Lynn Beighley - Drupal For Dummies

Drupal For Dummies

by Lynn Beighley

Drupal For Dummies

Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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www.wiley.com

Copyright 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2009941353

ISBN: 978-0-470-55611-5

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Author

Lynn Beighley has been a computer book author for a very long time, and this is her tenth book. Shes written about SQL, PHP, Flash, Photoshop, and Dreamweaver, and finds that they all have connections to Drupal. In fact, like Kevin Bacon, she thinks maybe everything is connected to Drupal. Or perhaps Drupal is connected to everything. Either way, she loves it.

Lynn lives in a sleepy New Jersey town, and doesnt know anyone named Tony. She shares her slightly off-kilter 1920s home with her husband, Drew, and an 80-pound lap dog named Wroxton.

Dedication

To Drew.

Authors Acknowledgments

Id like to thank Kyle Looper for giving me the opportunity to write a Dummies book on such a great topic, and Pat OBrien for shepherding me through the process. Thanks also to Debbye Butler for her superb copy editing. I also thank the whole crew at Wiley who helped with this edition.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Pat OBrien

Acquisitions Editor: Kyle Looper

Copy Editor: Debbye Butler

Technical Editor: Todd Kelsey

Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner

Media Development Project Manager: Laura Moss-Hollister

Media Development Assistant Project: Jenny Swisher

Media Development Associate Producers: Josh Frank, Marilyn Hummel, Douglas Kuhn, and Shawn Patrick

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond

Layout and Graphics: Ashley Chamberlain, Joyce Haughey, Melissa K. Jester

Proofreader: Christopher M. Jones, Jessica Kramer

Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley , Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings , Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek , Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder , Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele , Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey , Director of Composition Services

Introduction

W elcome to the first edition of Drupal For Dummies, the book written especially for people who want to have their own Web sites but havent a clue about how to start or where to begin.

Are you frustrated because the kid next door has five Web sites to your none? Are you tired of trying to find someone to build your site for you for free? Do you hear stories about how much a Web site has picked up your dentists business? You need Drupal!

Or maybe you already have a Web site, but you have one problem: The guy who built it isnt around to help when things break. And he built it in Javanese HRH or some other gibberish you cant even remember the name of, much less decipher. Makes you want to scream.

Either way, youve found the right book. Help is here, within these humble pages.

This book talks about building a Web site from scratch using Drupal in everyday language. It doesnt assume you know how to create Web pages. You dont need to know code, either; in fact, you can create your site without a single line of computer code. The language is friendly; you dont need a graduate education to get through it. The goal is to show you how to build your own site with the features you want, without coding, without deciphering technical jargon, and without pulling a single hair from your head in frustration.

About This Book

There are a couple of ways to use this book, depending on your preferences and experience.

If youre a content management, Web site, or Drupal newbie, you can start reading and working with Chapter 1 and keep going until you reach the Index at the end. Everything falls in sequence as you build experience and knowledge. I explain the concepts and give you practical instructions. It has 17 chapters, each one covering a specific aspect of building a Web site with Drupal such as installing Drupal, building a basic site with a blog and forum, using images and video on your site, or building an online store.