In the previous article, we learned how to migrate paragraphs and create custom process plugins. Good exercise for the brain. Today, we will do some exercises for the body. Get ready for a strength training session — Drupal style — where we will learn about creating custom source plugins, extending existing ones, and writing media migrations from scratch.

Join us THURSDAY, February 20 at 1pm ET / 10am PT, for our regularly scheduled call to chat about all things Drupal and nonprofits. (Convert to your local time zone.)

We don't have anything specific on the agenda this month, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss anything that's on our minds at the intersection of Drupal and nonprofits.  Got something specific you want to talk about? Feel free to share ahead of time in our collaborative Google doc: https://nten.org/drupal/notes!

All nonprofit Drupal devs and users, regardless of experience level, are always welcome on this call.

This free call is sponsored by NTEN.org and open to everyone. 

• Join the call: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81817469653

  • Meeting ID: 818 1746 9653
    Passcode: 551681

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• Follow along on Google Docs: https://nten.org/drupal/notes

View notes of previous months' calls.

Any non-trivial software needs maintenance during its lifespan; tests are no different. We initially started with Webdriver.IO tests, which was a great start in building test coverage for client projects. However, after implementing Moshe Weitzman’s Test Traits, we noticed several improvements, for instance, a decrease in false positives and faster execution speed. The WDIO JavaScript- and browser-based tests, executed in real browsers, were fragile due to timing issues, accidental slowdowns in the CI environment, and even changes in browser versions, which could break the process. Large legacy projects that even survived Drupal 8, 9, and 10 upgrades still have WDIO tests alongside the PHPUnit test suites. The issue of having WDIO tests is twofold. First, executing and debugging those tests is especially inefficient for developers with no experience in WDIO. Second, it slowed down the CI pipeline as it was necessary to install all those extra packages required by WDIO. But let’s face it: It’s a boring refactor, and the business value is hard to sell since only the developers see it. Still, eliminating technical debt is a wise move in the long run, and we had the chance to act.

A multilingual website is a powerful tool for engagement, accessibility, and global reach. Making content available in multiple languages expands your audience and, in some places, helps you comply with legal requirements. However, maintaining multilingual content comes with its own set of challenges, from high costs to workflow complexity.

Drupal has multilingual capabilities built into its core, making it a favourite choice for governments and international organizations. Adding in AI-powered translation assistance helps make it easier to translate your website content, and maintain quality translations.

As an agency based in Montreal and a staff that speaks over 29 languages, Evolving Web has a healthy skepticism about machine translation. In this post, we outline the role we think automated translation can play in a translation that results in quality results. And we also discuss the limitations of this solution and the role of human translators and the value of keeping humans in the loop.

Why a Multilingual Website Matters

A well-executed multilingual strategy offers numerous benefits:

• Global Reach: Expand your audience by catering to users from different regions and linguistic backgrounds, better SEO across languages
• Compliance:  Ensure your website meets legal and policy requirements for multilingual content.To comply with the Official Languages Act, all Canadian organizations, including businesses, government entities, and non-profits, are required to ensure that any public-facing documents – such as press releases, manuals, websites, and printed materials – are available in both French and English.
• Accuracy & Control: Avoid inaccuracies from automated browser translations and retain full control over how content is presented in different languages.

The Challenges of Managing Multilingual Content

While a multilingual website offers clear advantages, traditional translation methods often pose hurdles, including:

• High Costs:  Professional translation services can be expensive, especially for websites with frequent content updates.
• Time-Consuming Processes: Manual translations slow down content updates, delaying launches and requiring continuous maintenance. Translations are often out of date.
• Scalability Issues: As websites grow, managing translations across multiple pages and languages becomes increasingly complex.
• Workflow Management: Coordinating translations, tracking content updates, and ensuring consistency across languages can be error-prone and inefficient.

How AI-Powered Translation in Drupal Solves These Challenges

Before we get into the details of AI translation, Drupal itself provides first-class support for multiple languages right out of the box. It’s one of the main reasons that I started using Drupal, how baked-in and flexible the language support is. Unlike other systems that rely heavily on third-party plugins, Drupal’s multilingual functionality is deeply integrated into its core, making it highly flexible and scalable for international organizations. Its four key multilingual modules—Language, Interface Translation, Content Translation, and Configuration Translation—allow full localization of both user-facing content and administrative settings. 

The built-in language negotiation system supports multiple detection methods, including URL, session, and browser settings, ensuring users get the right language experience automatically. Drupal also provides granular translation workflows, API support for third-party translation services, and seamless integration with structured content models, making it an ideal choice for developers building enterprise-grade, multilingual digital experiences that need efficiency, performance, and maintainability at scale.

With that said, Drupal multilingual support expects you to bring your own translations. That’s where AI comes in to make things easier.

Here’s How It Works:

We developed a custom AI-assisted translation module that centralizes this process with the help of the Translation Management Tool module. The conventional translation process often lags behind initial content creation, but the AI-translation tool aims to provide instantaneous translations. Traditionally, translating a page involves navigating different parts of the Drupal site. Here are some details of how it works: 

• Automatic Translation of Referenced Elements: When a translation is requested, the tool ensures that all associated elements—such as images, metadata, and embedded tags—are translated alongside the main content.
• Centralized Translation Management: From a dedicated translation overview page, users can select specific content types, configurations, and interface text for translation.
• Real-Time Translation Status Tracking: The module displays the current translation status, indicating which languages are complete and which require updates (e.g., Spanish translations are available, but French translations are missing).
• Built-in Human Review Options: For sensitive or high-accuracy content, users can manually review and refine AI-generated translations before publishing. The overview page highlights which translations still need human verification.
• Continuous Translation Automation: To minimize delays in multilingual content updates, the tool supports "continuous translation jobs." This feature automatically detects and translates newly created or updated content in real time.

