It may not be surprising that Drupal hasn’t always supported social sharing when you consider that Drupal predates social media! When Drupal 1.0.0 was released, there was no such thing as an iPhone. It would be years before Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram were created.

Of course, we have social media now, everywhere, so adding the ability to make sharing easy on your Drupal site is essential. Luckily, adding social media sharing to Drupal is easy.

How easy? Let’s take a look.

How to Install AddToAny Share Buttons on Your Drupal Site

To install AddToAny Share Buttons, go to the AddToAny Share Buttons page on Drupal.org:

https://www.drupal.org/project/addtoany

Scroll down to the “Downloads” section at the bottom of the page and right-click (Ctrl-click on a Mac) on the tar.gz or .zip link for your version of Drupal.

Click “Copy link address” (we’re not downloading the file, just grabbing the URL).

• If you don’t see your Drupal version listed, click the “View all releases” link.
• Choose the link “Recommended by the project’s maintainer.” Avoid installing the development version of any module on a live production website.

Go to your Drupal admin screen. Click the “Extend” link in your site administration navigation.

Click the “Install new module” button.

In the “Install from a URL” field, paste the link that you copied from the module page.

Click the “Install” button.

Click the “Enable newly added modules” link.

You’ll be taken to the “Extend” page. Scroll down (or search) to find the AddToAny Share Buttons module and select the checkbox.

Click the “Install” button at the bottom of the page.

Social Media Share on Drupal

Once the AddToAny Share Buttons module is installed and enabled, a few sharing buttons will appear on your articles and pages.

The Drupal Facebook share is there, as well as Twitter, and a “+” icon (called the “Universal Button”) that opens up to share buttons for other services.

Then there is an additional “More” button that exposes even more service buttons.

If that’s not enough for you or a service you want to link to isn’t included, there are even more services available from AddToAny.

When a visitor clicks one of the buttons, a pre-populated post pops up.

Configuring AddToAny Share Buttons

As I mentioned, after installing and enabling the AddToAny module, you have social media share on Drupal articles and pages. You can change where the buttons appear by editing the AddToAny entities.

Go to Home » Administration » Configuration » Web services » AddToAny

In the “Entities” section, you can control where AddToAny appears.

Remember to click the “Save configuration” button if you make any changes.

Additional Options

The “Additional Options” area is where you can add CSS or Javascript to the AddToAny module. That kind of editing is beyond the scope of this article, but that’s where it takes place.

If you have skills in CSS or Javascript, you can make some nice customizations for the sharing buttons.

Buttons

In “Buttons,” you can control the appearance of the AddToAny Share Buttons.

Icon size is just what it says, the pixel dimensions of the button graphics. To make the buttons smaller, enter a lower value, to make them larger, a higher value.

Service Buttons and the “Service Buttons HTML code” field are where you control which buttons are visible before the user clicks the Universal Button (+).

By default, it contains the Drupal Twitter share and Facebook icons. But you can add to those, or even change them out completely.

Remember when I said there were more services available from AddToAny? If you click on the service you wish to add from that list, it will take you to a page where you can find the “AddToAny service code.” Copy that.

Now format the service code into the button markup like so (the AddToAny service code is bold):

[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ][/ht_message]linkedin“>

and add it to the “Service Buttons HTML code” field.

Scroll down and click the “Save configuration” button.

Then the button is added to the default social share view.

That’s a Wrap on AddToAny

Now that you know how to add social links to your Drupal site, you’re on the road to increasing your social sharing.

Increasing SEO for your website is the best way to increase your traffic from search engine results. But social media is a great way to generate traffic that doesn’t rely on search results.

If you can get your articles shared consistently on social media, the traffic you gain can easily overshadow search or direct traffic. Investments in social sharing can reap great dividends.

Have you used other methods to add social media share options to Drupal? Do you know how much of your site traffic comes from social sharing?

