Speed, high performance still play their leading roles on the “online stage”. And yet, their “dictatorship” wouldn't be possible without other factors, in supporting roles, such as looks/web design. So, taking an informed decision when it comes to “putting a face on” your website, selecting from the overwhelming wide collection of Drupal 8 Bootstrap Themes available out there, is crucial.
And here is where we, the OPTASY team, come in to trim your discouragingly heavy load of Drupal 8 Bootstrap Themes to the “five-star” ones. To those 7 ones that are both on Drupal themers and Drupal 8 website owners' top favourite lists.
Still, before we go on with our list, let us answer the legitimate question that might be “bugging” you right no: “But why a Bootstrap theme?”
Here is why:
it's THE truly powerful front-end HTML framework for building interactive web pages
it aligns with Drupal 8's mobile-first approach
it's actively maintained:
its popularity is backed-up by numbers: from all the Drupal 7 and Drupal 8 themes installed on March 2017 over 140,000 have been Bootstrap-powered
And now, let's proceed with our list of 7 best Drupal 8 bootstrap themes, ranging from the best rated ones to the best selling ones so far in 2017:
1. TICO, Head of the Drupal 8 Bootstrap Themes List
And no wonder why it's head of the list: it has something for everyone:
a modern look and feel for the website visitor
a fully responsive design
a whole set of cool tools for Drupal site administrators to use and streamline their work with a slider, block builder...
an easy to use drag and drop site builder for Drupal themers to quickly put together and turn into reality the web designs they have in mind
it's powered by some of the latest web technologies (CSS3, Bootstrap 3, HTML5 etc.) for Drupal developers to easily implement all the desired functionalities with
2. AKLAS
This clean and modern template manages to kill two birds with one stone: both those looking to give their company websites' a professional, rather corporate look and those working in a creative industry, looking for a clean and neat design that would best showcase, without outshining, their portfolios.
Other features you can't ignore:
it's 100% responsive
it runs on modern technology: SASS (“spoiling” the Drupal web development team behind your website with power and easiness of use) and... the Bootstrap front-end framework (of course!)
3. JOURNAL 8
This is the only theme from our list which is designed especially for Drupal 8! Not just adapted to, but created for Drupal 8 from the ground up and, this way (as you can just guess) incorporating all of Drupal 8's “goodies”:
the in-line WYSIWYG editor
Views as part of Drupal's core
So, if you want to power your website with a theme that reflects all the best Drupal 8 practices, Journal 8 is THAT one.
4. VANESSA
Now, this is a cool “booster” for any start-up company's site, app or other web product!
It's a light landing page theme, mobile-first and with a modern design. The perfect boost you need for propelling your business in the fiercely competitive online world!
And there's more! Since, as a start-up, you shouldn't implicitly settle for basic functionality and rudimentary design. No sir:
it's HTML 5 and CSS3-powered
it grants you unlimited power of customization: you get to “play with” Drupal 8's custom blocks, such as Taxonomy, Views, Content Types and the rest of “crew” for personalizing your site's look to perfectly fit your company's unique needs
it comes “loaded” with a collection of 630 icons for you to scan through and pick from
it comes backed up by extensive documentation
it grants you Video & Image Backgrounds
5. UNIVERSH
If it's a template that should meet the specific needs (of functionality and design) of an education website, that you're searching for, then Universh is the ONE!
Not only that it's been designed with your education Drupal site's particularities in mind, but also as a whole tool-set of customization options for you to choose from and to mix and match to your liking:
a collection of more than 10 one-page layouts to dig through for choosing the most suitable one for your site's homepage
a whole “load” of predefined headers, footers and menu styles to scan through and select from
30+ ready-to-use widgets
And to all these customization-oriented tools put at your disposal, add the CSS3, HTML5 and Bootstrap 3.3.5 technologies: the 3 cherries on top!
6. PORTO, One of the Best Selling Drupal 8 Bootstrap Themes
Beauty and convenience that's how this theme could be easily described!
Its increasing popularity's due, to a great extent, to its easiness of use. Practically it empowers you to get your Drupal 8 site up and running in... just a few hours. With powerful functionality and spectacular design already out-of-the-box, your job will resume to taking just a few minor decisions. To simply choosing from all the options put at your disposal.
