The following is a survey intended for educational use (see hding’s post on 10/23). We are developing a recommendation for Drupal, specifically for community portal websites, based upon responses from this survey along with research. It is a 10 question survey and should take 15 to 20 minutes to complete. We appreciate all responses and thank you for your time.

Cade Rarick
Jason Moehlmann
Greg Noren

1. Where did you first learn about Drupal and why did you choose to use it?
2. Are there modules that offer security options for the website?
3. List some advantages/disadvantages to using Drupal.
4. Being open source software is there a centralized tech support repository or do you have to ask the author of the specific module.
5. From what I have seen of Drupal sites the layouts are very similar. Is there a way to personalize/customize your site so that it looks unique?
6. How easy is it to create a site using Drupal and can you give us an overview of the process?
7. Does Drupal have a graphical user interface or does it use command line commands or a programming language?
8. How do community portal websites and Drupal work together?
9. What benefits do the community portal websites receive from Drupal?
10. What are the primary modules that you use?

Comments

killes@www.drop.org’s picture

1. Where did you first learn about Drupal and why did you choose to use it?

IIRC I found it at freshmeat when looking for a PHP based CMS. I chose it due to the possibility to translate the interface.

2. Are there modules that offer security options for the website?

I made my own. There are now some modules that do that.

3. List some advantages/disadvantages to using Drupal.

advantages:
- translatable interface
- easy content creation
- multi user CMS

disadvantages:
- you need to really think about how to put structure in your content.
- some of the features are difficutl to understand for non-developers

4. Being open source software is there a centralized tech support repository or do you have to ask the author of the specific module.

There is the project module enabled on drupal.org where support requests can be made. The authors and other developers look at them and try to help in their limited spare time.

5. From what I have seen of Drupal sites the layouts are very similar. Is there a way to personalize/customize your site so that it looks unique?

Yes, you can write your own theme.

6. How easy is it to create a site using Drupal and can you give us an overview of the process?

To get a site running is really easy and should only last for a few minutes. But then you need to consider all those modules and pick those that are most suited for your purposes (you really should define what you want to do with that site in advance).

7. Does Drupal have a graphical user interface or does it use command line commands or a programming language?

Drupal uses the browser to provide a GUI. At the beginning you need some command line stuff to create the database and install Drupal.

8. How do community portal websites and Drupal work together?

Very well.

9. What benefits do the community portal websites receive from Drupal?

The site runs on Drupal. Without it it wouldn't be functional.

10. What are the primary modules that you use?

event.module, book.module, forum.module.

--
If you have troubles with a particular contrib project, please consider to file a support request. Thanks.

joe@www.joepilot.net’s picture

1. Where did you first learn about Drupal and why did you choose to use it?
Originally I found out about it in my English 420 class of all places where we worked on this project educating people about open source software. I choose to use it because every other CMS out there used only MySQL and I use Postgres on my machine, which Drupal supports beautifully.

2. Are there modules that offer security options for the website?
I don't use any of the security options. On my personal site I don't allow anyone to register and on the other drupal site I run, I don't need any security options.

3. List some advantages/disadvantages to using Drupal.
Advantages: simple to setup, uses Postgres!, lots of modules, excellent developer support, and it's very stable so far.

4. Being open source software is there a centralized tech support repository or do you have to ask the author of the specific module.
There are the forums which are useful to search, but with most problems I had I could fix them myself.

5. From what I have seen of Drupal sites the layouts are very similar. Is there a way to personalize/customize your site so that it looks unique?
There is most certainly, but, as with most CMS's, you should probably learn some HTML/CSS to make it look like your own, and if you really want it to be unique, write your own theme. My personal site looks nothing like the standard Drupal site.

6. How easy is it to create a site using Drupal and can you give us an overview of the process?
Very easy. Extract the tar.gz file to your web directory. Use the included database.mysql or database.pgsql file depending on your server and import it into the database. Edit two lines in the conf.php file, the database access line and the root of your drupal install (http://yourwebsite/drupalorwhatever).

7. Does Drupal have a graphical user interface or does it use command line commands or a programming language?
All GUI and web based

8. How do community portal websites and Drupal work together?
I don't quite understand the question. How do they interact as in transfer data back and forth? I don't know. How does Drupal work as a portal? Quite well

9. What benefits do the community portal websites receive from Drupal?
ease of management for the people who make the content. Custom pages on the site are very easy to make. Ease of extensibility, say I want a forum, all I do is enable the forum module.