The post How to Add Social Media Share Buttons to Drupal appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Installing any content management system manually is more involved than point and click. In many instances, you need to set up databases and make coding adjustments. When you’re pressed for time, this isn’t exactly ideal.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to install Drupal with Softaclous. It doesn’t require a great deal of effort, and your site can be up and running in moments.

Setting Up Drupal with Softaculous

Softaculous is an apps installer built into the GreenGeek’s cPanel platform. It’s a good tool when you want to build anything from a blog to an eCommerce site. In this instance, I’ll be using it to set up Drupal.

From the cPanel dashboard, scroll down to the Software section and click “Softaculous Apps Installer.

Search for Drupal and click the tool when it appears.

Click the “Install Now” button below the description for Drupal.

Select the version, domain and protocol for the installation. If you only have one website, it will be displayed in the “Choose Domain” drop down by default. You also want to make sure you select the right protocol. For instance, you need to use “https://www” if you have an SSL attached to your account.

Give your site a new name. This is essentially the name of your website. For this tutorial, I’m going to name it “My Drupal Website.”

Assign a new username and password. Do not use “admin” as this username. Because it’s the most common default administrative account, it’s the first thing hackers and bots will try to gain access to your website. Make it something unique and create an ultra-difficult password.

Set your Admin Email to an address that is currently live. This will be used by Drupal to send you messages and information regarding the site. For instance, you will receive an email from Drupal to this address as soon as the installation process is done.

When you’re ready, click the Install button at the bottom of the screen.

When Softaculous is done, you’ll see a congratulations screen with links to your website. To access the admin screen of Drupal, click the “Administrative URL.”

Input your username, password and click the “Log In” button.

Now, you’re ready to start designing your own website by installing modules and themes that fit your needs.

Taking the Work Out of Setup

Softaculous is a great system to use for installing a wide selection of applications. Drupal is simply one of many and works well as a content management system. Take a look through what is available and become inspired. You never know what can accentuate your site until you see what’s available in Softaculous.

The post How to Install Drupal on GreenGeeks appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Keeping Drupal and clean URLs does more for your site than you might think. In fact, many experts attest to how “friendly” URLs improve site traffic as well as improve site ranking in engines like Google.

Today, I’m going to show you how to set up search friendly URLs in Drupal. It’s a quick and easy task that may improve how your site performs on the Internet in terms of gaining traffic.

Clean URLs and Drupal 8

By default, Drupal 8 uses clean URLs automatically when you build a new website. This option cannot be disabled directly from the admin panel.

As long as you use clean paths when creating articles and pages, the site will use those as well as any alias you use for the URLs themselves.

Clean URLs and Drupal 7

Drupal 7 and earlier versions will require a bit of finesse when setting up clean URLs. Normally I promote Drupal 8 in these tutorials, but I wanted to share how you can set cleaner links with the older versions of the content management system.

Editing the .htaccess File for Drupal 7

First, create a copy of your .htaccess file. If you already backup your Drupal website on a regular basis, you might not have to do this. The reason why you want to create a copy of this file is to make sure you have a working replacement should something go wrong.

The second step is to prepare the .htaccess file for clean URLs. This can be done by either using FTP programs like FileZilla or through cPanel‘s File Manager. In this tutorial, I’m going to use the latter.

Access and edit the .htaccess file of your Drupal website.

If you’re using File Manager and you don’t see the .htaccess file, you will need to go to your settings in File Manager and enable hidden files.

Also, making changes like this to the .htaccess file means you’ll want to save a copy of it if and when you need to upgrade your version of Drupal.

Add the following code to your .htaccess file:
[ht_message mstyle=”info” title=”” ” show_icon=”” id=”” class=”” style=”” ]RewriteEngine on
RewriteBase /
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ index.php?q=$1 [L,QSA][/ht_message]

You can add the above coding and keep any of your current settings in .htaccess as long as they don’t conflict with one another. For instance, some of you may have rules for handling plugins, IP blacklisting and other functions. These can all remain intact while including the above commands.