Some of this theme's tempting features would be:
you're free to change your background colour from light to dark or the other way round, by simply adding an HTML class
the same surprisingly easy and fast method applies when it's your site's layout that you'd like to change: from wide to boxed or vice versa
it's fully responsive
it comes with pre-built view support and template for Drupal Commerce
it's written in a clean code
it's masterfully configured
it offers you first-class support
7. RHYTHM
Out-of-the-box commerce theme... built with unlimited extensibility in mind (your site's “bugs-proofed” when you need to add new Drupal 8 modules, new features to it)... it targets both site admins/content editors with its “easy to find and edit” content tools and site builders thanks to its clean code, highly customizable background, content, color schemes and “power” coming right out-of-the-box.
There you have it: a short list of the main reasons why you should consider Rhythm, too, when you're drafting your own list of best Drupal 8 Bootstrap Themes to consider for your own site.
And... cut! This is where we turn off the spotlights that we've put on THE most popular Drupal 8 Bootstrap Themes.
Now don't feel compelled to go for precisely one of these 7 themes The “perfect match” for your own website might not even be listed here. Nevertheless, it cannot be for no reason that particularity these ones have already won the appreciation and the good rates from most of the Drupal site owners and developers, right?
Adrian Ababei / May 12'2017
So you (your web development team) have done your optimization work right and now your ecommerce website looks great and works smoothly on all mobile devices, as well! Great for you! And yet: now it's time to move on to the next level if you want to remain competitive in this fierce “arena” which is ecommerce. And “upgrading to the next level” means: opting for an ecommerce mobile app.
“But do I really need a mobile app?” you might still ask yourself.
You sure do IF (and only “IF”):
you do see the true potential of social sharing in ecommerce
you aim at seeding and nourishing a sense of loyalty for your brand
you do see the true power of tailor-made, highly personalized shopping experiences
you do realize that convenience is a key driver in ecommerce
And now, let us support our statement that your ecommerce business does need a mobile app with 7 unbeatable (so we think) arguments:
1. Can't Fight Statistics: Mobile Shoppers Prefer Apps over Mobile Browsers
So, you either adapt to this “trend” or you witness your customers “flock” straight to your competition. Who does see a real potential in ecommerce mobile apps.
And it's no wonder why apps have rapidly gain so much popularity among mobile users: it's all about ease and convenience during shopping! This is the main reason why users prefer to access their favorite brand's online store via their corresponding apps rather than via their mobile browsers. No “shocking discovery” here!
Your users won't need to remember your website's URL or to log themselves in each and every time they want to check out what's now on your online store.
CONVENIENCE! This is a term you should adapt your whole ecommerce strategy to. It has the same “power” as the notion of “customization”!
2. Ecommerce Mobile Apps Encourage Social Sharing
You can't afford underestimating the “power” of social sharing! The need to set up the right context for your customers to turn into your own brand's advocates.
Apps make it even easier and faster for your users to “spread” the news to their friends on social media channels about your own promotions and special offers!
These days users could not even perceive mobile apps for ecommerce other way than as some “bundles” of social sharing features. Which, moreover, are easier to integrated into an app!
Free advertising for you and a bundle of convenience right in their own pockets on the mobile users' end!
3. Easy Payment, Easy Checkout
We couldn't be talking about a streamlined shopping experience without a simplified payment and checkout process, right? This is this aspect where your ecommerce mobile app “beats” your company's mobile website!
It will turn the whole payment process into a faster and more secure process.
A win-win situation after all: the fewer risks you take of turning this process into a true “ordeal”, with dozens of boxes to check or to uncheck, of personal data to enter and lots and lots of options to go through, the lower your cart abandonment rate will be.
Simplified payment process and fast checkout: the perfect formula for a great shopping experience!
Moreover: you get to easily turn your app into a whole bundle of functionalities, as well.
Your team of Toronto developers can easily incorporate secure payment options and (this is gold!) also to program it to remember the specific payment options that different users prefer. This way you'll get to customize and to streamline these users' future shopping experiences on your app!
4. Ecommerce Mobile Apps Load Faster
… and page loading time still is the name of the game in the digital landscape!
