HSU has a campus-wide license for Drupal, a software platform that enables individuals, teams, and communities to easily publish, manage, and organize content on the web. This means you can use Drupal to create your web site at no cost instead of paying for a license to use DreamWeaver. Drupal is all web-based, so there's nothing to install, and you can control who's allowed to edit what if you have multiple people working on your site. HSU's Drupal license incorporates an HSU "theme" (template A), giving your site an easily-recognizable HSU appearance.

No programming skills are required to use Drupal for basic site editing, uploading, and management. However, Drupal also offers a sophisticated programming interface for developers, allowing great flexibility in extending the functionality of individual sites. Features such as blogs, advanced search functions, comments, forums, and polls can easily be enabled, and third-party modules and themes are under active development. As an open source software project maintained and developed by a broad community, Drupal is continually being updated and enhanced with new functionality.

Note: HSU provides the centrally-managed Drupal Content Management System for campus-wide use, keeping it patched and updated at regular intervals. Do not install other Content Management Systems on the Central or User Web Servers, as these are often left unpatched and vulnerable to hackers. Any site found to be using a vulnerable CMS will be immediately shut down.

Setting Up a Drupal Account

Developers on the HSU Central Web server can get their Drupal account up and running using the Account Center – just follow these steps:

1. Log into the Account Center
2. Click "Account Tools"
3. Click “Manage Other Accounts”
4. Click “Manage Web Accounts”
5. Click "Tools"
6. Click "Request a Drupal account" and follow the on-screen instructions. You may need to specify which site(s) you are working with.

Getting Started with Drupal

Instructions for getting a basic site set up in Drupal can be found in the Drupal QuickStart Guide.

Converting Existing Sites to Drupal

Converting existing sites to Drupal will take some time; we found that on average it takes people unfamiliar with Drupal about 3.5 hours to transfer a 15-page site. This Moving to Drupal guide will tell you what's involved in converting a site.

Adding Drupal Developers

Any registered developer affiliated with your site will be able to log into Drupal with their HSU User Name and Password. If you want to add more developers to Drupal, those developers will need to be registered as site developers and complete the required training. Instructions for adding developers can be found in the Drupal QuickStart Guide.

Additional Resources

http://drupal.org/getting-started
http://drupal.org/Troubleshooting-FAQ
http://drupal.org/handbook/customization/tutorials/beginners-cookbook
http://drupal.org/theme-guide