8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
1/32
Building an
Enterprise-ClassWeb Site with
and
Summary. 2
Preparing.or.tomorrows.audience..About.
Drupal..What.youll.learn.rom.this.guide..Who.we.are
Planning.Your.Drupal.Site. 5Defning.your.business.goals..
Development.and.deployment.tools..Your.personnel..Your.site.host
The.Drupal.Advantage. 10
12.reasons.Drupal.is.Mediacurrents.choice.
.Drupals.challenges..The.results
Launching.or.Long-Term.Success...14
The.lie.cycle.o.a.Drupal.site..How.is.a.Drupal.site.built?..What.to.expect.
rom.Mediacurrent.&.Acquia..So..are.you.ready?
Appendices
A:.Beore.You.Start:.Business.
Questionnaire. 18
B:.Beore.You.Start:.Specifc.Requirements.
21C:.Sample.Site.Map. 24
D:.Sample.Wirerame.25
E:.Sample.Categories,.Role.Structures,..
and.Content.Types. 26
F:.Drupal.SEO.Best.Practices.27
G:.Resources.or.Learning.More.29
H:.Acquia.Resources..31
Whats.inside:
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
2/32
SummaryCongratulations. By reading these lines, youve taken a decisive step toward improving not onlyyour Web site, but also your interaction with customers. We at Mediacurrent and Acquia haveenjoyed the benets o Drupal or years and believe that youll be as impressed as weve been byall it can do.
But a hammer is only as good as the hand that swings it, and it takes a practiced hand to deliverDrupals ull impact. Tis guide shows you how to use Drupal to:
Reach a wider audience
Create and manage content easily
Get higher placement on search engines
Deliver inormation thats easier to browse and search
Collect more and better-quality customer eedback
Sync your Web site better with your companys tone, style, and message
Lower the total cost o ownership o your website
Manage multiple sites with ease and eciency
Our jobs at Mediacurrent and Acquia are to give you the tools,expertise, and guidance to implement a Web site thats aspowerul as it is well-controlled. Tis guide tells you how wedo it.
Preparing.or.tomorrows.audience
Aer een years o exposure to the Web, people expect sitesto be dynamic and interactive. Yet, many companies still createWeb sites using 1990s tools intended to create static, Web 1.0sites. Te result is a pile o pages, sometimes tied to a legacydatabase system with hacked-together code, needing requent,manual updates. Tats no way to run a company!
Te superior alternative is a content-management system(CMS), which stores content in a structured database thatsoptimized or requent updates. Tere are literally dozens o
CMSes available; about hal o them ree and open-source. O the top three1
, Drupal is most oenthe choice o enterprises that need the stability, exibility, speed and unctionality that high-trac and mission-critical sites demand.
By using Drupal, Mediacurrent takes advantage o a growing Web platorm with thousands oactive developers and one o the best support structures available. Its open structure makes iteasily extensible, with thousands o ree modules available right now, and more available every
2
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Summary
1 WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal
Tese companies and thousands more run
high-visibility public sites on Drupal.
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
3/32
day. (I a ready-made module doesnt suit your needs, we can oen adapt it or write a new oneto your specications.) Regardless o whether you choose to maintain your site by yoursel orengage our partner Acquia (acquia.com) or expert-level Drupal support, search and hosting, youcan be condent that it will have a solid oundation or years to come.
About.Drupal
Te rst version o Drupal was created in 2000 by Belgian student Dries Buytaert as a Webboard or his riends to stay in touch. Within a couple o years, its release as an open sourceproject had attracted developers and Webmasters who used the soware on a daily basis.
Drupals popularity gained a tremendous boost when it was used to run several sites or HowardDeans Presidential campaign in 2004.Since then, its undergone two majorrevisions, become the soware runningtens o thousands o Web sites, andemerged as the second-largest open-source project in the world (aer the
Linux kernel).Speaking o Linux, Drupal sharesmany o that projects goals, workingmethods, and pattern o success inthe marketplace. Like most o Linux(and approximately two-thirds oall open-source projects), Drupal islicensed under the GNU General PublicLicense1, a highly permissive contractthat guarantees your ability to use and
modiy the soware as you like, ree ocharge. Like Linux, Drupal is integralto the business lie o thousands o enterprises. Just as important, the communities that maintainboth Linux and Drupal are highly proactive about maintaining soware quality to the level thatthese enterprises demand.
Drupals popularity is partly due to growing acceptance o CMSes in general over static Web-development techniques. Its two largest competitors, WordPress (wordpress.org) and Joomla(joomla.org) have also experienced remarkable growth over the past several years, and eachis generally acknowledged to host a larger number o sites than Drupal. However, Drupal aroutstrips them in the size, complexity, trac, and security demands o sites hosted. Simply put,Drupal has had the most real-world testing by enterprise-level clients.
3
Summary
1 http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html
Te basic Drupal installation comes with numerous unctions that encouragevisitor participation, such as blogs, orums, and RSS aggregation.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
4/32
4
Summary
Partner/Aliate:
Acquia (Drupal Support &
Network Services) Adobe (graphics soware)
Mosso (Web hosting)
Volacci (Drupal Search EngineOptimization)
Member:
Drupal Association (Organizational
Member) Atlanta Drupal User Group
echnology Association o Georgia
Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association
American Marketing Association
What.youll.learn.rom.this.guide
Tis guide gives you a solid understanding o both Drupal as a Web platorm and howMediacurrent and Acquia make it easy and protable to adopt. Youll learn how to:
Re-use your existing assets on your new site
Create needed materials that you dont already have
Control procedures and costs or your sites lie cycle Plan or site launch and ongoing maintenance
Set and monitor measurements o your sites success
Along the way youll see best practices or Web site developmentgenerally, and about eatures o Drupal that make those practiceseortless and transparent. Youll also learn about common dicultiesthat ace rst-time Drupal developers. While Drupal is mature andstable at its core, its administration can be baing to the uninitiated. Butdont ret: Our years with Drupal have taught us the secret handshakes
needed to avoid those problems.Weve also included a list o resources or learning more at the end o thisguide, in Appendix G. And, o course, were always available to answeryour questions by phone and through mediacurrent.com/contact orhttp://acquia.com/about-us/contact.
Who.we.are
Mediacurrent oers a wide range o Drupal services, including custom module development,theming, post-launch support, training, SEO, and strategic consulting. Acquia helps accelerateDrupal usage by contributing to the advancement o the core technology and oering products,services and technical support to simpliy the deployment and management o Drupal websites.
