Before you start

Sorry, I added the Drupal version 6 is my question. Create New Account I want to edit do not know what I should do with the instructions thanks.
Note: This is the original of such form that out of this is a Username and Email Address, but I want to change and add
1. By Username Change Firstname
2. Add Lastname
3. Add Phone
4. Email Address
5. Add the Address Information by. additional information as follows:
5.1 Street Address
5.2 City
5.3 State/Province ( type drop down )
5.4 Zip/Postal Code
5.5 Country

Hi,
I'm new to drupal and I would like to create something like travelzoo.com.
I need to be able to achieve the following:

- post with time expiration
- customize fields for user post entry(I think CCK will do the trick)
- Able to track what post is being clicked, and how many times.

thanks for your feedback and happy drupal

I have done a good bit of research on how to build a client login section to my company website, and after realizing a home-grown php/mysql-based solution might be do-able but would be a huge challenge to maintain on my own (with, admittedly, only an intermediate level of understanding of php and mysql), I have settled on Drupal because it sounds robust enough to handle what I need.

Problem is, I'm not quite sure where to start. I've played around some, downloaded some modules that I think might be helpful based on what I've read in tuts and in the forum, but I'm at a loss to figure out exactly what I need to do. I've played with CCK, taxonomy, views, and more.

Here's my basic criteria:

- Need each client to be able to login (I can assign them credentials) and be taken to what I'll call the Dashboard, which I envision being overall the same for each client (same menu items, same general textual content) BUT would like it to be somewhat client-specific (think "Welcome back, Client 123" at the top (where Client 123 is their user name).

I have read a decent amount of reviews on different CMS programs. I would love to use Drupal for a majority of websites I build. From what I understand, Drupal can do anything your project would want. I'm figuring if big companies, such as fastcompany.com, and major websites use it, why not use it for any kind of project!

However, I have read from various reviews that MVC based CMSs are powerful systems, too, such as that in Symfony, which I am amazed with, as a CMS. What I don't like is that you have to build from scratch the system that you want to create with it, as far as I know. One other thing I don't like about Symfony is that you need to have a dedicated host to have it run and most dedicated servers are quite expensive (although, I know that dedicated servers have the most flexibility, as well). What I am looking for is someone who has used both Drupal and especially Symfony, because out of all the MVC based CMSs out there, Symfony seems to be the most flexible and powerful one, similar to the power of Drupal, as far as I can see. Although, some also like CakePHP (which is similar to Ruby on Rails, I've read), I don't like the fact that there isn't as much documentation that Symfony has. Also, I like that it has its' own handbooks and there are lots of documentation freely available (as well as purchased).

I'm a one-man shop, currently managing over 30 clients having used Joomla! as the framework to build my business so far.

As I'm certain all developers have experienced, the concept of a non-tech "client" adding "content" normally consists of them writing something in Word and then attempting to dump that content into a WYSIWYG entry form on the site, ending in disaster. So rather than deal with those problems, I manage all updates for clients myself - to maintain the design and avoid those issues. But my business is growing to the point where this will soon no longer be an option.

My main interest in Drupal is the "multi-site" functionality - which I'm guessing would allow me to maintain one Drupal base installation, keeping all of my clients up-to-date with various security fixes, etc. As far as my Joomla! installations go, they all remain at various "stages", simply depending on whether or not the client requires an update that requires the new functionality. I suppose I can count myself lucky that I've never had any "attacks" on security vulnerabilities so far.

Most of the posts I have read recommend using the Advanced Forum module if you need a drupal forum. I was hoping to use drupal 7 with my next project but noticed Advanced Forum is not being updated for D7. My question is how powerful is the core forum module. Would you recommend using without Advanced Forum???