And app will always be lighter and therefore, will always “score” better page loading times than a website. No matter how much hard work you'd put in optimizing it for speed!
5. You Get to Integrate Push Notifications into Your Mobile App
And these are, no doubt, some really powerful marketing tools and sales boosters!
Basically, you get to send quick “alerts” to all your mobile users, informing them of new special sales, updates about their recent orders, tempting time-limited promotions and all kinds of key store events.
And there's more!
Since “personalization” is everything in modern ecommerce, you get to play your “customization card” via the push notification options that you'll include in your mobile app. You can make them location-based and, this way, send users quick “alerts” whenever they're close to one of your physical stores.
And, we're getting back to the CONVENIENCE factor: your mobile customers don't even need to be logged into your app or to access their mobile browsers for getting your offer/news notifications!
So, we have convenience, we have tailor-made shopping experience and we definitely can't ignore the advantage of brand consistency. By keeping your customers constantly connected to your brand's whole ecosystem of store events, sales, special offers, freshly added content, your app will help you build brand consistency.
6. You Get to Tailor The User Experience by Device
And this is another great advantage of ecommerce mobile apps over mobile website. Admit it: responsive design follows the “one size fits all types of devices, as long as they're mobile” rule.
Now when it comes to mobile apps, you gain much more control over their interfaces' design, over the whole user experience after all!
Since each platform comes with its own particularities and with its own users' expectations, your mobile app will enable you to adapt your app's interface to them. To tailor your customers' shopping experiences to their preferred platforms.
7. Mobile Ecommerce Apps Build and Increase Brand Loyalty
Take it this way: your mobile users will be virtually connected to your brand almost 24/7 via your app. It will be in their pockets, purses, on their desks at work, practically part of their lives.
Therefore, it will inevitably nurture a sense of familiarity (in the first place) towards your brand. Which will evolve into brand loyalty, if you're willing to put some effort, as well:
to keep them informed, through your push notifications, about your special offers or coupons designed exclusively for your brand's mobile shoppers... for them
to leverage the data analytics that your app will provide you with for tailoring some shopping experiences personalized to your users' different backgrounds, different preferences, in the slightest details
to make sure you deliver seamless shopping experiences to your mobile users, irrespective of the type of devices that they access your app from
And though the list of unbeatable arguments on why you need an ecommerce mobile app is almost endless (we could go on pointing out the advantage of using a mobile app in offline mode, as well, for instance), we shall end it here.
So: have we managed to help you find a straight answer to your “dilemma”: mobile app vs mobile ecommerce website?
Adrian Ababei / May 11'2017
Getting ready for a Drupal site upgrade “event”? Or maybe you're facing a Drupal update challenge or an even more complex process: a migration from your current version of Drupal to the latest “bundle of Drupal functionalities”? And even if there's no “major” changes-implementing event in your schedule, you still have to regularly backup your Drupal 8 site!
Is your web host providing you with a backup plan? Great! Even so, you don't need to be some sort of “visionary” to see that it's crucially important to run your own backups, as well.
You still need to back it up yourself!
You can't depend entirely on your web hosting provider's safety net for your own invaluable data. You need to weave your own net!
And we're not going to keep “bugging you” you with the three back-ups rule (“if it doesn't exist in three different...) anymore.
Here are just 3 dark scenarios that you'd be avoiding:
the upgrade/update/moving files process fails, you'll be left with no database and no files to restore... with no Drupal 8 site, after all
the ever-more sophisticated hackers manage (God forbid!) to find and to exploit a security vulnerability on your website and... you know that this is no happy ending story
your web server crashes and, as you can guess, your company website can't escape the inevitable domino effect
You see what we're trying to point out here right?
Now, let us proceed to detailing the two backup methods available to you. Yet, in many cases the web server narrows down to one option.
1.The GUI-Based Backup Method
It's the most straightforward method of the two, granting you full control and easy access to your own database.
