Drupal 8 and its features

navya , Credit to  volkotech-solutions Jan 02

Drupal 8 is a content management system (CMS) that is used by developers and organizations to build and maintain websites and web applications. It is a powerful and flexible platform that offers a wide range of features and tools for building and managing websites of all sizes and complexity.

Drupal 8 offers a wide range of features and tools for building and managing websites, as well as strong support for security, performance, and internationalization. It is known for its flexibility and scalability, as well as its ability to manage a wide range of content types. 

Some of the key features of Drupal 8 include:

Responsive design: 

Drupal 8 is a powerful content management system that is widely used to build websites and web applications. One of its key features is responsive design, which allows the website or application to automatically adapt to different screen sizes and devices. This is especially important in today's digital age, as more and more people are accessing the internet using a wide range of devices, including laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Responsive design is important for a number of reasons. First, it helps to ensure that your website or application is accessible to a wider audience. By automatically adjusting to different screen sizes, you can ensure that your website or application is easy to use and navigate, no matter what device someone is using to access it.

Finally, responsive design can help to improve the search engine rankings of your website or application. Google and other search engines prioritize websites and applications that are mobile-friendly, and responsive design is a key factor in determining whether a website or application is mobile-friendly.

Multilingual support: 

Drupal 8 is a content management system that is designed to be used in a variety of languages and regions. One of its key features is multilingual support, which allows users to easily translate content and manage multilingual websites and applications.

Having the ability to support multiple languages is important for a number of reasons. First, it allows you to reach a wider audience, as you can create content in different languages and make it available to users around the world. This is especially important if you are targeting a global audience or if you are working with partners or clients in different countries.

Multilingual support is an important feature of Drupal 8 that allows users to easily translate and manage content in multiple languages. By taking advantage of this feature, you can reach a wider audience and improve the user experience for users around the world.

Accessibility:

Drupal 8 is a content management system that is designed to be highly accessible, meaning that it is easy for users with disabilities to use and navigate. This is an important feature, as it helps to ensure that everyone has equal access to the information and resources on your website or application.

Improved content authoring: 

One of the key features of Drupal 8's improved content authoring is the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor. This allows users to create and edit content using a visual interface, rather than having to write HTML or other code. The WYSIWYG editor includes a range of formatting options, such as the ability to add headings, bold or italic text, and lists, as well as the ability to insert images and links.

Another useful feature of Drupal 8's improved content authoring is the ability to schedule content to be published at a later date. This allows users to write and edit content in advance, and then schedule it to be automatically published at a specific time. This can be useful for managing a busy publishing schedule, or for coordinating the release of content with other events or activities.

Mobile app development: 

Drupal 8 includes a number of tools and frameworks for building mobile applications, including support for RESTful web services and the ability to build mobile-optimized versions of your website or application.

Security: 

Drupal 8 is a content management system that is designed to be highly secure, with a number of features and tools to help protect your website or application from cyber threats. 

Some of the key security features of Drupal 8 include:

Secure login: 

Drupal 8 includes support for secure login methods, such as two-factor authentication and password hashing, to help protect user accounts from being compromised.

Automatic update notifications: 

Drupal 8 has a built-in system for managing updates, which includes automatic notifications when new updates are available. This allows users to quickly and easily apply updates to keep their site secure.

Rollback capability: 

Drupal 8 has the ability to roll back updates if necessary, which can be useful if an update causes problems or conflicts with other components of the site.

Security Advisories: 

Drupal 8 has a security team that monitors for potential vulnerabilities and issues security advisories when necessary. This helps users to stay informed about potential threats and take appropriate action to protect their sites.

Secure coding practices: 

Drupal 8 follows best practices for secure coding, including the use of secure coding standards and the inclusion of security checks and tests in the development process.

Scalability: 

Drupal 8 is a content management system that is designed to be highly scalable, meaning that it can handle large amounts of traffic and data without performance issues. This is an important feature, as it allows you to create websites and applications that can grow and evolve over time without the need to constantly upgrade or reconfigure your system.

One of the key features of Drupal 8's scalability is its support for distributed database systems. This allows you to distribute your data across multiple servers, which can help to improve performance and reduce the risk of downtime.

Drupal 8 also includes a number of caching options that can help to improve performance and scalability. For example, it has support for caching pages and blocks of content, as well as the ability to cache database queries. This can help to reduce the load on your server and improve the overall performance of your website or application.

In addition, Drupal 8 has a number of tools and features to help manage and optimize your site's performance. For example, it includes a built-in performance monitor that allows you to track the performance of your site and identify any areas that may need improvement.

Overall, Drupal 8's scalability features make it a powerful and flexible platform for building websites and applications that can handle large amounts of traffic and data. By taking advantage of these features, you can create a website or application that can grow and evolve over time without the need to constantly upgrade or reconfigure your system.

Extensibility: 

Drupal 8 is a highly extensible content management system that allows developers to customize and extend its functionality to meet the specific needs of their projects. One of the key features of Drupal 8 that enables extensibility is its use of modular architecture, which allows developers to create custom modules that can be easily integrated into the core system.

One of the main ways that Drupal 8 is extensible is through the use of hooks, which are PHP functions that allow developers to interact with the core system and alter its behavior. Drupal 8 also includes a number of APIs, such as the Entity API and the Form API, which allow developers to create custom entities and forms that can be used within the system.

In addition to these features, Drupal 8 also includes a number of tools and frameworks that make it easier for developers to build and extend the system, including the Symfony framework, Twig templating, and the Configuration Management system. These tools provide a powerful and flexible platform for developers to build custom solutions on top of Drupal 8.

Drupal 8 flaws:

Drupal 8, like any software, has its own set of flaws and limitations, and here is the list.

  • Complexity: Drupal can be a complex platform to learn and use, especially for those who are new to web development. It requires a certain level of technical expertise to set up and manage a Drupal site.
  • Performance issues: Drupal can be resource-intensive and may suffer from performance issues on sites with a large amount of content or traffic.
  • Lack of out-of-the-box features: While Drupal offers a wide range of features and functionalities, it may not have everything you need out of the box. This can require additional custom development work to add new features or extend the functionality of the platform.
  • Limited design options: Drupal's default theme can be limiting for designers who want to create a unique and visually appealing website.
  • Security vulnerabilities: As with any software, Drupal has had its share of security vulnerabilities in the past. It's important to keep your Drupal site up to date with the latest security patches and best practices to protect against potential attacks.

Overall, Drupal 8 is a powerful and flexible content management system, but it may not be the best fit for every project. It's important to carefully consider your needs and evaluate whether Drupal is the right platform for your project.

Here are a few differences between Drupal 7 and 8.

Drupal 7 vs. Drupal 8

 

Features

Drupal 7

Drupal 8

Performance

Slower

Faster

Usability

Less user-friendly

More user-friendly

Mobile support

No native support

Native support

Security

Vulnerable to attacks

Enhanced security

Scalability

Limited scalability

Improved scalability

Codebase

Older PHP practices

Modern PHP practices

Symfony integration

No Symfony integration

Symfony integration

Object-oriented programming

No OOP

OOP

Templating system

PHPTemplate

Twig

Configuration management

Limited configuration management

Improved configuration management

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