While it has been around for a while, and has a strong and devoted following, Drupal, an open source content management platform is all around awesome. I have recently had the opportunity to work on a project that required a Content Management System (CMS) for the client’s use, and the choice was simply Drupal. In looking for a low-cost (free) solution that allowed me customization options in an open source environment, Drupal was the right way to go. I’ve followed the project for a while but hadn’t yet had the opportunity to work on a project that was in need of such a great tool.

The easiest thing about Drupal besides the set up, was the ability to start customizing it from the minute I installed it on the server. The first, and easiest customization was in the administration area which allowed me to customize users and how the site looks and responds to those users. Then I was able to create my own site template for the CMS to work with and content to be displayed in and tweak it to my design. The ease of the code security of the programming allows me to be able to make changes and customize in a secure fashion.

Besides having fantastic functionality from install, there are many fantastic developers who contribute to the project and have created some great site themes and modules that can easily be installed in Drupal and implemented immediately. On their site, you can download and install many great Drupal Modules that range in functionality from customized WYSIWYG editors to an image gallery implementation and manipulation. If you’re not a great front-end developer, aren’t adept at PHP, or are simply not interested in designing your own look of your new site run by Drupal, you can also find and download many site themes which are easy to install.

If you haven’t already, visit Drupal’s website and see what the project is all about. I know you won’t be disappointed.