Basically you'll get to use:
your phpMyAdmin
a browser-based MySql interface
any FTP client
… to manage your database and to easily transfer your files from your server or your desktop to your Drupal 8 site
Now the GUI backup method is a two-step one:
A. You'll create a backup of your Drupal 8 site:
just connect to your server (via the FTP client that you prefer)
and copy your website folder to a cloud drive or to your local machine
B. You'll Backup Your Database (via PHPMyAdmin)
Now you've reached the step where you cautiously “shelter” your database, your website's most valuable “asset”!
Is your server hosting service provider offering you with a native database manager? Putting you, this way, in control of your own database?
There are just a few simple tasks to carry out for successfully backing up your database:
Log into your PHPMyAdmin (obviously!)
Select your database (it's right there, on the left, in the, in the dropdown box)
Click “Export”
Click “Select All”
Check “Data” and “Structure”
Click “Save as File” desktop
Click “Go” and save your .sql file to your desktop
Turn this good practice into a habit whenever you backup your Drupal 8 site: always save your database in the same folder as your Drupal files (the ones you've just backed up)
2. The CLI-Based Method to Backup Your Drupal 8 Site
Do you feel comfortable working with a command line?
Then backing up your Dupal 8 site will be nothing but a of short sequence of simple commands to enter into your command shell.
In case you haven't yet used Drush before, you should know that it's simple to install on your computer or to add to your server. It “empowers” you to easily control various aspects of your Drupal installation.
The steps to take, when you back up your Drupal 8 site via Drush, are surprisingly (or not) similar to those specific to first backup method:
A. You'll Create a Local Copy of Your Site's Folder
First things first: you'll need to copy your live site files to a new (a test) directory (make sure you give it a suggestive name). For this, it's this command that you'll need to enter:
cp -rp /path/to/drupal_site /path/to/backup_dir
Remember to check whether the .htaccess file will have got copied, too!
B. You'll Backup Your Database
And here's the command that you'll need to enter for backuping up your priceless database:
mysqldump -u USERNAME -p'PASSWORD' DATABASENAME > /path/to/backup_dir/database-backup.sql
And you even have an alternative one that you could use:
drush sql-dump > /path/to/backup_dir/database-backup.sql
There! No more “sleepless nights” for you! Your Drupal 8 site, with all its files and its valuable database, is now safely backed up and “shielded” from the “unexpected events” factor!
Tip: always date your backups (you can just imagine the chaos you'd need to deal with if you had to restore your “latest” backup and dig through a whole “pile” of undated backup folder).
To Sum Up
How often you'll backup your Drupal 8 site is up to you.
Try to estimate the value of all the digital data stored on your website, of your company's digital identity, after all, and come up with a frequency that best suits your website.
As already mentioned, no need to turn it into a process to be carried out exclusively around “big” events planned for your Drupal site (upgrades, updates, migrations). A cyber attack or a web server problem are just two dark scenarios that have nothing to do with Drupal upgrades and all the preparation taking place around these key “events”.
Let your host service provider run its own backup and make sure you run yours, too, in parallel.
As you've already seen, both methods are more than straightforward, so you have no “excuse” for neglecting your site backup routine.
Adrian Ababei / May 08'2017
Be honest: did you really anticipate that the search voice trend would turn into such a phenomenon? Statistics just come to confirm what we've been already suspecting for a while: already 40% of adults use voice interaction on a daily basis.
Are we witnessing the dusk of classic text-based search?
Can't forecast that, but what we can easily tell is that: the voice UI trend can't go anywhere else but UP! Face it, adapt to it or be left behind!
And once you've accepted this new reality shaping the digital landscape, it's time to take measures! To properly optimize your website for search voice.
How? Adopting these 5 key SEO tactics aimed at directing not just visitors using voice search, but qualified prospects to your own website.
Ready? Here they are, in no particular order:
1. Go for Natural, Conversational Language Instead
“Instead of” the typical language that you would have used for driving people using text-based search into your website.
Lose the “too” succinct, “too” precise type of language and admit that users don't write the same way as they talk. They're more inclined to type in “to-the-point”, brief search terms and to utter far more conversational search phrases.
See the difference? Try vizualizing these 2 scenarios:
A. You're at home, in the evening, getting cozy after a hard day at work. You surf online for a software/app that would help you better organize and prioritize your tasks at work, starting with the next day. Normally you would type in something like “best productivity apps”.
