Introduction to Drupal Workshop by Exaltation of Larks in Downtown Los Angeles on May 10, 2013

What is Drupal? For large and complex websites, nothing beats it! Where do you start? What is the best way to organize your project to get the best chance of success?

This workshop will help you turn your ideas into a concrete todo list — whether you're building the site yourself, handing it off to a developer to build, or something in-between.

At this workshop, you'll have access to Drupal experts at Exaltation of Larks — a Drupal strategy, consulting, development and training company in Los Angeles — learn about Drupal and have a fun day!

This is the perfect workshop for you if:

• You're new to using Drupal and need a jumpstart in planning a large project
• You're investigating Drupal's viability for your next project
• You're wondering whether to invest time in learning Drupal
• You don't have the time to learn Drupal but will be involved in a Drupal project

Registration

Registration is required. Sign up at http://www.larks.la/training  

Be sure to arrive early to give yourself enough time to park, pick a seat, etc.. We begin promptly at 12pm.

Classroom space is limited, so sign up early.

Pricing

$30 per person.

No one will be turned away from this workshop. If you are unable to pay, you may be eligible for our Training Assistance Program.

We read every request for assistance but may not be able to respond to every one. We decide eligibility on a case by case basis. This offer may not be combined with any other discount.

What to Bring

This is a lunch and learn-style workshop. Come during lunch and learn about Drupal! You don't need to bring a computer unless you need it to take notes. Bring lunch!

Exaltation of Larks' Mentored Drupal Training

What's the difference between this 3-hour lunch-and-learn Introduction to Drupal Workshop and the Mentored Drupal Training that we're offering next door at the same time?

In short, this 3-hour introductory workshop is better suited toward business owners and project managers. The mentored training is geared for folks who are interested in diving deeper into Drupal's systems and APIs, module or theme development or using popular contributed modules (e.g. Views, Rules, Features, etc.) for site building.

Prerequisites

• An active interest in learning about Drupal;
• A basic understanding of the Internet and familiarity with how websites function;
• A conceptual understanding of Content Management Systems (CMS), HTML and CSS is beneficial (but not required).

What we've covered in the past based on the interest of our attendees

• When and why to use Drupal;
• Considerations when starting a Drupal project and how to organize your project;
• The basics of Drupal, from content management to membership ("user") management;
• An introduction to databases and queries;
• How to organize your site using Drupal Content Types, Taxonomy and Views;
• How to turn ideas for features and functionality into achievable tasks using user stories and use cases;
• Which tasks are crucial for a successful Drupal website and how to organize them;
• How to choose the right Drupal version and modules for your project;
• The basics of web hosting and getting Drupal running on your own computer;
• How to connect with the Drupal community, its meetups, conferences and job fairs and online discussion forums and chat rooms.

General Outline

Hour 1:

• What is Drupal?
• Terminology
• Pages — it's a metaphor
• Blocks
• Regions
• Themes
• Users
  • UID / usernames
  • Roles
  • Permissions
• Functionality
• Modules
  • Drupal core vs. modules
  • Popular modules
  • Views
• Navigation - Menus
• Taxonomy
• Best Practices

Hour 2:

• Organizing your Drupal site
• Wireframes? Not at first.
• User Stories - think in workflows. This is dynamic!
• Design thinking
• Lifecycle of a site build
  1. Site definition and discovery
  2. Project plan
  3. Agile development
  4. MVP
• Organizing your todo list
• User stories
• Content types
• Views
• Other functionality
• Best Practices
• Where to get help

Hour 3:

• Hosting
• Deployment strategies
• Backup Strategies
• Running your Business on Drupal