Have you ever thought to design your company's website in Drupal? If so, you know that it's difficult because there are many add ons and modules and that can be confusing to someone who isn't a professional. So what do you do? Consider hiring an agency that specializes in Drupal CMS development. As with any project, there are a few things you should know before you select an agency to ensure the job is done right. This post will tell you what you need to know to make sure you select an agency that will lead you to success.
Find out:
Developer Experience Level
When seeking out an agency to do any Drupal CMS development for your website, a strong understanding, ability, and experience is vital but you may not know the exact skill set to look for. Here's what the developer should have:
Knowledge of custom module development, advanced theming and site configuration.
The ability to identify and fix server-side and client-side bugs.
Knowledge of PHP and MySQL development techniques.
Project Management skills. This may seem obvious but don't over look these skills! Project management skills under the scope of drupal development include: Adhering to timelines, client needs/requests, and project manager's instructions.
The idea is that every developer should know how to create: menus, blocks, nodes, taxonomies, pages, content types, and views.
Specialization
It is important that the agency you choose has a member that is specialized in Drupal development, and one that doesn't just dabble. An agency or developer that is specialized in Drupal will be able to do the the following with ease:
Manipulate views and content types
Develop new custom Drupal modules and custom API using PHP
Program custom Javascript and PHP.
Availability
Beyond a high skill level, high availability to work on projects and multisite configurations are very important factors when deciding on an agency.
A Drupal developer must be highly organized and able to manage the full project lifecycle from the requirements to deployment. By knowing the skills and what it takes to be a proficient developer, your job of seeking a drupal web development company for your next project shouldn't be too daunting!
Brunello recently launched a new site for Oldways Preservation Trust, a Boston-based non-profit completely redesigned in Drupal. Check it out here: oldwayspt.org