Videos to Get you Started with Drupal Development

How do I get started with Drupal development?

That's a common question we get from people who join OSTraining for the first time. They want to know about the skills they will need, and what kind of classes they should take.

In this guide, I'll give you an overview to help you get started with Drupal development.

The Skills You Need

Clients are often surprised when we recommend that new Drupal developers sit through our beginner and site-building training. 

Unfortuantely, it is very common to find Drupal websites that were built by talented developers who had no Drupal knowledge. A good understanding of Drupal's user interface and key concepts is absolutely critical. Being a good developer is not enough.

Here are the skills that will be useful for you as a new Drupal developer. An in-depth knowledge of Drupal is at least as important as any other skill:

Learn Drupal 8 Theming

Unlike Drupal 7, the latest version of Drupal relies on the Twig template engine. Get started by watching the How to Use Twig class.

Then move on to the How to Design Drupal 8 Themes videos. These 52 lessons will take you deep inside the Drupal 8 theming system.

I'd also recommend checking out How to Use the Drupal Paragraphs Module because the majority of sites I come across are now using Paragraphs for design and layout work.

Learn Drupal 8 Module Development

How to Develop Drupal 8 Modules is the place to start here. You'll develop two modules using step-by-step instructions to hook into Drupal's existing functionality.

Next, check out the videos on Drush. Although Drush has slightly fallen out-of-favor lately, it's still an invaluable tool in many Drupal situations.

Finally, try Drupal 8 Composer and Configuration Management. This is an introduction to many of the tools that Drupal professionals use in the work.

About the author

Steve is the founder of OSTraining. Originally from the UK, he now lives in Sarasota in the USA. Steve's work straddles the line between teaching and web development.