la drupal camp 2012: beginner best practices
DESCRIPTION
This session is tailored specifically to beginners who want to check in with their process, learn some new tricks, and ask questions. There is a lot to know about Drupal and there are many ways to accomplish the same goal. So there are no absolute right answers here, just suggestions and discussion.TRANSCRIPT
Level Up: For Beginning Themers and Site Builders
Meghan Sweet (@meghsweet)
28 July, 2012
LA Drupal Camp 2012
Welcome!How do you learn
Drupal?
Sometimes things are really easy..
Sometimes things are really hard.
Standing on the Shoulders of GiantsLeveraging Contributed Modules-17,318 Modules on Drupal.org
- Assess the project page
- Read the README file
- Put all contrib modules in ../sites/all/modules/
-Views, admin_menu, ctools, webform, wysiwyg, panels, context.
What do you need in your toolbox?HTMLCSS / JavascriptWillingness to build rapport with PHPFirebug or Chrome Inspector
Basics of the Command LineDrushVersion ControlDev > Test > Live
Drupal Community
You can leverage a lot of skills you already have.
The “Drupal Way”?
Site Development Plan
Typical Drupal Site
Gall's Law
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked...
Build features zoomed in, then pull back and
see how it all fits together.
Structure Content
Break up your content into the pieces you want control over.
Important in mobile theming- content first
Consider your admins and your visitors.
Good content is user-centeredAdopt the cognitive frameworks of your users- E R I N K I S S A N E
Skew, The Frontend Engineer's Misery
Slow Site?
Common Client-side Performance Pitfalls- Cache Settings
- Image Optimization
- Image Handling
- CSS Images
- Size of pages, libraries, CSS.
Theming!
Where everything can be overridden.
There is no "best" theme.
-@rupl
Where to startDevelop a theming strategy and find a theme to match
- ‘Starter’ themes- Base Themes- Responsive Theming- Click-to-Config
Control your layout through configurationPanels, Panelizer, Panopoly
Context, Omega
Display Suite
Advancing Theming
Its all about Overriding
Configuration -> CSS -> PHP
You can give back to the community.
Coding Standards- Indent of 2 spaces
- No trailing white space
- CSS properties in alphabetical order
Learn MoreBooks
Training
Documentation
Blogs
Videos
Meetups
Camps and Cons
IRC
Spirit of willingness, giving back and helping each other
Thank You!@meghsweet
@chapter_three