Our work exemplies a proven track record with clients that include established businesses,startups, nonprot organizations, agencies, universities, oundations, and an-based sites.
As active members o the Drupal community, we regularly participate in (and sponsor) eventsand orums that keep us in touch with the projects key players. In addition, weve set up ormalrelationships with the ollowing companies and organizations to amend our in-house experience:
Acquia (acquia.com) helps
organizations to buildsocial publishing sites aster
and more cost eectively
by commercializing and
supporting Drupal
Note: All trademarks and registered trademarks used herein are the property o their respective owners.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
5/32
Planning.Your.Drupal.SiteIn all things success depends on previous preparation. Without such previous
preparation there is sure to be ailure.
Conucius, Te Doctrine o the Mean
Building an enterprise-level Web site is like preparing or the courtroom: All o your eorts
are tested upon launch, and you have no second chance to make a rst impression. While sitebuilders have the advantage o a beta period and opportunities or renements over a longrun eventually every public-acing Web site has to ace a trial by audience. Verdicts are swi,and appeals unlikely.
So the need to prepare is clear, but not all orms o preparation are equal: Some devour timewith little ultimate result, while others are necessary, but non-obvious. How can you tell which iswhich?
In our experience, eective preparation involves examination o two areas: business goals andtechnical assets. Well look at both to help you rame your project up ront, which will savetremendous time later in the process. wo checklists at the end o this guide help you answer
these questions in detail: Beore You Start: Business Questionnarie (Appendix A), and BeoreYou Start: Specic Requirements (Appendix B).
Defning.your.business.goals
Te two most common questions we get rom prospective clients are:
How much is this going to cost?
How long will it take?
Surprisingly, the answer to both questions depends more on
the projects clarity than on its complexity: In short, ambitiousgoals that are well-ramed are easier and cheaper to achieve thansimple goals, poorly ramed.
Te rst step to clarity is to ask: Who is your target audience?Youre seeking not only general demographic inormation, butalso a sense o how its members interact with Web sites. odrill deeper: How much do they already use the Internet, and inwhat ways? How much o your interaction will be oine, andhow will you tie the two venues together? Are they amiliar withonline social networking, and would they benet rom it in your
site? Are there sites similar to yours that they already use?Tis is a good time to exercise your optimism and imagination to their ullest. ry to picture theperect exchange between your site and your audience; imagine them walking away, smiling andsatised. Ten ask yoursel: What can I give them to make them eel that way?
Your decisions at this point will help drive the technical design o your site: A little planning nowwill prevent the need to develop a custom module two weeks beore launch.
5
PlanningYou
rDrupalSite
Decisions made easy: Te orm, Beore
you start: Business questionnaire at in this
guides appendix walks you through the tough
choices that will dene your Web sites goals.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
6/32
Te second question to answer is: What assets do you already have? I you already have a Website, which parts would you like to migrate to the new site? Which have become obstructive orobsolete? What oine assets should be brought online? Regardless o your answer, chances arethat a undamental reorganization o assets will make your site clearer, less cluttered, and moreriendly. But you cant start that process until you know exactly whats on hand.
wo o this guides Appendices help gather your orces: Te Beore You Start: Specic
Requirements checklist (Appendix B) puts everything on the table, while the Site Map (AppendixC) gives you an opportunity to reinvent your world with what you already have. As always, youcan engage Mediacurrent or a set block o time to help you identiy your strongest assets, groupthem in logical ways, and determine the optimum site structure to deliver them.
Te last question to answer is: How will you know i youve succeeded? Modern Web tools oercomprehensive ways to measure the volume o visitors and track their actions, but ar too manyadministrators treat their metrics program as an aerthought. As a result, they dont have asense o whats working, and their attemptsto improve response are scattershot. Tatswhy we ask so many questions about
your current Web metrics in the BusinessQuestionnaire (Appendix A), and equipyour site with Google Analytics and othermeasurement tools. With written goals anda way to measure your progress, youll knowquantitatively what your Web investment isworth.
Acquia Network subscription services aredesigned to help you manage your Drupalwebsite. Te Acquia Network dashboard
oers you an overview o the status o yoursite including its general condition, Mollomspam-protection statistics, heartbeat log,code modication warnings, error messagespertaining to individual sites, and detailed technical prole.
So youve plotted a course, which is no small eat: Fulllment is impossible without a goal toulll. Now its time to be sure you have everything needed to execute your plan.
Te good news is that, technically speaking, Drupals requirements are both easy and cheap toulll, even on the enterprise level: Free soware and inexpensive hardware can (and do) run
some o the most impressive Drupal sites out there. Drupals requirements all in three categories: ools or development and deployment;
Personnel;and
A site host.
6
PlanningYou
rDrupalSite
Among other tools, Mediacurrent uses Google Analytics to help you
understand whos seeing your site, where theyre coming rom, how long they
stay, and what they do.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
7/32
Piece.#1:.Development.and.deployment.tools
Chances are good that you already have everything you needor development and deployment. (We recommend thatyou develop primarily on a staging server, not on your liveproduction host.) Drupal is written entirely in unobuscated,well-commented PHP code, with some CSS driving its graphic
design. You can thereore develop or Drupal using any plain-text editor, and manage the les using industry-standardproject managers. Drupal developers commonly use AdobeDreamweaver, Eclipse, Aptana Studio, or any o a numbero other Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) andsource code editing packages.
On the hardware side, practically any modern computer isstrong enough to handle all that Drupal can throw at it. Yourchoice o operating system isnt crucial, but Drupal runs bestin a Linux environment.
Whatever OS you choose, youll need an AMP stack that is,the combination o the Web server Apache, database programMySQL, and programming language PHP. All three are, likeDrupal itsel, open-source and extremely well-supported.Apache is the most popular Web server in the world by a widemargin, running two-thirds o the worlds million-busiestsites1; MySQL is the most-popular open-source database inthe world; and PHP is installed on over a million Web servers,running over twenty million sites2. AMP stacks are known bythe operating systems on which they run: LAMP or Linux,
MAMP or Mac, and WAMP or Windows.Te only other soware youll need is Drupal itsel and anyadditional modules that are needed to execute your design.Many Drupal sites eature unctions that arent available in thestandard (core) Drupal download; instead, they come romextensions called modules. Both Drupal and these modulesare available as ree and open-source soware at drupal.org; in addition, Mediacurrent canproduce custom modules when existing ones wont ll the bill.
