18 Oct, 2024
Getting Started with Drupal Starshot: A Beginner’s Guide
For over 2-decades, Drupal has been a cornerstone in the open-source content management system industry. It has offered a robust framework to build and maintain enterprise-level websites. Drupal's strength lies in continuous innovation supported by a global community of developers, powerful modules, and unparalleled customization abilities.
There is, however, one catch. In its 23-year-long history, the Drupal web development process has proved difficult for those who lack web development knowledge and experience. But this is about to change soon. Drupal founder and project lead Dries Buytaert announced the Drupal Starshot initiative during DrupalCon 2024 in Portland. This initiative will make Drupal more accessible for beginners and non-developers.
But before getting started, there are some crucial insights you need to know about Drupal Starshot. Let's explore the following Drupal Starshot overview, how it will benefit you, and what makes it different from the rest of the CMS solutions in the market.
Drupal Starshot for New Users: A Bold Step Forward In The New Direction
Drupal Starshot, AKA Drupal CMS , is Drupal's version of no-code/low-code CMS for “Ambitious Marketers” and mid-sized companies. This fast-paced, open-source product will simplify Drupal setup for beginners, offering new users an exceptional out-of-the-box experience. Drupal CMS will be introduced as the new default installer for beginners. Experienced developers can keep using Drupal Core.
It is a bold new step forward for Drupal, bringing the framework to a new level of competition with its industry contenders - WordPress, HubSpot, Wix, and many others. For the longest time, Drupal has been the go-to for experienced developers to build stunning, scalable websites. However, its competitors dominate the market by offering non-developers an efficient, low/no-code website development approach.
The Drupal Starshot initiative will align Drupal with the emerging market preference towards a more DIY, low-code/no-code web development process. With this, businesses with limited technical resources can leverage the framework's excellence in a more user-friendly, accessible way.
A Leap to The Stars: Drupal Starshot Features
According to the strategy document , Drupal Starshot will “empower content creators, marketers, web managers, and web designers to build and manage websites independently”. With this initiative, the focus will be on enabling non-technical users to leverage Drupal's capabilities to the full extent.
Drupal Starshot for new users aims to expand Drupal's reach beyond experienced developers. Additionally, diversifying the target audience and engaging SMBs will further help Drupal secure its position as a leading CMS solution.
Built on top of the Drupal Core framework, Drupal CMS will bring the robustness of the original framework to this user-friendly package. The platform will transform the CMS experience for new users with its attractive features, functionalities, and enhanced accessibility.
Let's explore Drupal Starshot features and functionalities.
Enhanced Out-Of-The-Box Experience
From Drupal Starshot installation to starting a new project, the CMS platform will offer an exceptional out-of-the-box experience for new users. The user-friendly interface, configuration tools, and prepackaged key-contributed modules will help you create a functional site faster than ever.
Browser-Based Management
Drupal CMS will eliminate the overly complicated setup and launch operation, and simplify the website building process. With this, you can create, configure, and manage your website, right from the browser.
Pre-Packaged Recipes and Project Browser
To make website creation easier for non-developers, Drupal CMS will include prepackaged recipes. Recipes are pre-configured sets of functionalities that can be easily added during Drupal web development, streamlining the entire process. These recipes provide a foundation of modules, themes, and configuration settings tailored to specific use cases. With Drupal CMS, you will get access to basic recipes and a project browser where you can further search from 50000 recipes to configure your website.
Brand New Experience Builder
The Experience Builder, also revealed with Drupal Starshot, will be the new layout engine for building pages. It will be the expanded next-generation page builder combining the optimized experience of the Drupal layout builder with the best features of Drupal paragraphs, single directory components, and basic theming capabilities.
Faster Innovation Cycle
Drupal CMS will support constant and regular releases, resulting in faster innovation cycles, and issue solving. This release early, release often approach will ensure that you get access to the latest innovative features and functionalities as soon as it is released.
