Setting up a single website 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 techniques for running multiple, similar websites using the Drupal content management system. We’ll walk through the steps for creating a re-usable Drupal platform for a small university. We’ll also talk about the challenges and benefits that result from a multi-site setup, and its impact on content strategy, design, and site architecture.

1. Our expertise. Your digital DNA | evolvingweb.ca | @evolvingweb
CREATING A RE-USABLE
DRUPAL SITE
For Higher-Education

2. SUZANNE DERGACHEVA
• Drupal trainer
• Co-founded Evolving Web in 2007
• Manage Drupal projects
• Experienced site builder, themer,
and developer
• Follow me @suzanne_kennedy

3. Our expertise. Your digital DNA.
.ca

4. WE MAKE DRUPAL WEBSITES
FOR ALL TYPES OF CLIENTS

5. • Design & develop large-scale Drupal websites
• Create flexible search interfaces
• Content import and synchronization
• Integration with external IT systems
• Drupal training for individuals and teams
WHAT WE DO

6. DRUPAL 8 TRAINING

7. WHY CREATE A RE-USABLE SITE?
• Easier to maintain
• Less work to spin up a new site
• Easier to train everyone
• Best practices are reused by everyone
• Easier to run updates for everyone at once

8. WHY CREATE A RE-USABLE SITE?

9. PROCESS TO CREATE A RE-USABLE SITE
• Plan which configuration, themes, and modules will be part of
your standard site
• Plan which parts of the site will be able to change
• Create sample sites with your standard install
• Test & Iterate
• Plan how you’re going to deploy your sites

10. HOW TO RE-USE A DRUPAL SITE
• Copy/paste
• Run a script
• Create an install profile
• Create a distribution
• Set up a multi-site install

11. PLANNING YOUR SITE
• Identify groups of sites (departments,
research groups, administrative groups,
labs, committees)
• Consider making a separate standard
site for each group
• For each group, identify:
• Common look and feel components
(theme)
• Content types and functionality
(configuration)
• Standard modules (modules in sites/
all)
• Identify common deviations:
• Theme variations (theme settings)
• Variable configuration
• Non-standard modules

12. CONFIGURATION

13. ANALYSE THE REQUIREMENTS

14. FIXED CONFIGURATION
• Things that are identical for all sites:
• Contexts
• Views
• Content Types
• WYSIWYG profiles
• Permissions

15. FLEXIBLE CONFIGURATION
• Things that admins need to be able to change.
• Set the defaults on install, but then expect them to change
• Block Placement
• Name of the site
• Menu items
• Theme settings

16. EXAMPLE: SOCIAL MEDIA BLOCK
Add to Any block

17. EXAMPLE: MAIN MENU BLOCK
Main Menu block

18. HOMEPAGE CONTENT
Homepage Config

19. EXAMPLE: VIDEOS PAGE
Video Content Type &
Videos View

20. EXAMPLE: GLOBAL NEWS FEED
Global News View
Created by querying a
json feed. There’s a
module setting that will
change per site

21. EXAMPLE: WYSIWYG

22. CREATING FLEXIBLE CONFIG
• Drupal 7:
• Default config that comes from an install profile, initial
database, or script
• Drupal 8:
• Configuration Management (.yml files)
• Track which configuration should change (modules like
config_split or config_ignore)

23. CREATING FIXED CONFIG
• Drupal 7:
• Features
• Drupal 8:
• Features
• Configuration Management (.yml files)

24. RE-USABLE THEMES

25. THEME SETTINGS
• Use a single theme, but
include variation
• Banner height
• Background image
• Region placement
• ‘Sub-title’

26. THEME VARIATIONS

27. THEMING KEY COMPONENTS

28. MAIN THEME VS. SUB-THEMES

29. 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
• Background images
• Region placement

30. STYLE GUIDES!
• Style guides for content
• WYSIWYG Editor Format options
• Use the styleguide module to anticipate content needs

31. STYLING VARIABLE CONFIG
• Panels
• Block placement
• Out-of-control menu configuration
• Webforms

32. HARD-CODED STUFF
• Header/footer
• Social Media links
• Logo and branding
• Breadcrumbs (what’s home?)

33. HOW TO CREATE A BUNCH OF SITES
• Copy/paste
• Run a script (write your own)
• Create an install profile
• Create a distribution (like an install profile)
• Set up a multi-site install

34. CREATING AN INSTALL PROFILE

35. INSTALL PROFILE
• Installs modules/themes by default
• Creates sample content
• Set variables
• Allows admins to choose options
• Creates consistent versions of the same site

36. BENEFITS
• 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

37. WHERE TO START?
• Look at the minimal/standard install profiles in core
• Your list of modules
• Add custom modules and themes you’ve developed
• Install your theme
• Include the configuration you’ve developed (features or .yml
files)

38. SELECTION

39. INSTALLING DRUPAL (BASIC)

40. MULTILINGUAL INSTALL PROFILE

41. OPENFOLIO: CUSTOM STEPS

42. OPENFOLIO: CUSTOM STEPS

43. MULTI-SITE

44. MULTI-SITE…

45. SINGLE WEBSITE
sites/default/settings.php
example.com

46. MULTI-SITE
sites/example.com/settings.php sites/example2.com/settings.php
example.com example2.com

47. FILE HIERARCHY
/sites/default
The default site that is served if no mapping is
specified
/sites/all
A shared directory that all sites will have access to
/sites/[sitename]
Site-specific files

48. MULTI-SITE PROBLEMS
• Single point-of-failure
• Errors across all sites
• Performance issues across all sites
• Running update.php simultaneously
• Difficult to manage exceptions for unique sites (module and
theme versions)
• Difficult to test prior to upgrading

49. MULTI-SITE BENEFITS
• Easier to upgrade code ONCE
• Don’t have multiple codebases to maintain
• Same documentation for everyone - how to do things
• Easier to share best practices

50. COMPROMISE
• Plan, plan, plan! If everyone is using one base, make it a good
one
• Use multi-site for very similar sites
• Run unique sites separately
• Use a tool to help manage your multi-sites

51. MUTLTI-SITE TOOLS
• Aegir (aegirproject.org)
• Pantheon
• Acquia Site Factory
• Build your own…

52. TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
• Gather representative content to test your standard site
• Create a migration to facilitate testing)
• Create a list of sample URLs to test
• Use a tool to track differences between sites when running security updates
• Site Diff: https://github.com/evolvingweb/sitediff
• Create standards
• Content Style Guides
• Design Style Guides

53. RESOURCES
• https://evolvingweb.ca/blog/drupal-8-configuration-
management-multi-site
• https://www.drupal.org/docs/7/creating-distributions/how-to-
write-a-drupal-7-installation-profile
• https://www.drupal.org/docs/8/creating-distributions/how-to-
write-a-drupal-8-installation-profile

54. UPCOMING DRUPAL TRAININGS
• Content Strategy for Drupal - Online May 3-5
• Drupal 8 Theming - Online - May 8-12
• Introduction to Drupal 8 - Online - May 24-26
• Drupal 8 Module Development - Online - May 29 - June 2
• Drupal Essentials - Atlanta - June 12-13
• Drupal 8 Theming - Atlanta - October 10-11
• Drupal 8 Module Development - Atlanta - October 12-13