Piece.#2:.Your.personnel
Te second technical requirement is personnel. In short, youll need staers, contractors, orpartners to ll six unctions:
7
PlanningYou
rDrupalSite
1 http://news.netcra.com/archives/web_server_survey.html2 http://www.php.net/usage.php
All you need to support a Drupal Web site
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
8/32
Project Manager: Drives the sites launch. Tis role is typically perormed by someonewithin the company who prooundly understands the sitespurpose, and who caninterace equally well with the projects business and implementation teams.
User Interace Designer: Oen lled by an outside agency or partner. Tis person isprimarily responsible or putting together the site maps, wirerames, and graphic designor the sites launch, but should be available on an ongoing basis to improve the site as it
grows. (See Appendix C or a sample site map and Appendix D or a sample wirerame.) Database Administrator: Since Drupals database is mostly managed through Drupal
itsel, the Database Administrator is only needed intermittently or such tasks as datamigration and backup. But while these tasks are inrequent, theyre important!
System Administrator:Oversees management oDrupals environment, includingthe LAMP stack, security,conguration, and le backup.
Content Administrator: Tis isthe one position that will almostcertainly be lled by someone insideyour company, as it is responsibleor dening your message. Besidesthe daily task o copyediting, thecontent administrator must addressissues that dene a sites tone andeel, or example How long shoulda typical blog post be?. Other tasks
include: trac management or house-created content (such as product inormation);selection and editing o news eeds rom outside sources; and moderation o user-createdcontent.
Drupal Partner: Needed both or development and ongoing maintenance. Some taskswill be easily done by people within the company: However, youll appreciate having anexperienced partner on hand to answer Drupal-related questions as they come up. Tis isthe primary role that Mediacurrent lls, to whatever level is required.
Drupal Site Support and Management: By subscribing to the Acquia Network, yougain access to a suite o remote site management services that simpliy and automate theoperation o your Drupal websites. Te Acquia Network completes the Drupal experience
by providing the support and network services to operate trouble-ree Drupal 6.x websites.
Te good news is that these unctions dont require much time: Unless youre running anunusually active or high-trac site, you wont need ull-time people in these roles.
You might need to ll other personnel slots, depending on your sites architecture and goals.For example, a site that has a heavy e-commerce component might need someone to monitorinteraction between Drupal and the shipping, merchant-card, and tracking systems responsible
8
PlanningYou
rDrupalSite
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
9/32
or ulllment. Mediacurrent can help you determine what such roles youll need to create, andhow to best ll them.
Piece.#3:.Your.site.host
Te third and nal technical requirement is a place to host your site. I you dont already havea Web site, we can suggest solutions that start at only a ew dollars per month, including Acquia
hosting. I you already have an existing host, it should be ne or your Drupal site as long as theollowing eatures are available:
An AMP stack, as is described earlier. Its components should be airly current, as olderversions may be incompatible or have security vulnerabilities.
Access to let you create, delete (drop), export, import, and edit MySQL databases. Inparticular be certain that you can import and export airly large databases: Some hostslimit DB transactions to as little as 2MB,which wont be enough to easily back upand restore your Drupal site.
Some hosts have a Drupal one-clickinstallation program that automaticallycreates the database, but (or securityreasons) doesnt give you urther accessto it. Tats ne or simple installations,but could be problematic or more-complex uses.
Access within your Web root to uploadand download les reely, and to changele and directory permissions. Without
these abilities, you wont be able to addmodules (or unctionality) and themes(or design).
Any other systems youll need to manage your site. For example, some administratorspreer to keep sites in sync using the versioning programs CVS and Subversion. Make sureyour administrator has whatever access is needed beore deciding on a host.
Adequate bandwidth. Most hosts provide varying levels o bandwidth based on yourneeds (and payment). I necessary, multiple hosts can be networked together, andDrupal works well with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) such as those available rom
Amazon, Akamai, and EdgeCast. Te Linux operating system. Again, this isnt strictly a requirement, but weve ound that
Drupal works best on a Linux host.
In addition to the products and services provided, hosting is available directly rom Acquia.Acquia hosting has been tailored to the specic demands o high-trac Drupal implementations.Acquia hosting is a great match or organizations that are looking to consolidate hosting andsupport to maximize the reliability and perormance o their Drupal applications.
9
PlanningYou
rDrupalSite
Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP are the time-tested, enterprise-
quality technologies that comprise Drupals oundation.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
10/32
o better dene these technical requirements, see Appendix B, Beore You Start: SpecicRequirements.
The.Drupal.AdvantagePower corrupts. Absolute power is kind o neat.
John Lehman, Former U.S. Secretary o the Navy (attributed)
By now you know quite a bit about Drupal: that its ree and open-source soware; that itsunctionality is extended through modules; that its built on Apache, MySQL, and PHP; thatits the choice o many high-trac enterprise Web sites; and so on. But the important question is:How well does it work? Aer working with Drupal or as long as we have, weve gotten a superbsense o what its good at and its challenges.
12.reasons.Drupal.is.Mediacurrents.choice
We preer Drupal, but were not partisans: We believe in using the best tool or the job, and inact oen use other technologies (such as Adobe Flash) when appropriate.
But oen, we nd that Drupal is the best tool or the job. Heres why.1. Development speed. Drupals exible core,
wide range o available modules, and easeo installation mean that most time is spenttweaking packaged systems, not designingthem rom scratch.
2. Cost. As ree and open-source soware,neither Drupal nor the modules ound onDrupal.org demand purchase or licensingees. Some o those modules such asthe e-commerce system bercart and thecustomer-relations product CiviCRM replace systems that have historicallycost thousands o dollars rom proprietarysoware vendors.
3. Scalability. Drupal powers several o theworlds top 10,000 Web sites1. It scales bothhorizontally (distributing load over several servers) and vertically (delivering several sitesrom a single server in a multisite installation).
4. Community. Over 700 people contributed to Drupals core soware; a semiannual Drupalconvention in Washington, DC drew 1,400 people rom around the globe. Te Drupal.orgWeb site serves as a unied online meeting place, connecting expertise with those whoneed it.
10
TheDrup
alAdvantage
1 A notable example o Drupals scalability is its use to serve Wikipedias donation system, which sustained over 20,000hits per second, a gure in the range o the Webs top 20 sites. See tomgeller.com/content/can-drupal-handle-high-trac-sites or details.