Responsible AI Integration
Drupal CMS will leverage the benefits of AI technology to streamline website-building. With AI-powered tools to simplify creating content types, Drupal Views, and other site elements, Drupal aims to reduce the learning curve, cut down on implementation cost and time, and empower non-developers. Drupal's approach to responsible AI will enhance the website-building experience for new users.
How Does the Starshot Initiative Benefit You in Drupal Web Development?
Equipped with unparalleled flexibility, security, and scalability, Drupal CMS will surely set the gold standard for content management systems for non-developers. The CMS platform will put the robustness of the core platform in the hands of non-technical users, empowering them to leverage the Drupal benefits.
But how will it benefit you? Here are some benefits we can expect from Drupal Starshot:
Improved Accessibility & User Experience
Eliminating the steep learning curve and installation complexities, Drupal CMS will introduce greater accessibility and enhanced user experience to the new users. It aims to empower the non-technical audience to leverage Drupal to build stunning websites that meet business requirements. With an easy-to-install product and no-code/low-code approach, website building will be an effortless task for you.
Faster Website Development
With the inclusion of pre-configured recipes that include modules, functionalities, and content types, Drupal Starshot will help you build sites exponentially faster. You don't need to stumble around the platform. Rather, you can learn how to use Drupal Starshot with guided steps and helpful tooltips and start website creation. No deep technical knowledge will be necessary.
Strong, Inclusive Community Support
The Drupal web development community is global, with numerous developers committed to improving the framework and adding innovative modules, features, and functionalities. Such strong and inclusive community support will help you throughout the website-building initiatives.
Improved Security and Enhancements
Drupal CMS will get automated updates, enhancing the security of websites. Installing the latest updates and patches automatically as they are released will reduce the manual efforts needed to manage, maintain, and secure Drupal sites.
Why Choose Drupal Starshot: Key Differentiators
Now that we know all about the Drupal CMS basics of background, features, and key benefits, we must ask the question-
Why Choose Drupal CMS?
Many other CMS platforms offer an easy stepping point for you to build your site. Compared to them, Drupal CMS is still new, and save for the robustness that it gets from the core framework, the rest of the features and functionalities are yet to be tested.
So what makes it different? Here are some differentiators for Drupal Starshot that might help you make your decision:
No Vendor Lock-In
Drupal Starshot for new users will offer an open-sourced platform for building and maintaining websites. It means that, unlike proprietary CMS solutions, Drupal will not lock you in any digital agency, hosting, or vendor ecosystem. With Drupal CMS, you will retain full control over your website and all its elements.
Better Scalability for Complex Traffic-Heavy Website
With other platforms, it might get more difficult to scale your basic-level website as the business grows. With Drupal development services, however, you can easily scale the websites as the traffic increases and the site structure becomes more complex.
Unparalleled Extensibility and Customization Options
Drupal Starshot features and functionalities offer unparalleled extensibility and customization options compared to other platforms. Users can choose from 50000 recipes to customize their websites, resulting in a higher level of customization.
Continuous Support for Innovation
With the support of a global community of developers, Drupal CMS offers a community-driven innovation model. This model supports continuous innovation and updates, ensuring your website is never out of date. Additionally, Drupal CMS will not be tied to the core. This will enable regular updates for the CMS platform.
End Note: Concluding thoughts on Drupal Starshot's Potential
There's no doubt that Drupal Starshot will significantly democratize development. Its features and functionalities are all designed to empower non-developers to easily build, configure, and maintain websites. Despite the steep competition for low-code/no-code CMS platforms in the market, Drupal Starshot for new users effectively differentiates itself from its competitors. The enhanced user experience, faster site development, scalability and flexibility benefits, and unmatched community support will help Drupal surpass other competitors in the CMS industry.
Though the launch is scheduled for later this year, the anticipation for the platform is mounting higher. It is only with the complete release we will see if the platform is going to be all it promises to be.
Want to know more about Drupal Starshot tips and best practices? Connect with our experts right here.
