Drupal CMS 1.0 explained: features, benefits, and use cases

Drupal Recipes, introduced in Drupal 10.3, is another cutting-edge feature in Drupal CMS. It represents pre-configured packages of features such as blogs, events, or case studies. All in all, there are around 30 recipes included in Drupal CMS, with plans to add more in the upcoming releases. They enable faster launch of fully functional websites with these features right out of the box.

For example, there’s a recipe for installing an AI chat agent that can actually create new content types and fields for you or a Search recipe that jump-starts setting up advanced search with autocomplete.

Users can apply recipes at the setup by default or as optional add-ons. Each recipe automatically downloads the required modules, sets up preconfigured content types, and applies the necessary configurations.

There already exists a Recipes Cookbook, a collection of user-submitted recipes and related packages from around the web from which users can take recipes. Just like a cookbook in the kitchen helps us to cook delicious meals, a Recipes Cookbook helps us create exceptional sites by choosing the right ingredients and mixing them correctly.

The feature we’ve all been waiting for is automatic updates. It promises to revolutionize Drupal support and maintenance by eliminating the need to install the latest versions of Drupal core, themes, and modules manually. With automatic updates, your Drupal site will receive the latest and most secure updates automatically and provide you with access to the latest features available. This is especially beneficial to small and mid-sized businesses, allowing them to reduce TCO and enhance overall site security.

Want to add a YouTube video to your site? Need to crop images to fit in the content quickly? Want to add custom media types such as SVG images? That is no problem; Drupal CMS allows you to do this easily. With built-in media management tools, content administrators have the ability to upload, embed, and organize images, videos, and other assets as needed. Moreover, the media library offers robust search and filtering capabilities to find existing media assets efficiently.

“Built for ambitious marketers,” as Dries Buytaert says, Drupal CMS provides robust SEO tools, such as metadata customization and structured data, to boost search rankings and drive traffic. They are all in-built, not requiring the installation of additional modules like in traditional Drupal versions. You can also easily create user-friendly URLs automatically and customize them if needed.

Moreover, Drupal CMS offers an advanced analytics system that facilitates tracking website traffic and user behavior by integrating popular analytics tools like Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager. Through a dedicated recipe and user-friendly configuration options, marketers can quickly set up and manage tracking without technical hurdles.

Drupal CMS makes your site inclusive, with accessibility features available right out of the box, including mandatory alt text, semantic HTML, aural alerts, and customizable tab orders. Administrators can build a WCAG AA-compliant frontend interface and offer their visitors a better user experience. With a content accessibility checker tool, they can audit their site for accessibility issues and fix them according to the guidance. And with the reporting tool, they can monitor progress and demonstrate improvements in accessibility to stakeholders.

Data privacy regulations are becoming increasingly complex. Keeping up with the latest requirements and handling customer data responsibly is challenging. You must capture and manage consent, respond to data requests, and protect customer information on your site to comply with regulations like GDPR and CCPA.

Fortunately, Drupal CMS helps you meet global legal standards with built-in features such as consent management. It enables you to ensure that your site visitors agree to or decline the collection and use of their personal data and the display of pop-ups and banners, simplifying data protection and privacy regulations.

Go to Try Drupal CMS and complete the form. You’ll get a full-featured Drupal CMS experience to explore and customize. Trial sites are temporary, but you’ll be able to test all of the capabilities of Drupal CMS.

To get started, install DDEV, an open-source tool for launching local web development environments. Next, download the Drupal CMS zip file and unzip Drupal CMS. In the unzipped directory, run ./launch-drupal-cms.sh at the command line. As a result, DDEV will automatically configure the site and open Drupal CMS in your default browser.