Drupal.by.the.numbers
~.2,000,000.downloads
~.250,000.downloads.per.
month
~.500,000.Drupal.6.downloads
~.350,000.community.
members~.400,000.live.Drupal.websites
~.4,400.modules
~.740+.Drupal.6.contributors
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
11/32
5. Modularity. Drupals architecture uses unctionalnamespaces to prevent conicts among modules and withthe sowares core. Custom modules that you develop areunlikely to cause problems or your existing installation,and vice-versa.
6. Extensibility. Drupals active development community
supports around 2,000 ree Drupal modules or the currentversion1; custom modules are possible through its thoroughapplication programming interace (API)2.
7. Security. Drupals record or xing security aws is amongthe best in the industry. As o this writing, the vulnerabilitymonitoring agency Secunia gives Drupal a 100% patchedrating, compared to 78% or WordPress3.
8. Currency. Drupal is a living technology; modules thattake advantage o signicant online trends typically appearas soon as their popularity is evident. (For example,there are over 350 ree modules available or third-partyintegration.)
9. Standardization. Drupal is designed to take advantageo existing hardware, soware, and skills. Its written instraightorward PHP and its transactional language isindustry-standard SQL.
10. Reusability. A well-dened hook system means thatsoware created or one Drupal site will work on all similarDrupal sites. Content is stored in standard SQL tables,
and is easy to export either directly rom the database orthrough an intermediate application (such as the Viewsmodule).
11. Search Engine Optimization. Drupal is perhaps the mostsearch engine-riendly platorm available. Every elemento a Drupal Web site can be tweaked or modied to beperectly optimized or both site visitors and the search engines, supporting a positiveROI.
12. Acquia Support & Services. Acquia brings commerical-grade support to mission critical
implementations.
Drupals.challenges
Drupal isnt perect. While it delivers impressive results in the right hands, getting there canbe baing. Its like a high-perormance car: Anyone can get it to run, but its intricate engine
11
TheDrup
alAdvantage
1 For Drupal 6, as o 1 May 20092 api.drupal.org3 secunia.com, or Drupal 6, as o 1 May 2009
A list o ree Drupal 6 modules by
category on the Drupal.org Web site. Tis
bounty is a great source o possibility
and, to the uninitiated, conusion.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
12/32
requires experienced mechanics to release its ull power. (And as with high-perormance carmechanics, sometimes the one with the lowest price per hour ends up being the most expensivechoice!)
Drupals most-notable issues are:
oo much choice. Browsing Drupals library o contributed modules is like trying todecide what to watch on V: Youll oen have a choice o a hal-dozen options that will
work just ne, but you wont know which is the bestuntil youve invested some time, atwhich point its inconvenient to turn back. Te solution, o course, is to get advice romthose who have aced such choices beore. However...
Qualied Drupal experts are in high demand. I you have a problem and haventalready engaged a Drupal support pro, it can be hard to get simple questions answered.Free support is available through IRC and orums on Drupal.org, but many questions gounanswered in those venues.
It takes a while to understand Te Drupal Way. Both development and administrationor Drupal require knowledge o how its pieces t together: For example, its main
administration screen has links to over 40 control areas. You could spend hours lookingthrough them all or the one setting you want to change i you dont know where it is.
Drupal maintenance requires vigilance. Drupals exibility is a double-edged sword: Onone hand it lets your Web site ll many unctions, but on the other hand every unctionit lls needs oversight. Add a voting unction to your site, or example, and youll need towatch out or users gaming the system. And with such an active development community,modules are requently revised to add new tricks and security xes.
We at Mediacurrent believe that Drupal is both challenging and worthwhile because o its power.Unamiliarity is the cause o most o its weaknesses; but when youve gathered administratorswith sucient knowledge and expertise around you, the results o a well-tuned Drupal site areunmatched.
Acquia Drupal provides a quick on ramp to Drupal. Acquia Drupal provides a distribution oDrupal with a collection o the most commonly used Drupal modules. It also has a super easy touse Stack Installer which installs all the components o the stack (LAMP, MySQL) or you.
Mediacurrent and Acquia together address each o these challenges and oer a complete solutionor architecting, designing, developing, deploying and managing enterprise Drupal sites. Inaddition, the Drupal experts rom both teams will insure that your enterprise sites are exible,scalable, secure, and reliable.
The.results
Medicurrent has counted among its clients NASCAR, Emory University, BroadSo, InterMediaOutdoors, Te Rockdale Foundation, and many more. Here are a ew examples.
12
TheDrup
alAdvantage
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
13/32
13
TheDrup
alAdvantage
BroadSof: Mediacurrentworked with BroadSo todevelop a corporate extranet
solution that integratedDrupal with the companysexisting systems (Plone).
Michael C. Carlos Museum: As themuseums collection and popularitygrew, it turned to Mediacurrent togive its site a new look, improve visitornavigation, and make administrationeasier. Mediacurrent implemented the
design provided by an outside agencyand congured over 30 modules toprovide cataloging, calendaring, andmaintenance unctions.
NASCAR: Mediacurrent consulted withurner Sports New Media on graphicdesign and Drupal architecture. Te
site is highly news-driven, and aimsto keep racing ans in touch with theiravorite drivers, tracks, and races.Additional community eatures encourageparticipation, while tightly designedmembership controls prevent abuse.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
14/32
Launching.or.Long-Term.SuccessTe planning process is essential i you want to know what to do when things
dont go according to plan.
Peter Baskerville, Business Planning or Entrepreneurs
The.lie.cycle.o.a.Drupal.site
So now you know the what and the why. Now lets talk about the how.
Some Web developers consider their jobs over when the site launches. We believe thats amistake, because a Web site is like a house: It needs ongoing care and maintenance. Just asweather can destroy an untended property and take with it a novice owners investment sotoo can online orces render a dead Web site unusable. Five such orces are:
Link rot, when outside inormationsources change their location or ormat;
Security issues with underlying
technologies, such as Apache or PHP; Newly discovered Drupal security issues;
Spam and other vandalism; and
Functional obsolescence, where a siteails to keep up with visitors changingexpectations.
So we always consider a sites uture when takingon a project, and see the launch as merely apunctuated moment in its lie cycle. o the right
you see what that complete cycle looks like.
How.is.a.Drupal.site.built?.