When you’re done editing, save the file.

Setting Drupal 7 Clean URLs

By default, Drupal comes with the “Path” module already installed and activated. This add-on is what controls setting up search friendly URLs in Drupal. If you want to make sure this module is installed, click “Extend” in the top tool bar and scroll down to “Path.” Make sure it has a check mark next to its name.

If not, click the box and install it using the button on the bottom.

Click into the “Configuration” tool in the admin panel. Scroll down and click the link for “Clean URLs.” When you click this link, you’ll have a check box option to enable it. Click the box and save the configuration.

Now you’re website will deliver a cleaner URL when you develop articles and pages. This is just one of the many ways that Drupal web hosting can be customized to promote a website of any kind. Build something for yourself or the business and give visitors and search engines an easy link to follow.

The post How to Enable Search Friendly URLs in Drupal appeared first on GreenGeeks.

When you begin to build a Drupal website, there are all kinds of things you’ll want to do to make the site your own. Because impressions are so vastly important online, you need to make sure your site is pleasing for visitors.

Finding the right theme to fit your needs may be the most difficult part of this process.

In this Drupal themes tutorial, I’m going to show you how to install a new theme and give your site a stunning appearance.

Installing Themes in Drupal

The first thing you need to do is find a theme you really want to use. You can search through the alternative themes available at Drupal’s website or search for them from third-party developers.

If you’re using Drupal’s website, change the “Core compatibility” to match your version and click search.

If you find a theme that requires a newer version of Drupal, it may be a good idea to upgrade the platform. This will also keep your site safer from exploits and other issues down the road.

One you find a theme you like, click the link to download the file for your version of Drupal.

Download the tar.gz file for the theme to your computer.

Go to your Drupal admin panel and click the “Appearance” tool.

Click the button labeled, “+ Install new theme.”

Choose the theme file from your computer and click the “Install” button. If you the URL of the theme directly, you can also use that instead of a downloadable file.

When the file is installed, click the “Administration pages” link.

Click the Appearance tool from the Drupal admin tool bar again. This time, scroll down to the theme you just installed and click the “Install and set as default” link.

Now your website has a new theme and is ready for content.

Changing the Theme’s Settings

Some themes have a variety of tools and options available depending on the developer. To access these, click on the “Settings” link of the theme you want to edit.

Depending on the theme, you may have access to a myriad of custom options. Colors, logo images, font settings, layouts, header options and more can all be modified directly from the theme. Once you’ve made your customizations, click the “Save configuration” button to keep your changes.

While Drupal web hosting is one of the most important aspects of your website, the overall appearance will determine whether people stay to read your content or move on. Color schemes, images and layout all contribute to the success of any site. Install themes in Drupal that accentuate your purposes and inspire your visitors with awe.

The post How to Install Themes in Drupal appeared first on GreenGeeks.

In this Drupal upgrade tutorial, I’m going to show you how to install the newest version for your software.

Getting Your Updated Drupal Files

When you log into the Drupal admin panel, you may see a message that there are available updates. If you don’t, click on “Configuration” in the admin toolbar. You will then see the message for updates if there are any available.

Click the link to see “available updates.” This will take you to Drupal’s Update screen. This can also be found in Reports in the link “Available updates.”

In the Update tab, you’ll see files that are available for upgrading should any be released. You’ll also see a report of when the last time the system checked for these upgrades. If you’re curious at any time, you can always click the “Check manually” link to force Drupal to see if there are any current versions available.

Click the “List” tab on the top of the screen.

In this list, you will see any updates related to the core files as well as themes and other supported extensions. Click the “Download” link next to the files you need to bring the core current.

In this Drupal upgrade tutorial, you’ll see that I have a security update available. I’m not going to worry about the “RC” core update because these are not always stable. Release Candidate, or RC, versions have the potential to work correctly but are often found to be a bit buggy. It’s kind of like beta testing software before it goes live.

