Top 5 Drupal Modules

Published: January 2013

Drupal, an open source content management platform which powers millions of websites and applications, came into the world back in 1999. A developer called Dries Buytaert first put finger to keyboard building a messaging board, but shortly interest started picking up around Drupal and within 2 years Drupal.org was launched.

Now, Drupal is maintained and developed by a community of 630,000+ users and developers. And it’s these people who are constantly working to make sure Drupal is a cutting-edge platform that supports the latest technologies that the Web has to offer.

Drupal can be scaled for personal blogs or enterprise mega-sites, and like WordPress there are thousands of modules that can be added to increase functionality.

Who’s using Drupal now you say? People like; MTV UK and Warner Bros Records to name but a few.

Now you know a little bit about the background of Drupal, Urban River will look at the modules which make it so great! Here is a list of the top 5 Drupal modules every Drupal website should use.

1. Views

At its simplest, Views is a module which helps you create lists of content. It creates complex database queries based on your selected criteria and lets you format the generated output. Views can be extended to let you use dynamic variables, enabling you to created sortable lists. Building websites with the Views module can save you time and improve the functionality and usability of your site.

Drupal View

2. Webform

Webform is an excellent module, which as you have probably guessed, builds forms. Webform can be used to create any form elements you can think of; text area, checkbox, file upload, you name it, Webform has it.

Drupal Webform

As you might expect, it allows you to setup e-mail notification to admins and users, with all submissions being stored locally for later reference.

3. CKEditor

CKEditor is one of the best WYSIWYG editors available today. This module enables the use of the CK WYSIWYG editor on all textareas in your site. You are able to customize what functionality is available for each user level registered on your site.

Drupal CKeditor

4. Menu Block

Do you let your users create menu items for each of their pages on the site? If so, Menu Block is an essential module for you. Menu Block lets you take control of what menu levels are shown at any time, to any user. If you want to only show secondary navigation to a user on a certain page then you simple create a new block and assign it the secondary level. Menu Block makes it easy for you to let admins take control of their own navigation.

5. Pathauto

In the ever-changing world of SEO, it’s important to take control of your URL’s. Pathauto let you do just that. Pathauto enables you to create pre-set path structures for all your content types. This means site admins don’t have to worry about changing the URL’s of any content which is created on the site.