Tis lie cycle denes a complete strategy; but as every good chess player knows, strategy withouttactics quickly ails. In Drupal, the tactics to take a site rom concept to living entity take the ormo three tracks:
Data organization,including the design o content types and user roles;
Module selection and conguration to augment Drupals core; and
Site presentation, as realized through theme development and UI testing.
Te best way to demonstrate how the lie cycle strategy and these Drupal tactics work together isby looking at solutions or typical client challenges.
First, consider a common request, or a photo gallery. Oen a client will have a huge collection oexisting graphics, gathered over a period o years. Tey may be o dierent sizes and resolutions,unlabeled, and ungrouped. How could Drupal turn that collection into a coherent whole?
14
L
aunchingforLong-T
erm
Success
DiscoverDene and rene your
criteria for success
PrototypeCreate page wireframes,
write functional specications
and identify modules to use.
EvaluateAssess performance,
consider new needs
ReneConrm that functional
specications will meet
your needs.
Develop
DeployTest the site; train site managers
on content management;
launch!
Build a working site. Install and congure
selected modules. Create content types,
vocabularies and views. Construct a
custom theme.
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
15/32
Te rst track data organization means determining how those photos will be grouped. InDrupal, one way o grouping such items is bycontent type: For example, product photos mightbe put into a Catalog item content type, and augmented with elds such as price, quantity, andavailable colors. Meanwhile, sta headshots might go into a Personnel content type, with eldsthat provide their subjects department and contact inormation.
Another way to group those photos could be by tagging them with descriptive data, in structures
that Drupal calls taxonomies. So a photograph o someone at a party could be tagged with thesubjects name, the partys location anddate, the photographers name, or anyother data that serve your goal. Oen, thehard part is in determining what thosegroups o tags, called vocabularies,should be. One usually needs to revisithow your taxonomies are set up aer asite has been launched demonstrating,once again, the value o the methodologys
cyclical nature.Te need to turn data into visualinormation brings us to our second track:module selection and conguration. Telightweight solution shown here uses theImage module, which includes an add-onthat automatically creates galleries. Tissolution is simple, but not appropriateor all situations. Another possibilitywould be to use Content Construction Kit
(CCK) and FileFieldto add elds to ourcontent type, ImageAPIand ImageCacheto import and resize graphics on the y,and possibly a dedicated photo-displaymodule such as Lightbox to make thegalleries more interactive. As always, part o the challenge is choosing rom several possibilities tond the one thats right or your needs a process that benets tremendously rom experience.
Te graphic you see here shows the early stages o this process. Te job isnt complete somephotos still need to be tagged with a descriptive title, or example but the process is wellunderway.
Finally, we come to our third track: site presentation. Tis is where earlier work to create sitemaps and wirerames comes to ruition. Programmatically, the wirerame is converted to aDrupal theme. A theme is a collection o PHP, HML, and CSS code. Temes are sets o userinterace designs. Te site map becomes our template or the menuing system, so the site ows ina way that will be obvious and easy to visitors.
15
Intelligent conguration o Drupals administration screens turns individual
pieces o content, such as these photos, into a coherent whole.
L
aunchingforLong-T
erm
Success
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
16/32
But one never knows how people will react! Tats where the lie cycle methodology comes intoplay: Te Evaluate step, coupled with site-monitoring soware and optional user testing, allowsus to be certain that the sites message is coming across loud and clear.
Weve simplied matters considerably to reduce Drupals techniques to three tracks. In reality,each o them has many parts, each with itsown miniature cycle o denition, testing,
deployment, and evaluation. Drupalsexibility means that each problem has morethan one solution, and the obvious one isntalways the best. With the cyclical methodsweve described here, improvement is alwaysa possibility even long aer launch.
What.to.expect.rom.Mediacurrent..and.Acquia
Until now, weve talked generally about
processess and techniques to create a vibrantDrupal site, regardless o whether you decideto engage Mediacurrent. Even i you dont,we hope that this guide gives you tools tooversee your sites development throughoutits lie cycle and some criteria to judgewhether any contractors you hire are up tothe task.
But lets assume that you do decide thatMediacurrent is the right partner or your
project. What happens now?First, we ask that you ll out Appendix A, Beore You Start: Business Questionnaire. What youwrite there becomes our blueprint, and a way o measuring success along the way. Dont worryi you cant answer some o the questions right away, or believe that some o your answers mightchange later: Te important thing is to capture your vision beore getting mired in details.
I you have enough inormation to do so, we also ask that you ll out Appendix B, Beore YouStart: Specic Requirements. Further, were always happy to work with clients who already havetheir site map, wirerame (design), and category/role structure dened: Whatever you design,well make Drupal do it. Having said that, Drupal is like other Web soware packages in that
some structures are easier than others to implement. We might make suggestions that willultimately bring down your sites cost o production and maintenance.
Next, well meet with you to conrm the projects parameters and to begin a survey o yourexisting assets. Tis exploration will help us get a better sense o how long each stage o theproject will take and how to best approach it.
Ten well get together again to hammer out the details: wholl perorm various tasks, how tomost eectively communicate, a proposed schedule, and contract details. As always, we can
16
Drupal mapping, as seen in an administrative view and as presented to visitors
with data input and custom theming applied. (Te modules used here are GMap
and Location.)
L
aunchingforLong-T
erm
Success
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
17/32
revisit earlier steps to nd ways to speed upproduction or better meet your goals. We setprices based on the level o expertise needed,the amount o time required, and any specialcircumstances, such as whether travel or rushwork is needed. (Because so many actors areinvolved, we generally dont give xed bids.)
Ten were o to the races! Mediacurrent usesagile development methods, which are designedto give you:
Frequent updates, so youll always knowexactly how the projects going;
Goal-oriented metrics, so success is ameasurable quantity;
Ongoing contact, so you never lose control o the project;
Quick response to change, with change management procedures built into every stage othe process.
We build the latest monitoring tools into your site and show you how to use them, so you alwaysknow where you stand. In particular, we employ Google Analytics, which includes several widgetsthat quickly show you how site changes aect trac. Altogether you get a package that, true tothe creed o agile development, encourages experimentation and positions you or continualimprovement. (Our Drupal SEO partner Volacci provides a list o other tools or improving yoursites marketing in Appendix F, Drupal Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Best Practices.)
Finally, we ensure that you receive ull documentation on how to maintain and develop the site
urther, including entry-level documentation where needed or non-technical sta. We also oertraining in whatever ormats best suit your situation, including both screencasts and on-siteclasses.