I prefer to wait until the actual version is released as a stable upgrade.

Download the file to your preferred location on your computer. I download files like these to my desktop to make them easier to find. Then, I’ll move them to Dropbox for safe keeping.

Installing the Upgrade to Drupal

Before you make any changes to your website, always create a backup copy. This can be done by using FTP applications such as FileZilla. This will prevent you from losing your website should something go wrong during this update.

The first thing you need to do is set your website for “Maintenance Mode.” This will show a message to your visitors that the website is being configured. To do this, click the “Configuration” tool and then scroll down to click on “Maintenance mode.”

Click the check box to put the site in maintenance mode and save. You can also input a custom message to display to guests while you are working.

Deleting Files in Drupal

Next, we’re going to delete the old files and prepare the website for the upgrade.

Access the “File Manager” tool in your cPanel dashboard.

In the root directory of the website, you want to delete the “core” and “vendor” directories.

Next, delete the remaining files in the root directory. You don’t want to touch the other folders for they are storing all of the data for your site. You should have four remaining folders:

• modules
• profiles
• sites
• themes

Some of you may have a folder labeled, “cgi-bin.” This folder can stay as it will not affect the rest of the upgrade.

NOTE: If you’ve made custom changes to .htaccess, robots.txt, composer.json or other modifications, save those files separately so you can add them later.

Uploading New Version

In the root directory of your website, upload the update file for Drupal. This is often in a “.tar.gz” format.

Extract the update file into the Drupal root directory. This can be done by either right-clicking the file and selecting “Extract” or by clicking the Extract tool in the top admin toolbar of File Manager. Mac users will hold down CMD and click to open the options window.

Upgrading Drupal 8

Once the file has been extracted, go into the new folder for the upgrade version of Drupal. In the example below, this folder is “drupal-8.2.7.” Your update may be different depending on the version you’re working with.

Select the “Core” and “Vendor” folders and move them to the root directory. You will have to delete the current folder from the file path. In my example, it’s the “/drupal-8.2.7” text after my domain name. Your root directory may be, “/public_html.”

The point of this step is to replace the core and vendor folders that you deleted earlier.

Next, select all of the remaining files and move them to the root directory. Do not select the modules, profiles, sites or themes folders.

Click the “Up One Level” function in the top toolbar to return to your root directory.

Delete the Drupal folder that you extracted and the .tar.gz file you uploaded. These are no longer necessary on your site and are only taking up space.

Once the new files have been moved, you will want to upload your custom files. Because I made custom alterations to .htaccess and robots.txt, I am going to upload them to overwrite the new copies.

Go to your web browser and enter in “/update.php” after your domain name. So it may look something like, “https://ggexample.com/update.php.”

If your website states that you are unable to access the file or that it is missing, you may need to edit your settings.

Edit Settings of Drupal

For the most part, you won’t need to edit the settings.php file of Drupal if you’re logged in as an administrator. However, there may be times when editing this file is the only way to access the update.

Access the “sites” directory and click into the “default” folder.

Edit the “settings.php” file. Go ahead and use the default text editor that File Manager is requesting.

Scroll through the coding of the settings.php file until you find ‘update_free_access.’ Change the “FALSE” tag to “TRUE” all in capital letters.

Save the file. You should now be able to continue with the update for your website.

Running the Update

When you launch the update.php from your web browser, you will get an update manager window. Click the continue button to begin the actual update of Drupal.

Drupal has now been updated. If Drupal had to update the database, the system would give you further instructions or further information about what was done. However, most version updates won’t have changes for how Drupal will save data.

Click on the “Front Page” link to return to the site.

Go back to the Configuration page and turn maintenance mode off by removing the check mark. Click the “Save configuration” button, and your site is now live.

