Building Drupal 7 Community Sites

Are you looking to build a community website but not sure where to start? This book will show you how to build a community site using Drupal, the popular framework that powers many important websites, including the Whitehouse.gov, Linux Foundation site, and Ubuntu.com. And while Drupal is powerful enough for these high-traffic sites, it's also just as suitable for smaller community sites.

Author Dorien Herremans, an experienced web developer and community site builder, will walk you step-by-step through building a basic site and adding useful features like user profiles, photo and video galleries, RSS feeds, and alternative layouts for mobile devices. You'll learn how to add and manage forums, blogs, messaging, and how to link your site to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. You'll even learn how to make money with your site using Google AdSense and affiliate programs, and how to promote your site using search engine optimization. And along the way, you'll find tips on how each of these features can help build and strengthen your online community.

What you’ll learn

• How to install and configure Drupal 7 to build a basic site
• Understand and use modules and themes to make your site more useful and attractive
• How to create user profiles and media galleries
• Get your message out with RSS feeds, mobile layout, and links with social networking sites
• How to add even more community features like blogs, a shoutbox, and instant messaging
• How to promote your site, and how make an income from your site using ads and affiliate programs

Who this book is for

Anyone who wants to build a virtual meeting space for community members as well as burgeoning web developers - and who want to see what Drupal 7 can offer.