Learning Path for Drupal Developers: A Complete Guide for Beginners

How to Become a Drupal Developer: a Brief Guide to Learning Path

Don’t know where to start your path to a skilled Drupal developer? Easily get lost among all the resources and information available on the net? Don’t worry! Below, Drupal specialists from Drupfan outline a brief and well-structured guide to start your acquaintance with Drupal and get proficient.

1. Register at drupal.org.

If you are new to Drupal web development, the initial step would be registering at drupal.org. Drupal.org is the official Drupal website that serves as a hub for information, resources, documentation, as well as modules and themes related to Drupal. What is perfect about drupal.org is a strong community collaboration, where developers actively share knowledge, and skills, and strive to improve the existing modules, security patches, and themes.

Start with general information available on the website. We recommend getting acquainted with the Core Drupal Values & Principles and Drupal Code of Conduct.

2. Connect with the Drupal community.

It is always a good idea to get connected with the Drupal community and find a mentor who will guide and direct you throughout your learning path. A good mentor can analyze your weak and strong sides and advice on what to learn next. A skilled mentor can help you set realistic expectations, and assist you when you struggle through blockers.

You can also look for a local Drupal community and join them to be able to attend workshops, meetings, and events to enhance your vision and skills. Don’t worry: people in such communities are friendly and always warmly greet the newbies.

If you want to connect with members of the Drupal community who live or work nearby, try this link.

3. Create a plan for your learning path.

Devote some time to planning your learning path depending on your current level of expertise. Below, Drupfan developers outline a brief checklist ‘How to become a Drupal developer’ for newbies.

4. Learn and practice!

Practice makes perfect. It's as simple as that. Devote as much time as you can to learn new information and put it into practice. The only way to truly grow your skills is by applying that knowledge to actual tasks. Just reading or watching tutorials isn't enough - you need to get your hands dirty and implement what you've learned. The more you practice, the better you'll get.

Checklist: How to Become a Drupal Developer

Here is a brief list of Drupal tech essentials you need to learn to become a Drupal developer: from easy to proficient. Here, we also share links to learn more about each topic but of course, you need to dive deeper and search for additional information & practical tasks to get proficient.

Step 1 - Web development: fundamentals

Learn the basics required for web development which are essential not only for Drupal but for any software and frameworks.

• How does the web work?
• Introduction to HTTP.
• What is a web server?
• What is a domain name?

Step 2 - HTML + CSS, JavaScript

Learn the basics of HTML, CSS, and JS used for building web pages and interactive elements.

• Learning basic HTML: structure and elements.
• Learning basic CSS: styling and layouts.
• Learning basic JS and interactivity.

Step 3 - PHP language fundamentals

Since Drupal is built on the PHP programming language, you should focus on understanding the fundamentals and core concepts of PHP first. You can start with learning PHP here.

• Understanding PHP fundamental concepts.
• Variables, data types, and operators.
• Functions and code organization.
• Arrays and associative arrays.
• Working with files and directories.
• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts.

Step 4 - Git basics

Learn the fundamentals of Git, learn how to collaborate on projects, and track changes.

• Introduction to Git.
• How to use Git?

Step 5 - Introduction to Databases

Drupal heavily relies on databases for storing data, therefore it is essential to understand key database concepts and be able to work with databases. You can start learning databases here.

• What is a database?
• Relational databases and SQL.
• Database management systems (e.g., MySQL, PostgreSQL).
• Creating tables and defining relationships.
• Basic SQL queries (SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE).
• Database connection and querying in PHP.

Step 6 - Drupal site building

Before diving into custom development, it is crucial to become proficient in Drupal site building, the development with the help of core and contributed modules.

• Setting up a local Drupal development environment.
• Composer for Drupal development.
• Understanding Drupal data structure.
• Installing and configuring contributed modules.
• Building Content Types and Taxonomies.
• Building Views and Displays.
• Understanding workflows.
• Paths, aliases, and URLs.
• Website navigation.
• Managing user accounts, user roles, and permissions.

Step 7 - Front-end Drupal development

Learn how to customize the appearance and front-end behavior of the Drupal website through theming and front-end development.

• Drupal themes.
• Overriding Drupal templates.
• Applying custom CSS and JS.
• Responsive and mobile-friendly theming.
• Performance optimization.

Step 8 - Advanced Drupal development

Get proficient in Drupal development while gaining advanced Drupal development skills.

• Drupal APIs.
• Drupal security.
• Decoupled Drupal.
• Making the Drupal website multilingual.
• Multisite Drupal.
• Creating custom modules (hooks, forms, and callbacks).
• Design patterns.
• Docker configuration (docker-compose, ddev, lando, docksal, etc).
• SOLID principles.
• Back-end development advanced (Apache Solr, elasticsearch, opensearch for extended site search; Memcached; RabitMQ).
• Front-end advanced development: (npm, yarn package managers; webpack/gulp).
• Hosting configuration and management (PlatformSH, Acquia, Pantheon).
• Debug code and troubleshooting.

Hope this brief checklist will guide you through your Drupal learning path.

Essential Soft Skills for Drupal Developers

Now you know what technical skills are required to become a Drupal developer. But what about soft skills? Soft skills are general traits that influence the way you interact with colleagues, work in a team, react to stressful situations, and solve problems. The essential soft skills for Drupal developers are:

• Teamwork
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Critical thinking
• Time management
• Continuous learning and adaptability
• Attention to detail

Cultivating soft skills for Drupal developers is as important as getting proficient in the tech stack. Soft skills enhance the developer’s effectiveness, and collaboration abilities, impacting the overall project’s success.

Courses for Drupal Developers

The variety of courses for Drupal developers of any level is unlimited. Below, we highlight the most efficient courses to start with Drupal.

• Build Drupal sites
• Theme Drupal sites
• Develop Drupal sites
• Drupal for absolute beginners
• Acquia Certified Drupal Site Builder
• Acquia Certified Drupal Developer
• Acquia Certified Drupal Backend Specialist
• Acquia Certified Drupal Front End Specialist

How to Start a Career in Drupal?

Now you have all the information necessary to become a Drupal developer. Becoming a Drupal developer opens unlimited possibilities in the industry of web development. Master your skills and join the dedicated Drupal community, assisting in continuous Drupal growth and innovation. By contributing to Drupal, you receive invaluable experience taken into consideration at job interviews.

At Drupfan we are open to collaboration with dedicated and passionate Drupal developers. Looking for a career in a Drupal web development agency? Just send us your CV and we get in touch with you.