NOTE: If you had to edit the settings.php file mentioned above, make sure you go back and change the “TRUE” back to “FALSE.” This is a security issue, and you don’t want just anyone to access those files.

When it comes time to upgrade Drupal, it can be an unnerving process. Because of the advanced nature of the content management system, many people may be afraid of making mistakes. As long as you keep a backup copy of the files saved on your web hosting account, it’s easy to revert should something happen. Take your time and don’t rush an upgrade.

The post How to Update Drupal appeared first on GreenGeeks.

In this Drupal Panels tutorial, I’m going to show you how to install this feature. If you like the idea of giving your site a bit of a custom appearance, I highly suggest you give this a try.

Bear in mind that using Panels in pages is different than when you create articles in Drupal.

Part 1: Installing the Modules

Before you can use Panels, you will need to install a few modules. These are cTools, Layout plugin, Page Manager, and Panels. Without any of these, you won’t be able to customize the layout of your site.

Step 1: Install cTools

The cTools module, or Chaos tool suite, is a set of APIs and additions that help components within Drupal communicate together. From plugins to CSS tools, this module improves them all.

Go to the cTools project page and click the file that supports your version of Drupal.

Click the “Download tar.gz” button and save the file to your computer.

Go back to the admin panel in Drupal. Go to the Extend tool and install the module for cTools.

Step 2: Install Panels

Now that cTools is installed and activated, it’s time to install Panels.

Go to the Panels project page and click the link for your version of Drupal.

As before, click the “Download tar.gz” button for Panels and save it to your computer.

Go back to your Drupal admin screen. Install the Panels module as you did with cTools.

Step 3: Install the Layout Plugin Module

In Drupal 8, you will need to install the Layout plugin module to use panels. This can be found on the Layout plugin project page.

NOTE: As of this tutorial, the module is still in the Alpha stages, so you may need to update it when new versions become available.

Go to the project page and download the latest version of Layout plugin.

Install it as you did with the previous two modules.

Step 4: Install Page Manager

In Drupal 8, you will need the Page Manager module in order to use Panels. This can be found on the Page Manager project page at Drupal.org.

Go to the project page and download the latest version.

Install this module just like you did in the others.

NOTE: Remember, all four of these modules need to be installed from the Extend tool after you upload them.

Part 2: Creating a Custom Layout Page with Panels

Now, creating panels in Drupal 8 is much different than it is in Drupal 7. For one thing, the pages are stored in a completely different area than before.

Most of the time, people will create custom layouts for home and landing pages. For this tutorial, I am going to make a quick and easy landing page to demonstrate how to set up your panels.

Step 1: Add a Page

Go to the Structure tool in Drupal and click on the “Pages” link.

Click the “+ Add page” button on the Pages screen.

Step 2: Give the Page a Title and Description

Give the new page an Administrative title that will be easy to identify. You can also include a description of the page. You’ll also need a path for Drupal to follow for the page.

For this tutorial, I am placing:

• Administrative title: Landing Page
• Administrative description: Just a landing page.
• Path: LandingPage

Step 3: Select Panels Under Variant Type

Now, click on the drop-down box below “Variant type.” You’ll have several options to choose from, but we are going to click on the “Panels” option.

Click the “Next” button to continue designing the page.

Step 4: Choose a Builder Platform

Choose a Builder platform and click “Next.” For now, we’re just going to leave this as standard. This is partly because at the time of this tutorial, Panels for Drupal 8 is still in its infancy, and the other editors may cause errors.

Step 5: Choose the Page Layout

Choose a layout for the page and click “Next.” Here is where it gets interesting. You can select from a single column all the way to three-column layouts. For this tutorial, I’m using the “Three column 25/50/25” option. This will split the page with the majority of the content, 50 percent of the width, to be in the center.

Step 6: Add Content Blocks

Now your custom page is ready for you to add blocks of content.

Once you add the blocks you want to your page, click the “Finish” button.