Ultimately, the goal is to give you enough knowledge and skills to not only manage your Drupalsite yoursel, but to grow it as your business ourishes. O course, were always there or thoseparts you cant do or dont want to do!
So..are.you.ready?
We hope this guide helped you understand the processes that result in successul Web sites and how to approach Drupal to build yours. First, rame your goals; then, collect your assets;then, give Mediacurrent a call. Well give you an honest appraisal o your projects distance romdeployment and start plotting the most direct route to get you there. Lets get started!
Tis document was produced with help rom om Geller o Geller Guides (gellerguides.com), which
speacializes in making technology clear. Contact [email protected], +1-415-317-1805.
17
Mediacurrent oers training through videos and other media to
help your sta maintain and expand the site long afer its initial
launch.
L
aunchingforLong-T
erm
Success
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
18/32
Appendix.A
Beore.You.Start:.Business.Questionnaire
Your answers to the questions below will help Mediacurrent better understand your goals.
Basic.company.inormationCompany name: _______________________________________________________________
Address: ___________________________________________________________________
Main phone: _________________________ Fax: _______________________________
Preerred contact methods & conditions: _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
1st contact: _____________________________ itle: ______________________________
Phone: ______________________________ Email: _____________________________
2nd contact: _____________________________ itle: ______________________________
Phone: ______________________________ Email: _____________________________
Motivation
What is prompting you to redesign your Web site or generate a new one?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Further.company.inormation
Industries served: ______________________________________________________________
Major marketing/sales methods: ___________________________________________________
No. o employees: ________________________ No. dedicated to sales? ________________
Years in business: _________________________ Annual revenue: _____________________
Other relevant inormation: ______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
18
AppendixA:BusinessQ
uestionnaire
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
19/32
Your.current.Web.site(s)
URL(s): ______________________________________________________________________
Host: ________________________________________________________________________
Designer(s): ___________________________________________________________________
Underlying technologies:_________________________________________________________
Marketing techniques (SEO, PPC, email...): __________________________________________
Do you track visitors? How? ______________________________________________________
Monthly visitors: _________________________ Monthly page views: __________________
Monthly throughput: ______________________ Monthly hosting cost: _________________
Number o pages _________________________ Storage size: _________________________
When do they visit? _____________________________________________________________
For how long do they visit? _______________________________________________________
Which pages are most popular? ___________________________________________________What eedback have you received about the site? ______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
What are your objectives or the current site? _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
What eatures would you like to keep? ______________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
What eatures dont you like? _____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Business.purpose.o.your.proposed.Web.site(s)
Why do you want to embark on this project? (Check all that apply.)
[ ] Establish Web presence [ ] Improve branding [ ] Increase intl presence
[ ] Solicit direct sales [ ] Generate leads [ ] Recruit employees
[ ] Support email marketing [ ] Support oine marketing [ ] Receive payments
[ ] Provide periodic ino (sales, news...) [ ] Provide one-time ino (address, manuals...)[ ] Provide a portolio/list o clients [ ] Provide endorsements/recommendations
[ ] Be visible in online communities (RSS...) [ ] Have hidden areas or sta/clients
[ ] Build/add a Community Site [ ] Improve Customer Experience
Any other reasons? _____________________________________________________________
Planned marketing techniques (SEO, PPC, email...): ___________________________________
19
AppendixA:BusinessQ
uestionnaire
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
20/32
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
21/32
Appendix.B
Beore.You.Start:.Specifc.Requirements
Te Business Questionnaire (Appendix A) claries your strategy or the new Web site; thisquestionnaire helps dene the tactics well use to execute it.
Required.technical.eatures
[ ] Surveys/polls [ ] Complex content search
[ ] Image galleries [ ] Public/member voting
[ ] Specialized data presentation [ ] Category-based search
[ ] Customer relation management (CRM) [ ] Anonymous or member commenting
[ ] Feedback orms [ ] Discussion orums
[ ] Date-based ino (calendar) [ ] Location-based ino (mapping)
[ ] Groups [ ] Video [ ] E-commerce
Other: _______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Hardware.and.sotware
Modules rom drupal.org/project/Modules that you know youll need (optional):
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Current.personnels.existing.experience
[ ] Drupal administration [ ] PHP
[ ] MySQL databases [ ] Linux/Unix server administration
[ ] Design (general) [ ] Design (Drupal theming)
[ ] Open-source community relations
Do you have a strategy or sharing code (and the burden o its maintenance) with the Drupalcommunity, or any special concerns about doing so? ___________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
21
AppendixB:Bef
oreYouStart
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
22/32
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
23/32
Execution
What level o budget is available or the sites launch and rst three months o maintenance?
[ ] under $10,000 [ ] $10,000-$25,000 [ ] $25,000-$50,000
[ ] $50,000-$100,000 [ ] $100,000-$250,000 [ ] over $250,000
What is your deadline or launch?
[ ] 30 days or less [ ] 1-3 months [ ] 3-6 months
[ ] 6-12 months [ ] more than a year
Where are you currently in the process ? ____________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
To.summarize,.do.you.have:.
Do you have complete and available:
[ ] Initial content (text, graphics, downloads) [ ] Stakeholder contact ino
[ ] Business questionnaire (Appendix A) [ ] Specic requirements (Appendix B)
[ ] Site map (sample in Appendix C) [ ] Wirerames (sample in Appendix D)
[ ] Categories, Roles, Content types (sample in Appendix E) [ ] Design les
23
AppendixB:Bef
oreYouStart
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
24/32
Appendix.C
Sample.Site.Map
24
AppendixC:Sam
pleSiteMap
6
Legalnotices
4
Calendar -Monthly View
5
Search
9
Press office
12
About us
Page ID, and page title Multiple Similar Pages
9.1
Releases
9.1
Past
coverage
9.2
Executive bios
9.3
Press
contacts
4.2
Weekly View
4.3
Search
4.4
Calendar
admin Login
4.3.1
Search Results
Content for which additional
assets will need to be developed
Legend
4.3.1
FAQ
4.3.1
Contact us
4.3.1
Corp.
overview
0
Membersfront page
9.1
Front page:
Beta notice
9.1
Login
9.1
Request
an account
Recommended.site.map.tool
Microsof Visiooce.microso.com/en-us/help/HA101672741033.aspx
Examples
gdoss.com/web_ino/CAPUS_site_ias.pd
powermapper.com/sitemap/thumbtree/map.htm
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
25/32
Appendix.D
Sample.Wirerame
25
AppendixD:Samp
leWireframe
Optional block ofinfo (user-set viapreferences)
Optional block ofinfo (user-set viapreferences)
Optional block ofinfo (user-set viapreferences)
Optional block ofinfo (user-set viapreferences)
Optional block ofinfo (user-set viapreferences)
Page Title
Site Introduction - Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet,consectetaur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod temporincididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim adminimveniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laborisnisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.
Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptatevelitesse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteursint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui
officia deserunt mollit anim id estlaborum Et harumdund lookum like Greek to me, dereud facilis est erexpedit distinct. Nam liber te conscient to factor tumpoen legum odioqueciviuda.
Site Map | Contact Us | Feedback Search
Advanced Search
Login
Password
Login
> Our programs> Our products> Our people
> Our offices
Latest blog posts> Item 1 Posted NN days ago> Item 2 Posted NN days ago> Item 3 Posted NN days ago> Item 4 Posted NN days ago
DisclaimerDuis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit DisclaimerDuis aute irure dolor in reprehenderitdolor in reprehenderit DisclaimerDuis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit
DisclaimerDuis dolor in reprehenderit DisclaimerDuis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit
- Privacy Policy -
Chat now
button
Site name and logo(with rotating graphic)
Home | About This Site | Forum | Resource Links | Preferences | Publications
Wirerame.tools
Microsof Visio: oce.microso.com/en-us/help/HA101672741033.aspx
PowerMapper: powermapper.com/products/mapper/
List o other tools: letransit.com/les.php?name=Sitemap_Design
Examples gdoss.com/web_ino/ia_deliverables/af-wirerames.pd
totheweb.com/learning_center/website-wire-rame.html
sitepoint.com/article/wire-rame-your-site/
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
26/32
Appendix.E
Sample.Content.Types,.Vocabularies,.and.Roles
Content.types
Page. Deault Drupal content type. Used or static pages, such as About Us.
Story. Deault Drupal content type. Used or time-sensitive or dynamic content, orexample news stories.
Product. Created by bercart. Denes an item to be sold.
Vocabularies
Section. erms:Announcement, Legal, Feature, Humor, Internal, Partner. Applied tocontent types: Story.
opic. erms: Sofware, Hardware, User Interace, Business. Applied to content types: Page,
Story. Catalog. erms: Book, Video, Audio, Apparel, Sofware, Hardware. Applied to content
types: Product. (Created by bercart.)
Roles
Drupal deault roles:
Superuser: Drupal user #1. Has all permissions.
Anonymous: Visitor who has not signed in to the site. Permitted to: read content o typesPage and Story; create new account (requires email conrmation); buy rom store.
Authenticated: Any user who has signed in. Augments roles below. Permitted to: doeverything permitted to Anonymous (except create a new account); read and commenton orums; add topics to orums; comment on content o type Story; add details to userprole.
Additional roles:
Writer: All rights o Authenticated, plus: Can create content o types Story, Page,Forum, Blog.
Editor: All rights o Writer, plus: Can administer taxonomy; can contact users directly;
Store Administrator: Can create and edit content o type Product; can administerbercart; other limited administration rights as needed, and to be determined.
General Administrator: All rights o Authenticated, plus: Can create or delete(but not edit) content o any type; can administer users; can view reports; can do alladministration tasks in Drupals Site Building and Site Settings areas.
26
App
endixE:SampleContentTypes
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
27/32
Appendix.F
Drupal.Search.Engine.Optimization.(SEO).Best.PracticesContributed.by.Ben.Finklea,.CEO,.Volacci.(volaccicom),.512-989-2945
General.tips
Its important to pick the right keywords. Dont pick keywords that are too hot or youllnever rank. Dont pick cold keywords or you may rank but wont generate trac. Pickwarm keywords that indicate people are interested in you. For example, digital camerastore is probably a better choice than camera.
Install the Drupal SEO Checklist Module (drupal.org/project/seo_checklist), whichorganizes what youll need to optimize your site. It also keeps track o the modules thatyouve installed and when you installed them.
As you go, congure all modules or maximum SEO benet and revisit their settingsrom time to time to be sure youre getting the most out o them.
Links are the currency o the Web. Get as many sites to link to yours as possible!
Level.1:.Strongly.recommended.modules
Page itle (drupal.org/project/page_title) gives you ull control o your tagsthroughout your site.
Pathauto (drupal.org/project/pathauto) automatically creates search engine riendly URLsbased on the title o your content.
Global Redirect (drupal.org/project/globalredirect) Fixes some common URL problems
when clean URLs and Pathauto are turned on. Path Redirect (drupal.org/project/path_redirect)
Google Analytics (drupal.org/project/google_analytics)
Meta ags, ormerly known as Nodewords (drupal.org/project/nodewords)
Level.2:.Should-have.modules
Scheduler (drupal.org/project/scheduler)
HML Purier (drupal.org/project/htmlpurier)
Search 404 (drupal.org/project/search404) Related Links (drupal.org/project/relatedlinks)
Alinks (drupal.org/project/alinks) dynamically turns specic words on your site into links
XML Sitemap (drupal.org/project/xmlsitemap) creates a Sitemaps.org compliant, searchengine readable, dynamic sitemap.
Site Map (drupal.org/project/site_map) creates a plain text sitemap.
27
Appe
ndixF:DrupalSEOB
estPractices
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
28/32
Digg Tis (drupal.org/project/diggthis) acilitates links to the popular social bookmarkingsite Digg.
Service Links (drupal.org/project/service_links) adds links to several popular socialbookmarking sites.
rackBack(drupal.org/project/trackback) adds rackBack support.
Mollom
(drupal.org/project/mollom) provides spam protection via the powerul Mollomservice.
Level.3:.Good-to-have.modules
op Searches (drupal.org/project/top_searches) supplies a block with a list o the top sitesearch phrases, to keep you inormed o what people are searching or on your site.
Notiy(drupal.org/project/notiy) sends periodic emails with details o all changes to asite; useul or responding to comments as they happen.
Robotsxt (drupal.org/project/robotstxt) dynamically generates the robots.txt le, which
is especially helpul i you have multiple sites running o a single Drupal installation andneed dierent robots.txt les or each site.
URL List (drupal.org/project/urllist) creates a plain text sitemap listing every URL onyour Drupal site. Its a good replacement or, or addition to, the XML Sitemap module(above).