10. What are the primary modules that you use?
Forum, blog, comics, archive, maillist, Drupal, comment, image (extremely important), profile, taxonomy, trackback, and upload (also very important).

crarick’s picture

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of Drupal for community portal websites. In the six websites we reviewed, we discoered that the most commonly used modules were:

  • Calendar – allows users to access events by dates
  • Blog – provides a mean to communicate with other members
  • Forum – provides a mean to communicate based on topics
  • Login – allows members to login and post on the Blog and Forum functions

There is no cost associated with setting up a Drupal website because it is open source software. Drupal, however, does not provide the means to host the website. The recommendation of this group is that Drupal is a good tool for creating simple websites, but lacks in ease of use and the ability to create unique websites.

Executive Summary

In the age of the internet, all different types of websites are able to be accessed by the general public. These types of websites include corporate, community portal, aficionado, personal, international and resource directories. Along with each main type, there are several programs that can be used to create the site itself. These include Dream Weaver, FrontPage and countless other programs. Drupal is one type of program that can be used to create websites, and is free of charge because it is open source software. The main focus of this paper is to give an in-depth look into the use of Drupal for creating community portal websites. In order to do this, a sample website was created using many of the same Drupal modules that are used in other community portal sites.

The test website allows first hand experience to be gained about the program, by people who are not distinguished by any sort of technical skill. This allows for a better recommendation to other users who may not have the technical expertise to develop websites without the aide of a program. There were also six brief case studies done on community portal sites that will help an individual know whether Drupal will provide the necessary functions to create the community portal website. The test site and case studies have provided sufficient information as to conclude that Drupal is difficult to learn at first, and provides limited capabilities. Most of the sites studied followed a typical format and only used features such as calendars, blogs, forums and login functions.

Introduction

Drupal's capabilities make it a tool that would benefit any type of website on the internet. This paper will narrow down its focus to the advantages and disadvantages of using Drupal on community portal websites. A community portal website is basically a community of members who share the same interests and choose to educate each other by posting news and comments. These posts create dialogues, which can be very beneficial to its users. These portals also provide archives of past dialogues, so that readers can look up past discussions in order to answer their questions. The pros and cons of Drupal for community portal websites were researched by doing case studies of existing websites and then by actually creating a community portal website using the program. The experience gained from both of these pursuits has contributed to our general recommendation of Drupal for community portal websites.

Case Studies

In this section of the paper we are going to look at 6 different community portal websites. The criteria we are using to view the sites are: neatness, attractiveness, effectiveness, and module usage.

Linuxgazette.com

This website is a community portal site that focuses on the Linux operating system. The site is intended to attract users who are avid Linux users, or people that are just beginning their start on the operating system. They form a community that shares discoveries, and helps trouble shoot problems that anyone of them may be experiencing. The site has a typical layout of a Drupal design, in which it takes the form of a message board with posts (very similar to a blog). Colors are about the only thing that really stands out on this website aside from its logo across the top. The overall appearance is rather boring and does not attempt to be flashy in order to attract users.

The ease of use that Linuxgazette.com offers is quite good. The links to its respective pages are very easy to find and provide accurate descriptions of what each link will take you to. This site uses sections that allow users to ask and answer each other's questions by choosing topics from a list. There is also a submission queue to give feedback to the editors of the site. The best feature about this site is its Sections page. This page allows the users to search through all the available links by category. I have found this especially helpful when having trouble to locate articles. This page also offers information about the site authors, its goals and what affiliations it has with other sites.

Overall this is a fairly standard Drupal designed website. It emphasizes usability over flashiness and simplicity over complication. Easily navigable by the most primitive users, Linuxgazette.com does an excellent job of providing a format to allow the communication of ideas between Linux users.

Myyouth.ca/drupal

This particular Drupal website has the purpose of bringing Canadian youth together in hopes of developing relationships and communities of people with common interests. An important aspect of this is providing a place for religious youth groups to come together to share about their personal experiences and struggles, in an effort to create support.

The main page's design is rather bland, with only windows separating the sections. There is no animation and no graphics (it has a Word Art title, but that really doesn't count). The simplicity of this page is also helpful, in the fact that its menus are clearly marked and easy to read. The main page really only functions as a launch pad to several other sites that appear to be hosted by Myyouth.ca. On the pages within are more attractive sites, featuring pictures and calendars, along with the ever so popular Drupal blog module. All of the pages hosted by Myyouth.ca are centered around a blog style main window that has recent posts and announcements.