The one thing you need to remember is that this page, accessible by the “path” you created above, can only be edited from the “Structure” tool. It will not be visible in Content like your other pieces. These will always remain within the “Pages” section.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to create a custom layout, install Panels for Drupal. Although it’s a bit of a process to install the needed modules, the end results can easily accentuate your Drupal web hosting experience. Give your site more flare and develop something visitors can marvel at.

Have you ever tried this method before? Have you been installing panels in a different way?

The post How to Install Panels in Drupal appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Before you begin to build your Drupal website, you need to be certain your server can handle it. Today, I’m going to show you what requirements you’ll need for the most recent versions of the management system.

Why Worry About Drupal Requirements?

The Drupal server requirements have two primary purposes: to protect users from hackable exploits and support for new features and functionality. It’s the drive of most developers to create a stronger and more versatile system with each version update. Without these improvements, the Internet would be a complete mess.

Imagine an apocalyptic digital wasteland.

Using outdated versions of Drupal and the software that supports it can lead to a variety of issues. New malware, hacking exploits, module failures and instability are just some of the more common effects.

Any time there is a new upgrade to Drupal, it’s wise to install the application. This includes any additions such as PHP improvements, Apache updates or MySQL enhancements.

What are the system requirements?

If you don’t have enough power behind your system, Drupal will inform you during the install. If it’s something like requiring a PHP upgrade, that is usually easy to change in cPanel by modifying which version to use.

You can check the software versions currently installed on your web hosting account. To do this, click on the “Server Information” link from your cPanel dashboard.

Here is a quick breakdown of what you need in order to operate Drupal.

Drupal 8 Requirements

• Apache: 2.X and up
  Drupal will run on Apache servers running Linux, OS X and Windows.
• PHP: 5.5.9
  Drupal 8 will not install unless it detects PHP 5.5.9 or higher running on your server.
• PHP Memory Limit: 64MB
• MySQL: 5.5.3

Drupal 7 Requirements

• Apache: 1.3
  This works for Linux, Windows and OS X platforms.
• PHP: 5.2.5
  However, it’s recommended to use 5.3 or greater.
• PHP Memory Limit: 32MB
• MySQL: 5.0.15

Drupal 6 Requirements

• Apache: 1.3
  Linux, Windows and OS X platforms will be able to operate Drupal with Apache 1.3.
• PHP: 4.4
  PHP 4.4 is no longer supported, and it would be wise to upgrade to avoid security and functionality issues.
• PHP Memory Limit: 16MB
  However, 8MB may be good enough for thin websites and older versions of Drupal.
• MySQL: 4.1

If you need more detailed Drupal requirements, you can also visit the website for more information.

It’s always best to use the latest software versions when building any website. It can prevent many problems such as file corruption and becoming a victim of hacking. Don’t assume that just because a website running older software is safe because it hasn’t been attacked. It’s only a matter of time in the grand scheme of things.

The post How to Find Drupal Requirements appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Even though the web hosting platform comes with a myriad of tools, add-ons to Drupal can provide even more functionality.

In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to install these different modules. It’s a relatively easy process that has potential to vastly improve your website by using add-ons.

Downloading Your Module

Currently, Drupal doesn’t have the ability to install modules directly from within the admin screen of the website. You will need to find modules and extensions by using the Drupal.org website or by finding them from third-party organizations on the Internet.

NOTE: You’ll want to research third-party developers before installing any of the extensions. The last thing you want to do is put something onto your site that opens the doors to hacking or steals vital information. Some poorly created modules may even crash the site entirely.

You can access Drupal-sponsored modules by clicking the link within the admin screen of your website. Click the “Extend” tool along the top of the admin bar and then click the “contributed modules” link to browse what is available.

Drupal has more than 30,000 modules to choose from. However, many of these are incredibly out of date. You will want to make sure you find one that supports your version of the software.

In this tutorial, I am going to look for a social media module to add to my website. Let’s change the “Core compatibility” drop down to the version of Drupal we’re using and enter “social media” in the search box.

