Welcome to the (Drupal) Rainforest

Welcome to the (Drupal) Rainforest

FFW Marketing
Thought byFFW Marketing
January 06, 2012

The Drupal community is like an ecosystem. At FFW we think about it as a Rainforest. Each part and every member is inter-dependent. End users,decision makers, developers, site-builders, themers and many more come together to make Drupal a wonderful platform and rich development environment for creativity and productivity.

Sometimes though you need a guide to help you navigate.

The Drupal community is like an ecosystem. At FFW we think about it as a Rainforest. Each part and every member is inter-dependent. End users,decision makers, developers, site-builders, themers and many more come together to make Drupal a wonderful platform and rich development environment for creativity and productivity.

Sometimes though you need a guide to help you navigate.

This is the first in a series of blog posts on the Drupal ecosystem. Blinky, our Red Tree Frog mascot is a native of the Rainforest and a born Drupalist. She’ll be your tour guide through the Drupal ecosystem and help you take advantage of FFW’s latest offering – best of breed Drupal training in conjunction with Acquia’s enterprise class services.

Developers and site builders are vital members of the ecosystem. Employers get them mixed up all the time even though they are hugely different. Both are essential to the health of the environment.

Web developers write code that eventually translates into a website. Drupal Web developers should have experience working with PHP, MySQL, Apache, HTML, Javascript, LINUX, APACHE and other CSS. The best Web developers are intimately aware of W3C standards and can write clear and clean code. The best Web developers are also creative problem solvers. Drupal developers can specialize in different areas -- security and module development among others. Classes in module development show you how to change an existing modules functionality or create one from scratch, while courses focused on security issues show you how to assess your site for vulnerabilities and how to strengthen them using site configuration and code. 

Site builders are Drupal’s power users.  Great ones know the best way to do different things and work with other members of the ecosystem to architect great websites and applications. (We’ll feature Information Architects in another installment.) Site builders know about proper module installation and configuration, how to manage content using taxonomy, blocks, fields and other Drupal modules. They also know how to manage and present different types of media and are well versed in the differences between the different versions and flavors of Drupal. Site builders don’t need to live and breathe code (though it helps). The most important part of Drupal site building is understanding Drupal’s framework and knowing how to use it to create what you want. 

If you’re just getting started with Drupal, Acquia offers great introductory courses, like Drupal 7 in a Day, to get the basic concepts and a taste of what the CMS has to offer. Introductory courses are also useful because they give you a broad overview of the ecosystem. Here at FFW, we’re proud to be working with Acquia to design curricula that harness the power of Drupal and give you hands-on experience you can use immediately. When you are ready there are several advanced tracks, including development and security, to name just two.

Builders and developers are not the only players in the Drupal ecosystem. To create an effective, balanced website, strong Drupal project managers are also needed to oversee the entire process. If this speaks to your inner traffic director self, you might want to check out courses in Drupal project management. In addition to these and classes in site building and development there are courses that show you how to achieve goals without starting at ground level. For example, a class on Drupal Commons shows you how to create a robust, social site without starting at ground level.

There are Drupal courses out there that will teach you everything you’d ever like to know about Drupal. The hard part is choosing where to get started. If you’re in the tristate area and want to take a course in site building in D7 check out our training page and register for a class.

Drupal 7 in a Day

January 11, 2012 – ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT!

January 21, 2012

February 8, 2012

March 7, 2012

April 25, 2012

Site Building with Drupal 7

January 12-13, 2012

February 9-10, 2012

March 8-9, 2012

April 26-27, 2012