Drupal 8's core and contributed modules provide its core features and business logic. Modules may enhance or add to them if enabled correctly. Drupal does not permit disabling core modules as part of the standard install. However, you may install any contributed or essential to your Drupal install.
What Is A Drupal Module?
Drupal 8 modules comprise PHP, JavaScript, or CSS files, which combine to form feature-specific features on Drupal websites. Installing or uninstalling modules enables you to utilize specific functionalities or parts on your websites by installing or uninstalling. Drupal offers contributed modules that enhance standard web features. At the same time, custom modules may also be created to achieve any quality desired by visitors.
Custom Drupal 8 Module Development can provide functionality tailored directly to your requirements. There are thousands of modules in Drupal 8, divided between core, contributed, and custom modules.
- Core modules: Core modules in Drupal 8 allow developers to manage user accounts, primary fields of content, navigation menus, and much more with ease. Furthermore, these modules can help generate lists, grids, and blocks using existing content from lists created earlier using existing Drupal installations. These core modules work flawlessly across every Drupal installation!
- Custom modules: Custom modules must be manually coded for every project and modified manually by developers to meet their unique requirements. Developers can modify existing modules or write completely new ones from scratch if desired.
- Contributed modules: If desired, Drupal.org also hosts modules contributed by others you may download; these do not include Drupal's core package but provide extra content options.
Why Drupal?
Drupal is an open-source, free content management framework. Adaptable for creating both basic websites and complex web apps, Drupal's customization allows for effortless website and application creation and offers thousands of modules and themes that enable your message, brand awareness, and community-building efforts to reach a target audience with ease.
Drupal's latest release marks its most powerful, accessible version, featuring accessibility and multilingual capabilities that help reach target audiences more effectively.
Drupal was designed for maximum versatility. You can build your web application using desktop tools before finding an affordable hosting provider to host it all. Furthermore, Drupal websites and applications run across platforms effortlessly and can be moved easily if necessary.
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Top Drupal Modules
Paragraphs Module
This Module gives you control and flexibility in creating paragraphs on your website, ideal for page content, blog entries, or creating any number of text blocks to meet any need, like FAQs where answers appear as separate sections instead of one long paragraph. Once added, paragraphs can easily be customized to work with any website! With this plugin, you're sure to create text that stands out with its unique style, while other plugins only permit headings.
Block Visibility Groups Module
This Module allows users to specify which blocks should be visible within specific themes created by modules, providing more control. Your website's sidebar allows you to select which blocks will appear on each page - an invaluable way of personalizing content! It gives you control of which information appears where.
Webform Module
This popular and versatile Module works great on various types of websites. Conveniently create contact forms, feedback forms, surveys, job applications, or membership signup forms in no time with Webform! Once your website forms are created, they can easily replace Drupal's default content form block by organizing information logically and showing users where their data should go as soon as they submit it.
Google Maps Module
This Google-powered map service gives website owners access to maps via Drupal's platform rather than directly through Google itself - perfect for events, local businesses, and anything requiring mapping features! These Google maps can display event locations or anything else necessitating visual maps.
Google Maps makes using all the Google tools simple. You can display different maps on separate pages as needed - perfect when planning events that require driving directions on one page but walking directions on another.
Devel Module
Devel is one of the most beloved modules available to Drupal 8, offering content creation capabilities to display site information such as node count. Furthermore, warnings or errors can be displayed via this Module when something goes amiss.
This plugin pairs perfectly with other modules like Panels as it will only display information relevant to what a user sees - no user will become confused as they navigate your website looking for more answers without searching it first! Users will save themselves both time and energy searching the site themselves.
Panel Module
Drupal websites greatly use Panel modules as they offer users easy site administration. Users can utilize it to easily build an impressive homepage containing content from multiple sections or display specific custom fields on certain pages.
Accessibility can be tricky in certain website areas; using these categories helps organize information in more logical groups for easy editing while you see exactly what's going on. If an error arises, you immediately know where it occurred without searching the code.
Comments Module
Our Comments module makes comment management on multiple nodes much simpler! Not only can you respond directly under each article, but replies also appear directly within them! Once received, all this data will be added to a list containing your responses.