Once you find a module you like, click its title.

Scroll down the description of the module and click the tar.gz link for your version of Drupal.

Clicking the link will bring up your “Save File” window. I would suggest saving the module to the desktop so that it’s easier to find. This is completely up to you, though.

Some systems may automatically save the file to the “Downloads” folder.

Uploading the Module

Once you’ve downloaded the file, it’s time to upload it to Drupal. Go back to your admin panel and click on the “Extend” tool.

Click the “+ Install new module” button on this screen.

Since we’ve saved the module to the computer system, ignore the “Install from a URL” field. However, you can enter the exact address of a module here should you find one. This may save a bit of time since you won’t have to download and then upload the file.

For now, click the “Choose File” button and find the module you saved.

Click the “Install” button to continue.

When Drupal is done uploading the module, click the “Administration pages” on the success screen.

Installing the Module

Even though you “installed” the module into Drupal, it’s not actually operational on your website just yet. The above step simply added it to the library of things you can do on your website. Next, you will need to actively install it for the site.

Click the “Extend” link in the tool bar again. This time, scroll down to the module you installed and click the check box next to its name. Since Social Media Links Block is the module I installed, I would check the box next to its name.

Click the “Install” button on the bottom.

That’s all there is to it. Now you can alter your module settings as you see fit to accentuate the website.

As you can see, it’s easy to install Drupal modules in this tutorial. These small add-ons can deliver prolific additions to your site to engage users or be used to improve efficiency when it comes to creating your content. Browse Drupal’s database of add-ons and see what you can use when building your website. You may just find that perfect addition to reinforce your site’s purpose.

The post How to Install Drupal Modules appeared first on GreenGeeks.

A strong Drupal web hosting provider can only protect the site so much, and creating a backup plan will help protect your data from becoming lost.

A backup copy of your site can help:

• Recover in the event of being hacked.
• When moving the site to another server.
• Create a development staging area.
• Recover from issues caused by bad coding or corrupted files.

In this Drupal backup tutorial, I’m going to show you how to create these copies and the best ways to keep them safe.

Using FTP to Copy Your Files

File Transfer Protocol, or FTP, is a method in which you connect to your web hosting account through a program. These FTP applications often give you direct access to the root directory of the site including all files within.

One of the best methods to create a backup of Drupal in this fashion is by using FileZilla. This free, open-source software supports Windows, Mac and Linux computer systems and is one of the most popular FTP applications on the Internet.

To create a backup copy of your site’s files, connect to your web host with the FileZilla application.

FileZilla has two distinct displays. The left side shows your computer system and folders while the right shows your website. Select all of the folders and files of your website. This can be done by holding down CTRL on Windows or CMD on Mac computers while clicking each file or folder.

NOTE: Do not include the folder with “..” as its name. This is not a folder, but rather a way to go up one level in the webhost directory.

Drag the files from your website server into a folder onto your computer system.

FileZilla will immediately begin downloading all of the files to your computer system.

Keep in mind that this process can take a great deal of time depending on how many files your Drupal site has. Your Internet speed will also play into how long it takes to create this backup. It could take up to a couple of hours in extreme cases.

Using phpMyAdmin to Copy Your Database

Website files are not the only things that need to be copied to have a true complete backup of your Drupal website. The database will need to be copied as well. This is done by using phpMyAdmin from cPanel.

To export your database, log into phpMyAdmin and click “Databases.”

Find your Drupal database and click into it. This is easy to find if you recently installed Drupal yourself. In fact, you have to enter in the database information when setting up the system.

If you forgot the database information, it’s found in: /sites/default/settings.php. Use cPanel’s File Manager or FileZilla to access the file to find the database information.

In the top tool bar, click the “Export” button. This will bring up the format options for the backup.