B. You're awfully late for work! You've already missed your first subway and you need to take your daughter to school first, then to stop by the dry cleaner, as well, before you head to the office. And, what's worse: you haven't even had the chance to have at least one sip of coffee this morning and you're stressed out about this deadline coming soon. There's a discouraging “pile” of tasks to be carried out, ASAP, awaiting for you at work.
In this case, normally you would utter, rapidly, something that sounds far more natural like “Get more things done in less time” or “Get more things done in a day”.
The trick is that: there's no surprise trick!
It's more than predictable if you come to think of it: if you want these users to land on your website instead of your competitors' once they've made their spoken search queries, you need to get content written in a conversational, “human” tone on your website!
2. Get Your Website Local Search-Friendly
Make sure your company website's listed on the right local listings!
Why bother? Well, because people using voice search aren't just looking for generic information to enrich their knowledge with or simply to fill in their free time with. They're looking for quick solutions to their pressing needs. And meeting their needs quickly, definitely means “meeting their needs locally”.
No user opting to make a voice search query would be interested to get his flat tire fixed in a different state or to find a good place to grab something to eat in another city. They won't utter “What's the best place to grab a pizza?”, but “What's the best place to grab a pizza in X city?”.
Now speaking of getting your site local search-friendly, here are our 3 optimization tips for you:
Properly handle your customer reviews. Meaning that you should kindly ask your happy customers to reward you with positive reviews and to promptly answer the negative feedback using the utmost diplomacy
Submit your website (only) to relevant local business listings (e.g. Google My Business). And make sure to constantly update your business' key details (e.g. phone number, opening hours, prices) as soon as you change any of them. Just go back to your older listings and make the right corrections...
Add schema markup to your website.The strategically structured data will help search engines quickly recognize the above-mentioned key information about your business (opening hours, address etc.) and to easily turn it into informative results for the users.
3. Go For Longer Keyword Phrases
And this is THE gold SEO tactic that you should put on top of your list when you start to optimize your site for voice search!
It's common sense if you think of it. Just try a little empathy and step into the shoes of these two generic users here:
A. User “X” uses the classic text-based search method. He's about to use his keyboard for typing in the search terms that would get him a list of auto repair shops.
Now you surely can imagine him/her, facing a “broken engine” situation, right as he was in a big rush to get to point B. He's impatient and engaged in other little activities simultaneously (searching for his map, trying to call his wife on the other phone, maybe even trying to ask another driver some key information etc), as well. As you must surely guess: he'll be typing in the fewest number of words that would get him the right solution to his problem quickly and effortlessly: “car repairs”.
B. User Y” is about to make make a voice request, so normally (imagine him all nervous and stressed out!), his search instinctively gets more wordy. He'll naturally add some more details to his request. He'd utter something like “Find me the auto repair shop nearest to... “ or “Where can I get my engine fixed for under xxx dollars and that it's open on Sunday evening at 22.00 p.m?”. Or at least something similar.
So, you do see what we're trying to point out here, don't you? As humans we all are a bit more concise when we write and a lot more wordy when we say our request/queries out loud.
To sum up: make sure to target longer-tail keywords on your site! Not only that you'll be driving in those customers using voice search, but you'll be driving precisely qualified prospects into your site! Users making voice requests are far more likely to convert into customers, they're facing with more pressing needs, than those using text-based searches.
4. Make Sure Your Content Answers Their Questions
Most likely the users will land on your website via searches with a question format rather than through brief search terms or phrases. So, what do you do? You adapt your content to this specific format! You craft it around those specific search questions.
“But how do I know what questions my potential website visitors will be uttering for making their searches?”, you might say.
Easy! You go to “life-saving” websites such as StoryBase or Answerthepublic and type in relevant keywords.
You'll then get your lists of possible questions your users might be using when they make their searches.The right prepositions here included!
“And what do I do next? Do I just “stuff” my website's content with questions, risking to make it sound fairly unnatural?”
Our answer is: make the most of your FAQ page! Turn it into a go-to page on your website, where your visitors will find all the questions they might be asking themselves, as well as their accurate and useful answers.
