Understanding Drupal:
More Than Just a CMS
First things first; what exactly is Drupal?
When I first saw the word “Drupal”, I will admit, I had no idea what Zu was talking about. It didn’t take long to figure out that Drupal is a fascinating and powerful Content Management System (CMS) unlike any other. It is an open-sourced platform that truly stands out, especially for very large or complex projects that need robust customization, security and room to scale. Drupal is built to handle those types of projects, and it makes sense that Zu uses it, as Zu works on many huge projects. In other words, it lets organizations create digital products that go far beyond, and as they say, “Drupal grows as you grow”.
Drupal offers a few very interesting features that make it unique and powerful:
- Modular System: This framework enables extensive customization. Users can choose from a variety of thousands (currently 53,500) of modules/plug-ins that already exist in the data base, allowing for simple extension of the functionalities of their site. If you want to create your own custom module to extend your site, you can do that as well. This system changes the game, as it gives the creator full flexibility yet maintains simplicity. This is really cool: to me, it’s like getting to create a pizza with unlimited toppings, and you can even customize the bread, sauce, add anything else you like; you can even make a dessert pizza or something totally unique.
- Scalability: Drupal has the capability to power sites with millions of users and thousands of pages, which makes sense why it’s the go-to for government organizations. Furthermore, it simplifies the scaling process; due to it’s modular design, you can add/remove/change modules to your site without disrupting the flow of everything else. Because of it’s incredible customization capabilities, it enables large corporations to be able to create exactly what they need in the site, and tailor it to very specific needs.
- Community: As an open source platform, the foundation of Drupal is in it’s community. With millions of users and developers worldwide, the people are truly what make this platform special. By leaning towards collaborative decision making, with thousands of people coming together to help improve the platform every month, and trusting it’s community to follow the values set out, Drupal creates a CMS unlike any other.
- Security: Drupal is considered to be one of the most secure development platforms. Why? Well again, because of it’s community. With over 1,000,000 developers contributing to the platform from all around the world, helping to maintain and give input, as well as a dedicated team of security experts – it is easy to understand how Drupal has an edge in security and has become one of the most stable platforms.
Why do agencies like Zu use Drupal?
Agencies use Drupal when they need to build something a little bit more complex than a site like this one. When the project demands for:
- Custom complex features and content structures
- Multiple user roles
- Integration with backend systems and customer portals
- Large flows of people on the site
- Robust security and stability
- And probably many more reasons
Deep Dive: Zu's Saskatchewan Health Authority project
As the largest organization in Saskatchewan, the SHA relies heavily on it’s digital presence, connecting over 40,000 healthcare workers and over 1,000,000 residents. Before coming to Zu, the SHA had a very unorganized and complicated digital system, with 12 different sites for various sectors within the Health Region. These 12 sites were all built and maintained independently, which led to several flaws, such as: inconsistent branding and web flows, tens of thousands of duplicate, orphaned and outdated pages, poor efficiency, and slow to update information.
This was obviously a problem that the SHA might have been putting aside for far too long. And it was no small task, so turning to Zu to help solve these challenges was the most logical decision.
What the SHA needed was a single, centralized CMS to unify these 12 different sectors into one. This would create harmonized messaging and branding, minimize duplicated efforts and wasted time, improve usability and accessibility for various tiered audiences, and enable much more efficient communications and updates.
Zu’s approach – strategic and collaborative:
Zu began by doing a deep dive into the users and stakeholders of the 12 varying Health Regions. By holding interviews and public surveys, auditing the content, and engaging stakeholders, they were able to more deeply understand the root of the problems the SHA was facing. This deep dive into “why”, is the same principle discussed in my RFP thought experiment, where the team ensured they weren’t just building another website, but they were actually solving the real, high-stakes problems the SHA was facing.
Armed with these insights gathered from users and stakeholders, Zu was able to develop a single, centralized model using Drupal. And of course, this makes great sense, because of the capabilities that Drupal brings, as discussed earlier.
Prioritizing accessibility, usability, and beautiful design principles, they were able to radically transform the SHA, and the SHA now had a much more effective, usable, and powerful digital presence.
This is a perfect example of how Drupal provides the tools necessary for Zu to solve large-scale, complex challenges.
So yes, Drupal is a more than just another CMS, it empowers users by embodying both flexibility and rigor. It certainly isn’t the easiest CMS to just pick up and start using, but for those who invest some time in understanding its architecture, it is incredibly valuable. It’s a platform that adapts to your needs and desires, rather than the other way around.