When I was writing documentation for Drupal CMS’s SEO Tools recommended add-on (aka “recipe”), I realized that not all Drupal site users may be up-to-date on the essentials of SEO and how Drupal can help you make your site discoverable by your target audiences.

While Drupal has long been a solid foundation for building search-friendly websites — that doesn’t mean every Drupal user knows where to start with SEO.

In this post, I’ll define essential SEO concepts and highlight best practices direct from the documentation I wrote about promoting your site with SEO for the Drupal CMS User Guide.

Whether you're configuring a custom Drupal 11 site or using Drupal CMS, these tips apply to you. All of the tools mentioned below may be installed on any Drupal 11 site or installed via the SEO Tools recommended add-on in Drupal CMS.

A few years ago, I quietly adopted a small principle that has changed how I think about publishing on my website. It's a principle I've been practicing for a while now, though I don't think I've ever written about it publicly.

The principle is: If a note can be public, it should be.

It sounds simple, but this idea has quietly shaped how I treat my personal website.

I was inspired by three overlapping ideas: digital gardens, personal memexes, and "Today I Learned" entries.

Writers like Tom Critchlow, Maggie Appleton, and Andy Matuschak maintain what they call digital gardens. They showed me that a personal website does not have to be a collection of polished blog posts. It can be a living space where ideas can grow and evolve. Think of it more as an ever-evolving notebook than a finished publication, constantly edited and updated over time.

I also learned from Simon Willison, who publishes small, focused Today I Learned (TIL) entries. They are quick, practical notes that capture a moment of learning. They don't aim to be comprehensive; they simply aim to be useful.

And then there is Cory Doctorow. In 2021, he explained his writing and publishing workflow, which he describes as a kind of personal memex. A memex is a way to record your knowledge and ideas over time. While his memex is not public, I found his approach inspiring.

I try to take a lot of notes. For the past four years, my tool of choice has been Obsidian. It is where I jot things down, think things through, and keep track of what I am learning.

In Obsidian, I maintain a Zettelkasten system. It is a method for connecting ideas and building a network of linked thoughts. It is not just about storing information but about helping ideas grow over time.

At some point, I realized that many of my notes don't contain anything private. If they're useful to me, there is a good chance they might be useful to someone else too. That is when I adopted the principle: If a note can be public, it should be.

So a few years ago, I began publishing these kinds of notes on my site. You might have seen examples like Principles for life, PHPUnit tests for Drupal, Brewing coffee with a moka pot when camping or Setting up password-free SSH logins.

These pages on my website are not blog posts. They are living notes. I update them as I learn more or come back to the topic. To make that clear, each note begins with a short disclaimer that says what it is. Think of it as a digital notebook entry rather than a polished essay.

Now, I do my best to follow my principle, but I fall short more than I care to admit. I have plenty of notes in Obsidian that could have made it to my website but never did.

Often, it's simply inertia. Moving a note from Obsidian to my Drupal site involves a few steps. While not difficult, these steps consume time I don't always have. I tell myself I'll do it later, and then 'later' often never arrives.

Other times, I hold back because I feel insecure. I am often most excited to write when I am learning something new, but that is also when I know the least. What if I misunderstood something? The voice of doubt can be loud enough to keep a note trapped in Obsidian, never making it to my website.

But I keep pushing myself to share in public. I have been learning in the open and sharing in the open for 25 years, and some of the best things in my life have come from that. So I try to remember: if notes can be public, they should be.

In March, Metadrop continued its contributions to the Drupal ecosystem with a particular focus on privacy and content editorial experience. The team released new modules, updated existing ones, added integrations, and assisted clients with some internal issues not directly related to Drupal, while still having time do research on AI.

New modules and releases

Iframe Consent

We developed a new module to manage IFrame consent, ensuring GDPR-compliant handling of embedded iframes by loading third-party content only after obtaining user consent. This effort enhances privacy in addition to existing modules like EXIF Removal and Youtube Cookies.

Watchdog Statistics 1.0.6

The release of version 1.0.6 added date filters, enabling users to generate reports from previous months and display log statistics for the last month — an…

In this episode of Talking Drupal, we delve into the International Drupal Federation Initiative with our guest Tim Doyle, CEO of the Drupal Association. We explore the goals, structure, and potential impact of this initiative on the global Drupal community. Additionally, we cover the Modeler API as our module of the week, discussing its functionalities and future potential. Joining the discussion are hosts John Picozzi, Norah Medlin, Nic Laflin, and Martin Anderson-Clutz, who bring their insights and perspectives to the table.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/507

• Meet the Guest: Tim Doyle
• Module of the Week: Modeler API
• Deep Dive into Modeler API
• Introducing the International Drupal Federation Initiative
• Governance and Global Impact
• Challenges and Future Prospects
• Annual Meeting and Governance Structure
• Challenges in Crafting Agreements
• Local Associations and Their Needs
• Engagement and Communication Strategies
• Regional Organizations and Governance
• US-Based Not-for-Profit Focus
• International Federation and Local Support
• Potential Risks and Governance Models
• Implementation Timeline and Costs
• Legal and Organizational Considerations
• Community Involvement and Feedback
• Conclusion and Contact Information

International Drupal Federation Initiative Recent DA Video Feature on The Drop Times ASBL

Tim Doyle - Drupal.org Tim D.

Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Norah Medlin - tekNorah

with Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu

Modeler API

The Modeler API provides an API for modules like ECA - Events, Conditions, Actions, Migrate Visualize, AI Agents, and maybe others. The purpose is to allow those modules to utilize modelers like BPMN.iO, (and maybe others in the future) to build diagrams constructed of their components (e.g. plugins) and write them back into module-specific config entities.

Dear Readers,

Something subtle is shifting in the Drupal space. Over the past year, there has been a clear move to consolidate around Drupal CMS as the central message of the project. The intention is understandable. Making Drupal more accessible through low-code and visual tooling lowers the barrier for new users and small teams. But this unified direction, while strategic, risks unintentionally simplifying the perception of what Drupal is and what it is still capable of.

That concern comes into focus when we look at how DrupalCon Atlanta was structured. The sessions and keynotes gave the impression that Drupal CMS is not just a major initiative, but the primary path forward. Yet Drupal has always been more than a product. It has been a framework that adapts to a wide range of use cases, especially in enterprise environments. There was noticeably less visibility for advanced architectures, decoupled implementations, or the tools that support complex digital ecosystems.

This is where the reflections of community members like Jesus Manuel Olivas add useful contrast. His take on DrupalCon highlighted the gap between the official storyline and what many agencies are actively building. For organizations that rely on multi-site strategies, custom front-end frameworks, and API-first infrastructure, the current messaging does not quite reflect their day-to-day reality. These are not theoretical edge cases. They are living, large-scale implementations shaping digital strategy across industries.

Drupal's strength has always come from its flexibility. As the project evolves, it’s important to keep that core identity intact. There is room for Drupal CMS to grow without overshadowing the more complex and less visible work happening across the ecosystem. Honoring that balance is not just a matter of inclusion. It is a matter of relevance.

INTERVIEW

• "We Really Want More People Contributing to Drupal"

DISCOVER DRUPAL

• The Future of Drupal Is Intelligent: Practical AI Integration for Smarter Web Experiences
• Drupal Public Data, Statistics & Silver Linings? An Exploration #6
• Drupal Introduces AI Initiative to Advance Drupal CMS
• Jesus Manuel Olivas' Alternative Vision for Drupal’s Future
• New Drupal Module Simplifies Configuration Exposure via GraphQL
• Drupal Modeler API Now Open for Community Testing
• Docktopus Launches All-in-One DDEV Stack for Local Web Development

EVENT

• DrupalCamp Poland 2025: A Community-Focused Event with Strong Technical and Editorial Insights
• Women in Drupal Awards 2025: Applications Now Open
• What Drupal Agencies Are Bringing to London’s AI Summit

SPOTLIGHT

• Drupal, By Design: The drunomics Model for Sustainable Open Source

ORGANIZATION NEWS

• amazee.io Announces Financial and Technical Support for Drupal AI Strategic Initiative
• Annertech Secures Full-Time Developer Role to Support LocalGov Drupal
   

We acknowledge that there are more stories to share. However, due to selection constraints, we must pause further exploration for now.

To get timely updates, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You can also join us on Drupal Slack at #thedroptimes.

Thank you, 
Sincerely 
Alka Elizabeth 
Sub-editor, The DropTimes.

Solving Pagination for Grouped Content

In Drupal Views, "grouping" refers to the feature found in the Format section's Style options. When configuring a view's format (Table, HTML List, Grid, etc.), you can select one or more fields to group results by. This creates visual sections with headers for each unique field value, organizing content into logical categories.

The Problem

Standard Views pagination in Drupal operates on individual rows, without awareness of the grouping structure. This results in a broken, inconsistent pager with groups split across multiple pages.

The Solution

Views Grouping Field Pager treats each group as a pagination unit rather than each row. This ensures:

• Groups remain intact across pages
• The pager navigation works as expected displaying the correct number of items

Use Cases

• Project libraries grouped by category
• News articles organized by date
• Product catalogs grouped by type
• Event listings arranged by date
• Research collections organized by topic

Technical Implementation

The module:

Since the launch of the Drupal CMS earlier this year, we’ve been hard at work documenting everything you need to build and maintain a site using this new, streamlined Drupal experience. Our goal is to make the Drupal CMS User Guide a go-to reference for site builders of all experience levels — especially those coming to Drupal for the first time.

In this post, we'll share an update on the current state of the guide, highlight two new sections we’re especially excited about, and show you how your team or company can help move the project forward.