13 Aug, 2009
Book Review: Drupal 6 Content Administration
Web Development » PHP » Book Review: Drupal 6 Content Administration
I have just finished reading Drupal 6 Content Administration by J. Ayen Green. It has 8 chapters (196 pages) in total but the writing style is very simple and easy to understand that I finished it quite quickly.
This book is mainly for content editors who have not used Drupal before and want to know how to run a website built on Drupal. It will also come in handy for project managers who want to find out if Drupal is suitable for their website and what skills are required to manage a website built on Drupal. But it’s not for professional Drupal users and developers because they would probably already knew most of the topics covered in the book.
Pros:
- Uses an example site with screenshots, which helps you understand how Drupal is used in a real-life website
- Explains many Drupal lingo and their usages in a clear and concise manner
- Shows different ways that content administrators may use to take more control of the website rather than just creating and editing content
Cons:
- As mentioned, this book is not for professional Drupal users and developers because the book mostly covers the basics of running a Drupal website
- Some chapters, in particular Chapter 4 Advanced Content Editing, requires technical and coding knowledge which most content producers do not have
My Quick Overview
Read the full Table of Contents at the Publisher’s website.
Chapter 1 – 3 – Introduction to Drupal and some basics to get you started.
Chapter 4 – Cover technical details. For advanced content editors with HTML and coding knowledge.
Chapter 5 – Talks about how to set up Taxonomy, tag cloud and friendly URLs. My favourite chapter of the book because it is specific to Drupal and I believe most producers will find this useful.
Chapter 6 – Covers Rich Content Types. It shows how powerful Drupal is by giving content producers more control to manage the website. Another favourite chapter of mine!
Chapter 7 – Gives a comprehensive example of roles and permissions you can create. It also shows how easy it is to block a certain user from certain areas of the website.
Chapter 8 – Explains three ways to create content outside Drupal environment.
Appendix A is a bonus chapter which explains the steps involved in installing a Drupal website. Being a technical person, I find it quite useful but it’s probably too technical for most content producers.
Overall, I find this book an easy read covering basics of content creation and maintenance for a Drupal website which the target audience will find useful.