Until you are more comfortable using phpMyAdmin and managing databases, I advise you to leave the Export Method set for “Quick” and the Format set for “SQL.” This will simply download the database to the directory of your choosing on your computer system. Click the “Go” button under the Format section and download the file.

Even if you never experience a problem while operating your website, it’s still always a good idea to save a copy of it. You never know when you’ll need it, and it’s always best to err on the side of caution. Get into a routine to backup your Drupal website.

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Even managing users can play into site performance, especially if you’re removing accounts that spam or try to otherwise hack the system.

Today, I’m going to show you how to optimize Drupal site speed and a few tips you can use to improve performance.

Turn on Caching to Optimize Drupal

Caching is the process in which resources are stored when visitors access the website. This means it uses sheer processing power to load things like graphics and content rather than a data transfer, which is often much slower.

To turn on your site’s ability to cache, click on the “Configuration” tool in the admin tool bar.

Scroll down and click the “Performance” link under Development.

From this screen, you’re able to clear the cache if you want. This should only be used if there have been significant changes to the website. Otherwise, you may want to let the system manage itself.

By default, the caching of Drupal is disabled. Under “Page cache maximum age,” click the drop down window and select a range. Many experts have varying opinions regarding the maximum age of a cache. This will be dependent on many factors regarding how your site is developed. For now, I am just setting it to “1 day.”

Next, choose whether you want to aggregate CSS and JavaScript files. It is best to leave these as selected for it often increases the performance of your website by storing those bits of data. These files will affect bandwidth use on the website, which will make it slower.

On the other hand, they can be unchecked if you are trying to accomplish a particular goal or have reason to not include JS and CSS data into the cache.

Click the “Save configuration” button when your selections are made.

Turn Off Modules Not In Use

Another method to optimize Drupal performance is by turning off the modules you are not currently using. For example, having the contact form module operational even if you don’t use it will cause the system to be slower because the data is loaded regardless.

To turn off these modules, click the “Extend” function in the admin tool bar.

Click the “Uninstall” tab on the right.

The Uninstall list consists of all the modules that are currently in use by Drupal.

NOTE: This uninstall does not mean it is completely deleted from the system. You can reactivate any of these modules by installing it again at a later date. However, it’s good practice to remove modules completely to avoid security threats from outdated components.

Scroll through and place a check in the box next to any modules you currently do not need. In this example, I am going to place a check in “Tour” since I do not need it on my testing site.

Once you’ve made your selections, click the “Uninstall” button.

In the confirmation screen, click the “Uninstall” button. This will finish the removal of the module from your website.

Other Tips to Optimize Drupal Site Speed

The above examples help boost the efficiency of your website. However, there are plenty of things you can do to help increase the performance as well. For example, you could:

• Reduce the amount of clutter on your pages.
  The term, “Clutter” can mean things like too many Adsense blocks, affiliate banners, images, random graphics and any other component that takes time to load or pulls information from a third-party service.
• Use the correct size of images.
  A lot of site owners will upload incredibly large graphics and then use HTML coding to make them smaller. The problem is that these images are still rendered for users at their full size, which slows the site.
• Reduce the use of scripts.
  JavaScript and other coding gives you a lot of control over what can be done on a website. Unfortunately, they can also impact site performance. Try to minimize the use of these add-ons as much as possible.
• Use a Content Delivery Network
  Some Drupal webhosting providers give users access to Content Delivery Networks, or CDNs. These platforms distribute the website across the globe putting it closer to people, which reduces access time.
• Constantly test the site for speed issues.
  Sites like Pingdom give you the ability to test your site from various servers around the world. Not only does it show you a rating based on performance, but it will also show you what is slowing the site.

Optimizing Drupal for performance doesn’t have to be a difficult task. For the most part, it’s simple changes such as those I’ve listed that often have the greatest impact. After you learn a bit more about how to build a Drupal website, take a few moments and see what you can do to improve performance. Visitors and search engines alike will praise your efforts.

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