Setting up a single Drupal site is as easy as pie. But creating dozens or hundreds of similar websites is more like running a pie factory. In this session, we’ll talk about the challenges you run into creating an install profile for your organization, and some different approaches to running multiple, similar Drupal sites. We’ll use a university website as an example, but the session should be applicable to all types of large organizations. The session will cover: What do you put in and what do you leave out? Deciding on reasonable defaults. Using a deployment script vs. an install profile Using Features: pros and cons Theming, sub-theming, and theme settings across sites. Common header and footer Install settings: letting the user pick and choose User experience challenges How will we do this in Drupal 8?

1. INSTALL PROFILES

2. • Drupal consulting,
development, and training
• Founded in 2007 by Alex and
Suzanne
• Help organizations build
awesome Drupal websites
with custom functionality
About me

3. Projects

4. What’s an Install
Profile?

5. Drupal Install Profile
• Installs modules/themes by default
• Create sample content
• Set variables
• Allows admins to choose options
• Create consistent versions of the same site

6. Why Would You Use It?
• Deploying lots of similar websites
• Be able to make changes to them quickly
• Limit the variability between websites
• Make it easier for content editors to get up
and running

7. Install Profile Alternatives
• Create a post-install script (drush commands
and php scripts)
• Create an install profile
• Create a deploy module
• Default database dump

8. Where to start?
• Minimal/standard install profiles in core
• Your list of modules
• Custom modules and themes you’ve
developed
• Configuration from the sites you’ve already
built

9. CREATING AN
INSTALL PROFILE

10. Basic steps
1. Assemble modules/theme
2. Create key pieces of configuration
3. Create the install profile
4. Test the install profile and iterate

11. Creating the
Configuration

12. Analyse the Requirements

13. 2 Types of Configuration
Features
Configuration that needs
to be synchronized/the
same for all sites
• Contexts
• Views
• Content Types
• WYSIWYG profiles
• Permissions
Default Config
Configuration that needs to be
customizable/flexible. Added
during install
• Custom blocks
• Name of the site
• Menu items
• Theme settings
• Views: using
hook_views_default_views()

14. Re-usable components
• Things that are identical for all sites.
• You can build these with features!
• Contexts
• Views
• Content Types
• WYSIWYG profiles
• Permissions

15. Default configuration
• Things that admins need to be able to
change.
• Set the defaults in your .install file:
• Custom blocks
• Name of the site
• Menu items
• Theme settings
• Views: using hook_views_default_views()

16. Example: Social Media Block
Add to Any block
configuration and
block placement
added in a Feature

17. Example: Main Menu Block
Main Menu block
placed in context (in a
Feature)
title added in default
configuration

18. Homepage Content
Homepage Node
created in the install
process
front page setting set
in default configuration

19. Example: Videos Page
Video Content Type
& Videos View
defined in a feature

20. Example: Global News Feed
Global News View
Default view is created
using views_json_query
module

21. Example: WYSIWYG
Text Editor
WYSIWYG profile added
in Features

22. Theming

23. Theming key components

24. Main theme vs. sub-themes

25. Theme settings
• You might have some theme settings that
you want to set in the install process:
• Variable colour schemes
• Banner image
• Height of the banner section
• Distinct themes for different use cases

26. Shared content

27. Creating the Install
Profile

28. .info File
name = My install profile
description = Example profile
core = 7.x
version = 0.1
!
;Core Dependencies
dependencies[] = block
dependencies[] = color
dependencies[] = comment

29. .install file
• hook_install
• add text formats
• enable blocks
• set variables
• create fields and field instances
• set up default content

30. .profile file
• hook_install_tasks
• array of steps for the installer
• each step corresponds to a callback
function (could be a form)
• hook_install_tasks_alter
• you can unset steps in the default process

31. Components in Features

32. Custom Modules

33. Custom Theme

34. Testing and Iterating!

35. Selecting a profile

36. Default steps
hook_install_tasks_alter

37. Configuration steps
hook_install_tasks

38. Test the Site & Iterate

39. USING MAKE FILES

40. drupal-org-core.make
core = 7.x
api = 2
!
projects[drupal][version] = "7.38"
!
projects[views_bulk_operations][version] = "3.2"
projects[views_bulk_operations][subdir] = "contrib"
!
projects[admin_menu][version] = "3.0-rc4"
projects[admin_menu][subdir] = "contrib"

41. my-install-profile.make
api = 2
core = 7.x
; Include the definition for how to build Drupal core
directly
includes[] = drupal-org-core.make
!
;My Install Profile
projects[my_install_profile][download][type] = "git"
projects[my_install_profile][download][url] = “https://
github.com/pixelite/my-install-profile”
projects[my_install_profile][download][branch] = "master"
projects[my_install_profile][type] = "profile"

42. Using the Make Files
Create a makefile using Drush:
drush make-generate
!
Run the make files using Drush:
drush make my-install-profile.make

43. HOW THIS WORKS IN
DRUPAL 8

44. Drupal 8 Install Profiles
• my-install-profile.info.yml
• my-install-profile.profile
• my-install-profile.install

45. Default configuration

46. Default configuration

47. Thanks & QA