Now, speaking of questions, here are two other tips for you:
Direct the users asking “What's the difference between X and Y” type of questions to the informative pages on your website. These “researchers” aren't yet ready to commit, yet they need to be encouraged and convinced/assured by delivering them precisely the information they're searching for.
Direct the “What's the closest X in...?” or the “Where can I find the cheapest Y?” type of searchers right to your landing page.These are not just “qualified prospects”, they're the “ready to commit” type of visitors. So make sure you don't risk losing them by leaving them “astray” on your site, forced to make a whole detour before they can close the deal. Target these specific type of questions with your PPC ads!
5. Optimize It For Mobile, THEN Optimize Your Site for Voice Search
The balance between desktop users and mobile users making voice searches is tremendously disproportionate!
But we're quite sure that this is no surprise discovery for you!
So the right sequence of optimization processes is this: first you get your website mobile-friendly, you make sure that it looks and works well on mobile devices. And it's then that you start to optimize your site for voice search by applying all the above-mentioned SEO tactics!
And here are some mobile optimization tips and tricks from our team here, in our digital agency in Toronto, for you:
Aim high, really high when it comes to its performance! Even if you manage to welcome users on your website, they'll remain extremely exigent when it comes to page loading speed! You'll have no excuse for not carrying enough for their time by not getting your images properly compressed! Also, keep an eye on their number, as well, and avoid heavy weighting “clutter”!
Keep your content as succinct and as easy to “digest” as possible! Get it nicely portioned into smaller paragraphs and remember not to get excessively wordy, either! Invest your skills as a copywriter and digital marketer into the attention-grabbing heading, next keep your content brief, yet effectively informative.
Give your website a mobile usability scan! You can rely on a more-than-useful tools like Google's Mobile Friendly Tester for that. It will provide you with an “enlightening” screenshot of the mobile version of your website. Seeing how it looks on mobile devices and which are its weak points (e.g. small fonts, stretched out images or the use of Flash), you can... get to work and put together your list of improvements!
“LARGE”... everything! Go for large buttons, large links! You either make the content on your site highly visible for your digital visitors or you'll lose them!
Now, “armed” with this list of SEO best practices, get to work! Optimize your site for voice search and get the most out of this (not so) new source of traffic!
Adrian Ababei / May 03'2017
Drupal 8 came out just a few months ago and made quite a commotion with lots of updates and more than a few really, really cool features. That’s why it’s amazing news for users, businesses, and Drupal 8 development professionals.
Drupal is an amazing CMS and development environment. It’s more powerful and versatile, with better integration and SEO capabilities than Wordpress and Joomla, the older kids on the block. After only four years on the market, it now has thousands of developers and millions of websites worldwide. And that’s just the beginning.
So what exactly is new in Drupal 8?
Here’s a list of main new features that the update proudly boasts:
Mobile First!
The new Drupal 8 module skeleton is a 100% responsive. Whereas before (and in other CSM platforms), each template had to be adjusted for mobile and came in desktop first, Drupal 8 works perfectly on any device. You can even edit and develop comfortably from a small handheld device on a development interface which is responsive as well.
Ultimate Language Compatibility
Drupal has websites all over the world, and to make things easier for users and developers, this new version allows to translate your website to any language with ease. The translation is done in a built-in interface, making international Drupal 8 development easy and seamless. The interface gives access to over 100 languages and comes with language detection, suggestions and many more useful features.
Meet the Twig
What’s Twig, apart from it being a funny name for anything? Well, it’s a theming engine that will revolutionize CMS development for years to come. With several components adapted from Symfony2 and a whole array of new features, Twig is now the fastest, most reliable theming engine. If you take a look at the top Drupal 8 themes, you’ll see they were all created in Twig. Not bad for a new engine, not bad at all.
Improved Content Management
The new CKEditor makes editing, publishing and managing content even easier than it was before. You can save drafts, edit-in-place right from the front end, drag-and-drop buttons, insert images by dragging them in, and more amazing workflow improvements.
HTML5 Magic
Drupal is fully integrated with HTML5 in all its glory; multimedia support, customizable data attributes, powerful UI enhancements, effortless HTML content editing, front-end libraries and much, much more. Drupal 8 development makes full use of all those elements and features.
Finally, the best news is that migrating to Drupal 8 is easy, with the built-in, user-friendly migration modules.
