This session is tailored specifically to beginners who want to check in with their process, learn some new tricks, and ask questions. There is a lot to know about Drupal and there are many ways to accomplish the same goal. So there are no absolute right answers here, just suggestions and discussion.

1. LA Drupal Camp 2012
Level Up: For Beginning Themers and Site
Builders
Meghan Sweet (@meghsweet)
28 July, 2012

2. Welcome!
How do you learn
Drupal?

3. Sometimes things are
really easy..

4. Sometimes things are
really hard.

5. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
Leveraging Contributed
Modules
-17,318 Modules on Drupal.org
- Assess the project page
- Read the README file
- Put all contrib modules in
../sites/all/modules/
-Views, admin_menu, ctools, webform,
wysiwyg, panels, context.

6. http://drupal.org/project/views/

7. What do you need in your toolbox?
HTML
CSS / Javascript
Willingness to build rapport with PHP
Firebug or Chrome Inspector
Basics of the Command Line
Drush
Version Control
Dev > Test > Live
Drupal Community
You can leverage a lot of skills you already have.

8. The “Drupal Way”?

9. Site Development Plan
Typical Drupal Site

10. A complex system that works is
invariably found to have
evolved from a simple system
that worked...
Gall's Law

11. Build features zoomed
in, then pull back and
see how it all fits
together.

12. Structure Content
Break up your content into the pieces you want
control over.
Important in mobile theming- content first
Consider your admins and your visitors.
Good content is user-centered
Adopt the cognitive frameworks of your users
-ERIN KISSANE

13. Skew, The Frontend
Engineer's Misery

14. Slow Site?

15. Common Client-side
Performance Pitfalls
- Cache Settings
- Image Optimization
- Image Handling
- CSS Images
- Size of pages, libraries, CSS.

16. Theming!
Where everything can be overridden.

17. There is no "best"
theme.
-@rupl

18. Where to start
Develop a theming strategy
and find a theme to match
- ‘Starter’ themes
- Base Themes
- Responsive Theming
- Click-to-Config

19. Control your layout through
configuration
Panels, Panelizer, Panopoly
Context, Omega
Display Suite

20. Advancing Theming
Its all about Overriding
Configuration -> CSS -> PHP

21. You can give back to the
community.

22. Coding Standards
- Indent of 2 spaces
- No trailing white space
- CSS properties in alphabetical
order

23. Learn More
Books
Camps and Cons
Training
IRC
Documentation
Spirit of willingness, giving
Blogs back and helping each other
Videos
Meetups

24. Thank You!
@meghsweet
@chapter_three