Myyouth.ca offers a very user friendly website that is centered on functionality. It has clear menus, and easy to read text. The website is not meant to catch everyone's attention, but it does attract you enough to make you keep exploring all its pages. It is a very nicely designed Drupal page that highlights the Drupal programs main features.

Kerneltrap.org

Kernel Trap is one of the sites chosen for our case study and is a community for developers of the Linux kernel to share ideas and kernel revisions.

Kernel Trap differs from many Drupal websites due to its layout and colors and is very similar to Debian Planet in looks and layout. They appear to have created their own skin or color scheme to make their site look unique from many other Drupal sites. The layout is a three column design rather than the usual two found on many Drupal sites. In the left and right columns are square cornered boxes (as opposed to most Drupal sites with rounded corners) that house various sections of the website. The center column has recent threads created by the users of this site and is housed in one continuous section rather than broken up. Kernel Trap also has changed the standard font found on most Drupal websites to enhance their unique look.

The designers of Kernel Trap have tried to make a website that does not make the viewer think that it was made with Drupal. I feel that they have been successful in this because it does not immediately make the view think “Drupal” as do many other sites. The graphic below shows the Kernel Trap home page which we believe has the best layout for easy assess to modules and keeps an attractive appearance.

Debianplanet.org

We are studying how various community portal websites use Drupal as the basis for creating the site. Debian Planet is one of the sites chosen for our case study and is a community for users of the Debian distribution of Linux. It also caters to users of other distributions that use the Debian kernel as their core.

Debian Planet uses Drupal a bit different from other Drupal based sites. They have made an effort to change the overall appearance and layout so as not to mimic other Drupal sites but is similar to the website kerneltrap.org. Their page is split into three vertical sections, unlike most Drupal based websites where there are only two columns. On the left and right columns there are various sections of links to different parts of the site or to recent posts, as well as log in and search sections. The middle column contains recent news events relating to Debian based Linux distributions.

One of the first things I noticed about this site is how much unlike Drupal it looks. The fonts used on the page are different from what I take to be the default font found on many Drupal sites. Another obvious difference is the design of the section boxes. The corners of these boxes are square unlike a lot of Drupal sites I have found. They have also changed the color theme of the site to a non-standard theme. In other words they have created their own look rather than using one of Drupal's included templates.

Learnpokerstrategy .com

The purpose the learn poker strategy website is to help both beginner and advance poker players. The site gives them a chance to share ideas with other players, play some poker (with fun money), and to find out general information about poker. This website also included different links to online poker sites.

The learn poker strategy website has many components to help new players learn more about the different types of poker. These features include: strategy guides, definitions of different terms, rules of poker, and a blog you can use to answer you other questions. The reason this site is considered a community portal is because it brings people with a common purpose together.

The Learn Poker Strategies Website is the only sight we have that you can't be interactive with. There is a blog function but only the administrator can post information, because there is no user login. The site has a good layout so items are easy to find. This website hasn't been maintain or updated in over two months, but with a little work and allowing users to be interactive (posting blogs) this sight would be great for it's intended purpose.

Tlug.dnho.net/

The Tlug website has a basic drupal two column layout. This is another community portal site for Linux users. This site offers most of the same feature as Debian Planet, but is much simpler. The layout is centered around the main blog. The website is easy to navigate around and had links for the site at the top of the page. There is also a link for the calendar, but the link takes something else.

The Tlub website offer friendly graphics at the top, but the rest of the page is a boring and had simple lay out. This sight doesn't get that much usage with only one posting in the last month. The main thing this site is lacking is user, because you need more people to post question and answer in a reasonably time.

Case Study Conclusion

These six sites have many common modules that are used. These include a login, calendars, blogs, polls, news headlines, search, and many others.

The main recommendation for case study sites are to work on graphic and design better. Overall, most of the websites look like the other Drupal sites and need to be more diverse. Most of the community portal sites were associated with computer applications. The reason for this is because a Drupal site can be difficult to set up. All of the sites were good for their intended purpose, but they need more people to use them to be an affective community portal site.

Survey Results

In addition to our case studies and website, we did post a survey on Drupal.org asking general questions about the program. We received very few answers, but what answers we did receive fit our experiences and observations very closely. The most important thing that we got out of the survey was the affirmation that we used Drupal in the same way that other community portal sites were. The two main things that stand out from the survey results are that Drupal is a hard program for non developers to learn and also that the main modules used are forum, blog, login, calendar, image, archive and upload.