If you’d like to move to this amazing new world, let us know and we’ll help you out! In the meantime, feel free to take a look at this Drupal custom module example. Enjoy!
Adrian Ababei / Apr 21'2017
Still wondering how the weather will be next week in Maryland! It's “crucial” information for us, you know, since these days we're packing our bags for next week's DrupalCon 2017 Baltimore!
About DrupalCon 2017 Baltimore
Needless to add that the Drupalcon North America is THE “peak” of all the other Drupal-themed meetings, events and camps taking place all over the globe, year-round.
This year it's Baltimore's turn to host the event (and to welcome the no less than 3000 Drupalists and Drupal enthusiasts who'll be attending it), from April 24-28. And for living up to the scale of this event, it's the Convention Center, on One West Pratt Street, that it puts at the Drupal community's disposal!
OPTASY at DrupalCon 2017 Baltimore
We have exciting news! This year OPTASY'S both one of the attendees and one of the sponsors who'll “power” this mega gathering!
And we have to admit that we're, still, so proud of this opportunity (with the risk of slightly “breaking” the laws of modesty)!
Therefore, do feel free to stop by our booth #140 and get to know the OPTASY team! We're ready to answer to all your questions, whether they'll be closely related to our work or to the “must-see” attractions in Toronto.
A Multifaceted Event With A Jam-Packed Program
No matter how hard we've tried, we just couldn't put together a hierarchy! A calendar, yes, but not a hierarchy.
We'd love to attend all the sessions at DrupalCon Baltimore, ALL the sprints, all the summits all the social events, all the special events (not exactly realistic, we know that)!
In other words, we're looking forward:
to Dries Buytaert's keynote, on the 25th of April
to attending community discussions
to participating to the sprints (oh yes!) and be part of all those knowledge sharing, creative thinking challenging and innovative ideas spreading types of Drupal-y gatherings
to attending trainings (so that we can get the bags that we're packing these days loaded with great tips, strategies, trends to watch in 2017, Drupal best practices, know-how, demos, etc. from the Drupal legends themselves)
to attending some cool social events (definitely!)
to attending community sessions (getting ourselves informed about Acquia's latest products, about its planned roadmap for 2017 and exchanging ideas with members of the community is, after all, one of the reasons why we attend DrupalCons)
to attending session tracks on UX, PHP, project management, DevOps and the list of tempting topics can go on and on.
A quick recap
See you next week in Baltimore, at booth #140 and at all the other “can't miss” events listed in the event's jam-packed program!
Now, let us continue with our bags packing and weather forecasting...
Adrian Ababei / Apr 21'2017
Despite it being a relatively new CSM system, Drupal has gained on and overtook major players in the field, such as Wordpress and Joomla. It has a number of advantages the veteran platforms just can't match.
Until and unless they gain on, your business website is certainly better off developed by a Toronto Drupal agency. Especially now that Drupal 8 has come out and gave us all the amazing functionality it has to offer.
But let’s be more specific and give our readers the four main reasons Drupal is your best choice and why you should consider assigning your web project to a Drupal 8 agency. Not from a Drupal developer’s perspective, but from the point of view of a business person aiming at a powerful yet easy to use system that will get your business firmly planted on the digital map.
We give you the four reasons you should choose a Toronto Drupal agency.
Functional Benefits
Drupal is more complex than Wordpress but it’s exactly this complexity which packs all the additional functionality and power it has to offer. It has more features, more content types, more views and metrics. Developing your SEO and content strategy on Drupal gives you more options for fine control and greater reach.
Greater Flexibility
Unlike other CMS platforms, Drupal themes are considerably more varied. What’s more important, they are also considerably more customizable. There are many more free modules too. Yes, you will still need a Drupal company to handle and install them for you, but their variety and power definitely make it worthwhile. It’s also more robust and has better capabilities when it comes to eCommerce and handling huge amounts of content.
Improved Usability
While it has a learning curve somewhat steeper than other CMS platforms and requires more technical skills to learn, Drupal is amazingly easy to use once you know how to do it. It can produce sites that are more advanced, powerful and varied, in a streamlined workflow that Wordpress developers can only envy. And moreover, Drupal 8 is made easier for non-developers to work with, so once your Toronto Drupal agency completes the job, you can take over from there.
