi-user collaborative allows teams to work together on development, staging and production environments.
Security: Automatic backups, SSL Certificates; Proactive security monitoring.
Developer Tools: Git Integration, Command Line Tools and Built-in Dev Environment.
Support: 24/7 Customer Support with Drupal Specific Expertise
SiteGround
SiteGround is a well-known web hosting provider distinguished by its exceptional customer support as well as efficiency. They have dedicated hosting plans designed specifically for Drupal.
Detailed Key Features:
Performance Optimization: Built-in caching (SuperCacher), free CDN integration, performance-enhancing server configurations.
Security: Advanced security features such as regular backups, monitoring and free SSL certificates.
Customer Support: 24/7 Drupal-specific support through live chat, phone and tickets.
Developer Tools: SSH access, Git integration and staging environments.
Ease of Use: User friendly control panel, one-click Drupal installation, and automated updates.
Scalability: Hosting plans that can grow with your website.
Bluehost
It is a popular hosting company that offers affordable plans for Drupal websites. It is also officially recommended by the Drupal community.
Detailed Key Features:
Affordable Plans: Reasonable hosting solutions for small to medium sites at pocket friendly prices
One-Click Install: Hassle-free installation of Drupal using a single click making it possible even for beginners
Customer Support: 24/7 customer support with Drupal experience via live chat, telephone and tickets
Performance: Great speed combined with free CDN integration and resource protection
Security: Daily backups of the site files plus free SSL certificates and advanced security features
Ease of Use: Control panel that is easy to use together with website builder tools.
The main decision making question in regard to hosting is where to host.
Because there are various types of cheap hosting services available in the market it is crucial to determine which factors are important for Drupal hosting: productivity, extensibility, protection, and assistance. Here are some key considerations:Here are some major factors that for consideration
Performance: Optimization tools such as caching and load balancing as well as the host servers that are fast should be offered by the hosting provider.
Scalability: Select a host that can be upgraded in case there is a probability of a higher traffic from the visitors. This is beneficial to the industries and businesses because most of them are large-scale while for the websites that face a vast amount of traffic.
Security: Security is a crucial aspect of any site regardless of the structural authority. Ensure that other elaborate security aspects are included such as the frequency of the updates, the provision of back up data, and keen observation.
Support: Customer support regarding Drupal is supposed to be available online to sort issues and prevent your site from being down.
Budget: Another reason that is considered when choosing the host company is the cost. This is because typically, only the specialized Drupal hosting server are costlier as contrasted to the overall hosting server service providers. Therefore, the totality of the provider should be in a position to provide the customer with his or her requirements within a given price.
Conclusion
Therefore, the drupal is a powerful cms which can provide a flexible management and grow up due to rather universal characteristics. But to fully exploit the utilization of Drupal one has to hire the right web hosting service.
Regarding the hosting providers you may choose the Acquia and Pantheon which are the popular providers that host for the Drupal developers or Drupal sites, or you may choose the general hosting providers such as SiteGround and Bluehost according to the requirements and the budget that was set for this purpose.