Drupal Installation

Drupal is a PHP based pre-made website with a multitude of uses.  By adding and removing modules the functionality of the site can be changed.  One of its primary uses appears to be the blog module. This module lets registered users create content that is displayed for other users to read and comment on.  In order to find out what Drupal was all about we decided to set up a Drupal site for ourselves rather than ask others about their sites.  After downloading the Drupal package from their site I was at somewhat of a loss about what to do because there was no executable file.  Then I realized that the package I had downloaded was not a program to create a Drupal based website, but rather was itself a Drupal site.  Rather than Drupal being a program similar to Dreamweaver or Microsoft FrontPage it is the site itself. So instead of installing Drupal per se there are three other programs that need to be installed. These programs (Apache, PHP and MySQL) are all open source and available for download at the URLs below. Being entirely open source, Drupal is very inexpensive to run.  The installation process is as follows:

  • Install the Apache web server. (downloadable from: http://httpd.apache.org/ )
  • Install PHP. (downloadable from: http://www.php.net/downloads.php )
  • Install MySQL server. (downloadable from: http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/index.html )
  • Edit http.conf to configure the Apache server to use PHP.
  • Configure Apache with the correct path to index.php in the Drupal site directory.
  • Edit php.ini with the lines:

         session.save_handler     user

       and

         session.cache_limiter    none
  • Create the Drupal database in MySQL.
  • Set the permissions for the database in MySQL.
  • Load the Drupal database into MySQL.
  • Edit conf.php in your Drupal directory to set the URL to the MySQL Drupal database and to the website.
  • Launch your browser and go to your Drupal website.
  • Log in.  The first user that logs in becomes the website's administrator.

 

Adding new modules:

Some modules can be installed by just copying the .module file and any other required files into the Drupal/Modules folder.  Others require the administrator to create MySQL tables within the Drupal database for the module to be usable.  Some others even require additional programs to be installed.  I attempted to install an image gallery so that users can upload their own pictures.  This module requires that a program called image magic be installed to resize the images into thumbnails.  I ran into a problem however when uploading images in that it would not save the images to the proper folders.  Another problem encountered in the installation process is configuring PHP to use an SMTP email server.  When new users create an account on the Drupal site an email is supposed to be sent to them with their password.  This cannot happen however unless Drupal has access to an SMTP server.  I configured the php.ini file with the SMTP server I wanted to use but it requires authentication and I cannot find where to enter my user name and password.  Other than these problems the only other one I encountered was that I didn't know how to use MySQL land had to get quite a bit of help from a friend to get the site to work.

Changing the appearance of certain Drupal skins is easy with CSS. Within the CSS file there are sections that control the colors and in some cases positions of elements of the site. By finding the right section and changing the color the site can be easily customized to your own color scheme. In certain themes a background image can also be added that will be displayed underneath the text and panels. Other skins have an image upload feature which allows the user to upload a custom icon that will display, usually, in the upper left corner. Brand new themes can be created using PHP as well.

Once Drupal is set up all other functions and options are controlled through the website itself. The first person to log into the website becomes the site's administrator.

Conclusion and Recommendations

While Drupal is a great site to use for blog and community sites it is geared more towards the developer rather than the casual computer user.  It requires the Apache web server, MySQL server and PHP to run.  Apache and PHP cause another problem that would make this process more difficult for the casual computer user in that all options for these programs must be set by editing a text based configuration file.  The second problem is that at least a working knowledge of MySQL is needed to create the Drupal databases and set permissions for the site.  Drupal is good at what it does but is not the easiest thing to set up without knowing exactly what to do.

Overall Drupal is a good tool to help create a community portal website. In our case studies, we often came across sites that had full time administrators working on the site. This allows the sites to bypass the problems of not knowing the proper languages. Aside from that, Drupal seems to be very user friendly and served its purpose very well. It allowed us to create a website that was not only functional, but easy to navigate.

Works Cited

Townsville Linux Users Group, (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2004 , from http://tlug.dnho.net/

Learn Poker Strategy, (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2004 , from http://www.learnpokerstrategy.com/

Debian Planet, (n.d.), Retrieved December 1, 2004 , from http://www.debianplanet.org/

KernelTrap, (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2004 , from http://www.kerneltrap.org/

Linux Gazette, (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2004 , from http://www.linuxgazette.com/

MyYouth.ca, (n.d.). Retrieved December 1, 2004 , from http://www.baerg.ca/drupal/