Drupal is a powerful, flexible and, above all, user-friendly CMS. Shocked because I used user-friendly for Drupal – and that too above all? Then you certainly have been living under a giant rock for years. Drupal, since it launched Drupal 7, broke away from the image of being the most complex CMS. But it’s not only you, some of the self-proclaimed Drupal experts say it too. While they might not have been living under a rock, they are not keeping themselves updated with the ever-changing world – and certainly, the ever-evolving Drupal. Similarly there are many other things that such Drupal experts claim (and make you believe). This article is designed to debunk all that, so that you’re never raped off your money and can shield your business from an uncalled-for chaos.
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Extra dollars to build a maintenance-free Drupal website
There has been a craze among people for maintenance-free things for, well, forever. But with the pace we’re moving ahead and developing incredible technologies, seeking something, especially a website, that’s maintenance free is nothing but absurd. And the company that promises to deliver it you is certainly a snake oil company. Moreover, Drupal is a CMS that thrives on its regular updates, bug fixes and attempts to provide its users with better experience and better functionalities. Still looking for a maintenance-free website?
Making you think of Drupal as an uphill battle, rather than a cakewalk
Which one do you like: a teacher that makes your life easier with anything and everything or a teacher that scares you off and isn’t able to simplify things for you? Well, I’m sure that you’ve came across both kinds, and I’m sure as hell that all love the former one. Similar is the case with Drupal. A Drupal company might have faced many challenges while learning Drupal and finding out ways to leverage it, but is it of any use if they can’t make you feel that Drupal is the easiest platform ever?
Skeptical/no portfolio
Did you know that there are many Drupal firms that hire copywriters to get their services sold with mere words, not merit? Well, words are important and reflect who you are, and a good copy is what everyone seeks. But, unfortunately, the bad companies use good copies to delude people, giving them nothing in return.
If your Drupal service provider’s portfolio is not there on their website, ask for it. And if you’re skeptical about their portfolio, you can use the following questions to judge their expertise:
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- What strategy have you devised to give optimal experience to my users?
A solid web strategy could cover many things: performance, user friendliness, social media, mobile accessibility, device-agnostic approach (for future friendliness), user interactions etc.
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- How many Drupal projects have you handled to date?
Zero in on a firm with considerable experience.
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- What are the major problems you come across?
Well, if they say that they are perfectionists, it would be perfect to leave them right there.
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- What is the future of Drupal in the context of mobile?
You don’t want to go with a developer that answers “there’s no future” to that question: mobile is the biggest theme in Drupal 8.
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- Do you think W3C standards are useful? How?
Run away as fast as you could if they’ve never heard of W3C standards and seek better Drupal developers this time around.
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- Are you in touch with the founder of Drupal, Matt Mullenweg?
As we all know, this is a trick question.
Are they there for you when you need them?
There should never be a communication barrier between you and your service provider. Make it clear in the first place that you won’t tolerate recurrent delays in returning correspondence. This is because you would obviously not want to partner with a firm that doesn’t value your time and takes too long to reply. Doing otherwise might not lead to a happy ending for your Drupal project.
That said, we hope that you’ll now be able to land the right Drupal firm that can give you the right solutions.
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