Google News Sitemap Generator (drupal.org/project/googlenews) creates an XMLsitemap that meets the specication or Google News.
Seek.proessional.help
Many companies would love to have the time needed to optimize their Web site withDrupal, but cant allocate the resources to do so. Tat is why it is imperative to hire aqualied SEO rm that provides you with the Drupal expertise and knowledge thatgets you ranked and converting with your Web site. Volacci is the leading Drupal SEOcompany and very passionate about your online success. Visit www.Volacci.com or moreinormation.
28
Appe
ndixF:DrupalSEOB
estPractices
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
29/32
Appendix.G
Resources.or.Learning.MoreTe ollowing listings are by no means exhaustive: Te Drupal community is just too big! Butthese sites and resources will help you better understand Drupal on your own. O course, we atMediacurrent always stand ready to strengthen your Drupal knowledge through training, video
courses, documentation, or one-on-one-consultations.
Sites
Drupal.orgis the unquestioned center o the Drupal world, but not always the easiest place tond answers. op sections:
drupal.org/search lets you drill down aer making the initial search;
drupal.org/handbooks provides basic instruction;
drupal.org/support lists several ways o getting help;
drupal.org/project/[projectname] is the home page or specic modules and themes; drupal.org/planet aggregates Drupal-related newseeds (including our blog). Nearly
all sites linked rom this page are ull o interesting Drupal inormation.
Other sites o interest:
themegarden.orglets you browse through numerous ree Drupal themes.
drupalmodules.com provides commentary and ratings on Drupal modules that arethemselves available rom drupal.org/project/Modules.
Training drupaltrainer.com is Laura Scroggins, who oers both classes and private tutoring.
computerminds.co.ukprovides training in the United Kingdom (Bristol).
lullabot.com is a well-known Drupal development rm that oers training.
Books
Using Drupal was written by six o the best-known names in Drupal development, andteaches practical skills by applying them within real-world Web site recipes.
Front End Drupal: Designing, Teming, Scriptingcovers several user-acing areas o
Drupal development that are traditionally dicult to learn.
Drupal 6 Temes is particularly useul or developing unctional designs.
Pro Drupal Development is mainly about module development, and is an excellentaddition to the bookshel o any experienced PHP programmer.
29
AppendixG:ResourcesforLearningMore
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
30/32
Videos
e Drupal community has been extremely active in producing ree screencasts, where an
expert visually shows you the steps to do a specic task. Numerous screencasts are listed at:
drupal.org/handbook/customization/videocasts
Some o the more-prolic producers o ree screencasts are:
growingventuresolutions.com gotdrupal.com
drupaltherapy.com
learnbythedrop.com
Some o the more-prolic producers o ree screencasts are:
doitwithdrupal.com is an archive o taped sessions rom Lullabots popular
training program.
lynda.com oers Drupal courses as either as DVDs or as part o its subscription model.
drupal.org/node/128763 gives links to videos o past Drupal conerences.
30
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
AppendixG:ResourcesforLearningMore
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
31/32
31
Why.Acquia
Companies are turning to Drupal as a highly customizable platorm or building Web
applications, managing Web content. and creating social networks. Organizations quickly
realize that open-source, community driven platorms provide an overwhelming set o choices,
and can nd a learning curve unlike what they have experienced with pre-packaged proprietary
solutions. e challenge or these companies is to gain all o the benets o open-source
soware, without losing the services and support o commercial soware.At Acquia, we bridge this gap by simpliying Drupal adoption with products, network services,
and technical support or Drupal. Our mission is to help organizations o all sizes to be
successul with Drupal. Acquia serves as your guide to a successul Drupal experience.
Acquias expertise and support capabilities provide a level o security and reliability that allow
institutions o any size to run mission critical applications using Drupal.
To accelerate adoption and deployment, we provide an essential collection o soware that gives
your team an advanced starting point with Drupal.
To support Drupal in an enterprise environment we backup the reliability, scalability, and
security o Drupal with soware tools, support and hosting services. To minimize youroperational risk, in-house Drupal experts are available up to 24x7, with enterprise-grade quality,
reliability, and responsiveness.
About.Acquia
Acquias products, network services and support enable companies to leverage the power,
technical innovation and economic value o Drupal while simpliying the experience, removing
the complexity and minimizing the risk. At Acquia, we provide guidance through product
expertise, support, and a packaged product oering o Drupal to ensure your Drupal project
meets or exceeds all o your objectives, no matter what the size o your organization, no matter
how big or small.
Acquia.Network.Servicese Acquia Network is your operations portal or managing Drupal sites and connecting to
Acquias Technical Assistance Center. e Acquia Network completes the Drupal experience
by providing the support and network services to operate trouble-ree Drupal 6.x websites.
Acquia Network subscriptions can be obtained or any Drupal 6.x site and oer expert support
or all Drupal 6.x modules and custom code. Subscribers to the Acquia Network gain access
to technical support, remote network services, and moderated subscriber orums. Premium
subscriptions oer advisory services, 24x7 coverage, and email and phone support.
Acquia.Hosting
Acquia Hosting is a highly available cloud-based hosting platorm tuned or Drupal
perormance and scalability. Architected to meet the needs o large Drupal websites, Acquia
Hosting delivers a complete inrastructure to support Drupal deployment workfow processes
rom hosted SVN access and staging through to production instances. Together with Acquia
Network subscriptions, Acquia delivers comprehensive Drupal inrastructure support rom a
single vendor.
AppendixH:Acqu
iaResources
Contents Copyright 2009, Mediacurrent. All Rights Reserved
Phone: 678.580.1690oll Free: 1.866.507.0005Fax: 770.360.5776
5755 N Point Pkwy, Suite 60Alpharetta, Georgia 30022www.mediacurrent.com
8/6/2019 Drupal Enterprise Buyers Guide
32/32
Acquia.Search
Based on the powerul Lucene and Solr technologies rom the Apache project, Acquia Search
creates a rich index o your site content. When users search on your site, Acquia Search presents
them with dynamically created lters so they can drill into results based on date, author,
taxonomy term, content type, or other built-in or custom attributes.
Acquia.Drupal
Acquia oers Acquia Drupal, a packaged set o Drupal technology, including Drupal core, anda set o basic modules. Acquia Drupal provides a quick on-ramp to begin building Drupal
websites.
AppendixH:Acqu
iaResources
Recommended