Sites that receive numerous visitors make it simple and efficient to respond directly and monitor comments left by their users, including permitting anonymous comments to make themselves heard without leaving an email address behind. This method is especially valuable for privacy-driven companies or those wanting more control over who can view certain parts of their content on the website.
Admin Toolbar Module
This Module gives quick access to some of Drupal's most frequently used backend tools. With it, anyone with administrator rights on a site can check on anything without divulging personal data such as login ID.
An effective option when you don't wish for visitors to gain too much access is setting up restricted links. By controlling certain aspects, such as whether visitors can click directly onto links and how many areas each one may access at one time, you have more control of visitor access. You are better able to manage visitor experiences.
Here are just a few Drupal plugins to quickly get your site up and running! Once everything is set up, visitors to your website should find it easier than ever to navigate, navigate quickly to their destination information, or interact with each other without becoming overly complex or messy.
Token Module
The Token Module allows users to generate tokens for use across Drupal websites. These unique identifiers, known as tokens, allow authenticating users without knowing their password or personal details. Compatible with Views, CTools, and Pathauto modules - and with multiple customization variables allowing for messages tailored specifically towards different visitors - this plugin offers users another means of authenticating users without knowing passwords or personal info.
You can use this feature in various ways, including creating auto-replies for people who subscribe or comment on your website. Hence, they know exactly what is going on. Furthermore, this tool lets you control who can see certain messages, even on websites displayed publicly - ideal for protecting sensitive data while tracking specific pieces of content.
Metatag Module
Metatag Module, provided by Drupal, allows users to add customized markup to HTML code and is an invaluable SEO tool, allowing search engines to know exactly what's on each page and index everything more quickly and accurately. Users can provide additional information like descriptions, images, and authors without leaving the page! It provides extra benefits like indexation capabilities. Users also benefit from having more comprehensive data available all in one location without leaving.
Chaos Tool Suite
Chaos Tool Suite, a Drupal plugin, makes customizing your website's interface simpler by creating custom layouts, buttons, and workflows that you define yourself. Compatible with multiple modules - such as Views or Rules - Chaos Tool Suite simplifies content management! Users can even build forms to interact with visitors directly without going through multiple steps - an added convenience that reduces tedious steps.
Use it to automatically post new blog entries onto their pages, making them simple for readers to locate and read without logging in repeatedly. Or create an alternate dashboard that gives users access to different sections without the hassle of signing on each time.
Pathauto Module
This Drupal module creates friendly URLs to make browsing your website simpler for both visitors and search engine crawlers, helping keep everything more organized by grouping related content on one page rather than accessing multiple ones. This feature can be utilized for several different applications, including creating clear call-to-action labels that inform visitors what action should be taken when browsing pages.
Display Suite
Display Suite is an extremely popular Drupal plugin. It enables you to build custom blocks of content using widgets and templates, giving you full control of how each page looks without needing extra steps for design purposes. Users can even add sections at any time, making managing content much simpler even after everything has been published.
Content Lock
ContentLock can help if you need clarification on who edited a document shared among multiple team members or lost changes due to teammate revisions. It prevents concurrent editing by asking users if they wish to keep any unsaved changes made before logout, and site administrators can use Content Lock to see who is editing which content.
Select All
Select All is one of the most powerful (and potentially hazardous) modules available. Use it quickly if you notice serious errors on your site or want to replace dummy content with real content quickly - with just one click, you can delete all node types with all their content at once! No scrolling through pages is required.
Devel
Devel is a useful module web developers use to simplify debugging their sites and applications. The Module offers various functions designed specifically to aid web devs with debugging, such as creating fake nodes, users, and taxonomies terms and viewing information regarding APIs, cache effectiveness, and Views.
Entity Browser
Entity Browser can be an invaluable asset to those working with digital media. With Entity Browser's flexible features, such as browsing media files easier and quicker than Drupal alone and multiple files dragging-and-dropping at once enhancing search capabilities as well as the support of WYSIWYG workflow, Entity Browser makes life much simpler for media professionals.
GraphQL
Are You Running Decoupled Drupal? GraphQL Could Be the Answer GraphQL offers Decoupled Drupal site owners an effective tool. As an API query language and runtime system for fulfilling those queries using existing data sources. Furthermore, clients have the power to request only what they require without receiving irrelevant results back from API calls.
