Here at Innova, we’re not too particular about what tools we use to get things done. We use our own content management system, and our own development language (phpSprockets, which, by the way is still under development), but we also use some off the shelf solutions, like WordPress or Drupal, based on our clients’ needs and expectations.

So when a new major release of one of these tools that we use comes out, we get pretty excited. Hence, a post on Drupal…

Drupal 6 just came out earlier this year, released with much anticipation and trepidation. I’m kind of a late adopter (usually), but I welcomed the new with open arms.

I’d been following the development, as I’ve been maintaining a couple of Drupal sites, and trying to keep up with patches and upgrades (not that bad, really, averaging a new version about every two months.) Everything is running pretty smoothly, although the stream of modules is lagging a bit behind where I’d like to see it.

If you’re new to Drupal, here are a few pointers –

1. Start small. It’s tempting with as many modules and themes that Drupal has to just start grabbing modules everywhere and installing them to see what they do. This is a really bad idea. Not only will it slow down your learning process, it will also become a maintenece nightmare — you have to keep up with the patches and new versions (and no, you can’t just svn up or switch them…). It becomes a real hassle, not to mention a drain on server resources.

2. Get a couple of core modules that you really like and stick with them (Here’s one of my favorites: Markdown with SmartyPants. If your users don’t know Markdown, they are missing out… ). Drupal is extremely extensible (most blocks when you are an administrator will accept php code in the body… once you learn the internals of the database, this becomes very powerful…)

3. Have some regular housekeeping protocols — not using that theme/module anymore, get rid of it. Keep up to date with the ones you’re keeping. I have had several instances where a client complained about something not working properly, and just updating the module fixed the issue. Lots of things happen between Drupal versions (and minor versions). Keep up to date the best you can.

4. Keep telling yourself, “There has to be an easier way.” There usually is. Most of the things that people need a CMS to do have been done. If you are really so cutting edge that it hasn’t been done… Write a Drupal module for it, release it, become famous, and impress your friends. You need an AJAX tea timer? I’m sure there is already one out there somewhere…