Superior Security
Security is a big factor for most businesses and Drupal is definitely displaying top performance in this area. There are government sites, including the official White House website that prefer Drupal for its enhanced security and monitoring features. While other CMS platforms are notoriously vulnerable to hacking, Drupal gives your business a safe space for confidential information and client transactions.
Want to know more about Toronto Drupal web design?
Let’s talk!
Adrian Ababei / Apr 20'2017
Just like anything and everything else, Drupal also has a learning curve.
Until you had mastered the techniques, tools and options it offers, got familiar with the best Drupal themes and have a good sense of knowing what you’re doing - mistakes are going to happen.
Which is the reason we’re publishing this article - to minimize those mistakes and help you get ahead of the game. So, without further ado, let’s get to work and cover the main pitfalls that await when creating Drupal modules.
Too Code Heavy
The main goal of a module is to simplify things. When a module is created, it will compete with tens of thousands of other modules that are already there and those that are coming out right now. Look for shortcuts to streamline and make your process more efficient. If it’s too long to read, it may be too long to write.
Cumbersome Modules
Keep it simple. One module that does one thing well is easy to understand and a pleasure to use. A module that tries to do too many things at once may be cumbersome, inefficient and frustrating to users. Moreover, producing 10 modules with one function each will take less time than coding one that does all 10 things all by itself. Workflow problem solved!
Ignoring Drupal Core API
Drupal module development best practices hinge on using the core API. It makes things easy, fast, comfortable. And yet, there are developers who somehow manage to avoid it. You should generate links using l(), static strings should be passed via t() and so on. It makes your code easy to maintain and consistent with Drupal’s internal logic. Make sure to always use it.
Not Using Caches
Caching policies should be your standard practice from the very first stages of the project. There are so many cache-related bugs which can be avoided this way, you’d be surprised how much easier it becomes once you start doing it.
Neglecting Inter-Module Integration
When you install Drupal modules, you want them not just to work independently, but together as well. You need to make your modules work with other entities, permissions, views and domains. This integration will result in a more cohesive website that doesn’t snag on itself when trying to do work that involves modules interaction.
Want to know more about how to create modules in Drupal 8? Let’s talk!
We’re here for you.
Adrian Ababei / Apr 18'2017
The web development world is going mobile-first, and many businesses take another step forward. In addition to a mobile-friendly website, you can develop a unique mobile app for users to enjoy.
The average user has as many as 36 applications installed on their mobile phone. Just nine of them are used on a regular basis however. This is no small number but not that big either..
This means that if you’re developing a mobile application, it better be good if you want it to see any use. All the best app developers in Toronto will tell you there is a list of “do”s and “don’t”s in any development project.
It’s extra important in Toronto mobile app development because mobile screens are very unforgiving to error. If your app is below expectation, it will be glaringly obvious and users will simply set it aside.
So how do you optimize your mobile app for the new user?
Here are a few tips.
1. Perfect the Usability
Your app should be a bit more complex than a tetris game interface, but that’s about it. A cab app should help you get a ride in a short series of simple-and-obvious steps. The same goes for ordering food, placing a shopping order, comparing products and so on. Long, tedious searches and endless steps will send any app into the wastebasket.
2. Call to Action Buttons
The user should know where to press and what to do. This is achieved by designing and positioning clear, easy to see and easy to read call to action buttons. Don’t overdo it by making them blink or jump around, but they should be impossible to miss even on the smallest mobile displays and in any lighting conditions.
3. Physical Ergonomics
You want everybody to feel comfortable using the app, correct? Some users have thicker fingers. For them, pressing a tiny link or button is excruciatingly hard. There will be only so many times they can’t hit the button before they give up and delete the application.
4. Easy on Battery and Bandwidth
Complex calculations, heavy media content, large downloads and other similar things drain batteries and consume bandwidth resources. This makes the app too heavy for users to enjoy. Keep a simple UX, design a short navigation, employ reusable graphic content and limit background services.
For more mobile app development Toronto trends, feel free to contact us directly.
Adrian Ababei / Apr 17'2017