Image Effects
Image Effects will likely provide the quickest and least costly way to enhance your photos, with this Module offering simple methods of adding filters, inverting photos, changing color levels, or cropping and scaling images quickly and seamlessly, as well as watermarks to personalize each.
Rabbit Hole
Have You Created Digital Assets Only to Receive Complaints of Landing Pages 'Bunging Away? After creating digital assets such as photos or slideshows, only to receive emails expressing displeasure with how one or more landing pages looked? This experience may leave an unpleasant taste in one's mouth and result in potential lawsuits against those responsible.
Webform may take time to master, but its learning is worth your while. One of Drupal's most versatile forms and survey modules, it includes everything necessary for effective form generation, such as automated email notifications after successful submission, and the results can also be exported directly into Excel for statistical analysis of responses. Furthermore, its API offers additional customization possibilities while its logic engine handles complex questions efficiently.
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Things To Consider Before Choosing Drupal 8 Modules
Drupal 8 module development comes in 100 languages and with many modules; here are a few things you should bear in mind when selecting modules for Drupal 8 sites.
Research the Problems
Before creating your Module, take some time to explore its intended purposes and address any associated challenges. Consider who used it and whether they received what was desired from it; also investigate development timeframe and community interest by looking up activity on Stack Exchange or looking into user groups like MeetUp and more.
Projects will likely thrive if regular discussions surround them, particularly modules that address different problems. Keep track of any new bugs reported against modules and have an active bug-tracking system in place - this will allow you to stay ahead of issues before updating Drupal core.
Avoid Rushing Estimates
A module may save time. But before building your website on top of one that seems perfect for the task at hand, remember that such modules may be open source or free for all use; they don't come with documentation or support. Decide in advance the length of time it will take you and other team members to learn the new system and check if help is available both online and off.
Planning Changes
Drupal's modular structure makes it simple and painless to change out modules if the functionality outgrows its intended use or if you desire extra features. If your blog post goes viral, chances are someone has built something similar before using modules from open-source projects, as they'll likely use similar ones themselves. If there's no existing solution for what's been raised here, then now could be an ideal opportunity to contribute.
Verifying Security Updates
Regularly verifying security updates is vital to any software project, particularly Drupal modules, which may or may not be actively developed. As soon as new security releases become available, you should install them immediately and continue developing your project.
Doing it manually or leveraging services like VersionEye (which will notify you via email when new versions have been released) are good ways of updating website modules! Now it's time for an upgrade - don't wait any longer.
Popularity
Don't take popularity lightly: it represents how widely used something is, and therefore, more community support will follow as more users use it. Furthermore, Drupal tracks usage metrics, so if desired modules fail to update as expected or are falling below expected levels - why take the chance?
Quantity Over Quality
There are thousands of modules out there to help you meet your goals - be they building an eCommerce storefront, selling downloads via one account, or setting up photo-sharing social networks. Unfortunately, having many choices does not ensure each will meet all your requirements exactly - be certain when selecting which modules best meet them all.
Selecting The Right Modules For Your Website
Now that we have provided suggestions, selecting what's appropriate for your website and workflow lies with you. There are thousands of modules offering similar user-friendliness as the ones we listed.
Where can you locate modules to meet your specific requirements? At CCS, abundant resources are available at your fingertips - you must access them.
Comparisons of Contributed Modules is an official Drupal publication that compares and highlights many popular modules.
- For an exhaustive view, try consulting the official Drupal module list and alphabetical list; these contain every Drupal module alphabetically. Drupal.org also has an excellent section dedicated to contributed module documentation, which contains links to individual handbooks of many modules.
- Search Drupal.org site-wide search to quickly locate modules if you know exactly what they're searching for. Enter keywords into their Search Bar before narrowing them by choosing "Project." Note that results could include themes, modules, profiles for site installations, or any other project types besides just modules.
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Conclusion
Drupal 8's extended functionality can be attributed to its extensive module offering. Drupal's modular structure enables developers to develop custom modules easily. Remember, Drupal 5 and 6 both supported MySQL and PostgreSQL databases. At the same time, Drupal 8 module utilizes PHP data objects (PDO), an abstraction layer found within PHP 5/7 that supports multiple databases, including SQLite MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, etc.