ROM’s Bilingual Experience, Powered by AI

As part of the Royal Ontario Museum's (ROM) digital transformation, we integrated an AI-powered Drupal translation tool to streamline the management of its extensive bilingual content. As one of Canada’s largest and most visited museums, ROM regularly updates a vast amount of information—including exhibition details, event listings, educational resources, and research materials—which all need to be made available in both English and French within tight timeframes.

To meet this challenge, our solution automates translations while allowing for human review and refinement, ensuring linguistic accuracy and preserving the nuanced terminology required for museum content. This tool empowers ROM’s content team to rapidly translate and update pages, significantly reducing manual effort while maintaining consistency across hundreds of pages. By incorporating AI-driven translation workflows, ROM can efficiently scale its multilingual offerings, ensuring that its rich collection and research remain accessible to a broad, diverse audience—including visitors, scholars, and educators—without the bottlenecks of traditional translation processes.

Avoid Common Translation Pitfalls

Many organizations overlook key elements when translating their websites, leading to incomplete or inconsistent multilingual experiences. AI-powered translation tools in Drupal help address these challenges by:

• Ensuring Configuration & Interface Texts Are Translated: Critical UI elements and settings often go untranslated, creating a fragmented user experience.
• Automating Content Translation While Maintaining Control: AI-generated translations serve as a starting point, allowing content editors to refine and ensure accuracy before publishing.

• Handling Related Entities: Linked content, such as referenced pages and media, is seamlessly translated to maintain consistency across the site.

  Content teams can review and edit AI translate fields before accepting the translations. 
  
  

  See It in Action

  Managing multilingual content doesn’t have to be complex or costly. With Drupal’s AI translation capabilities, you can streamline your workflow, reduce translation costs, and improve content accuracy.
  Want to learn more? Join our upcoming webinar at 12:00 pm EDT on February 28 for a live demo of AI-powered translation in Drupal and discover how it can transform your multilingual content strategy. Sign up now!

Introduction to Drupal CMS 1.0

Drupal CMS 1.0 is a pre-configured version of Drupal 11, designed to make website creation and management accessible for non-technical users. Unlike the standard Drupal 11, which offers extensive customization for developers, Drupal CMS 1.0 comes with pre-installed tools and a simplified interface, making it ideal for small businesses, non-profits, and content editors who want to focus on content rather than technical setup. If you're looking for an easy way to launch and manage a website without diving into code, Drupal CMS 1.0 is worth exploring.

Key Features for Non-Technical Users

Drupal CMS 1.0 is packed with features that simplify content management. Here’s what makes it stand out:  

• Pre-Installed Tools:
  Out of the box, Drupal CMS 1.0 includes essential tools like SEO optimization, analytics tracking, and content workflows. These features help you improve search engine rankings, monitor site performance, and streamline content publishing without needing extra plugins.
• User-Friendly Interface:
  The admin dashboard is designed for simplicity. Non-technical users can easily navigate menus, create pages, and manage media without feeling overwhelmed. The intuitive layout reduces the learning curve, making it accessible for beginners.
• AI Integrations:
  Drupal CMS 1.0 includes AI-powered tools, such as content suggestions and automated tagging, to help editors create and organize content more efficiently. These features save time and improve content quality.
• Out-of-the-Box Templates:
  The platform comes with pre-designed themes and layouts, allowing you to set up a professional-looking site quickly. Whether you need a blog, portfolio, or business site, these templates provide a solid starting point.

Benefits for Small Businesses and Non-Profits

Drupal CMS 1.0 is particularly valuable for organizations with limited resources. Here’s why:  

• Cost-Effective Solution:
  Unlike custom Drupal builds, which require developer expertise and significant investment, Drupal CMS 1.0 is ready to use with minimal setup costs. It’s an affordable option for small businesses and non-profits.
• Faster Deployment:
  With pre-configured features and templates, you can launch a website in days, not weeks. This is ideal for organizations that need an online presence quickly, such as event organizers or new businesses.
• Scalability:
  While Drupal CMS 1.0 is designed for simplicity, it’s built on Drupal 11, which means it can scale as your organization grows. You can add more features or transition to standard Drupal 11 if needed.

Comparison with Standard Drupal 11

While Drupal CMS 1.0 and standard Drupal 11 share the same core, they serve different purposes:  

• Simplified Complexity:
  Drupal CMS 1.0 removes much of the complexity of standard Drupal 11. It comes with fewer modules to manage and pre-configured settings, making it easier for non-technical users. Standard Drupal 11, on the other hand, offers more flexibility for developers who need advanced customization.

   

• Limitations for Advanced Customization:
  If you require highly customized features or complex workflows, standard Drupal 11 might be a better fit. Drupal CMS 1.0 prioritizes ease of use over extensive configurability, which may limit advanced development options.

Getting Started with Drupal CMS 1.0

Ready to try Drupal CMS 1.0? Here’s how to get started:

1. Download and Installation:
   • Visit the official Drupal website and download Drupal CMS 1.0.
   • Follow the installation guide to set up the platform on your hosting provider. Most hosts offer one-click installation for Drupal.
2. Initial Setup:
   • Choose a theme from the pre-installed options.
   • Configure basic settings, such as site name, logo, and SEO metadata.
   • Set up user roles (e.g., content editor, administrator) to manage access.
3. Tips for Content Editors:
   • Creating Pages:
     Use the content creation tool to add pages like "About Us," "Services," or "Contact." Start by selecting a content type (e.g., Basic Page) and filling in the title and body fields. Customize layouts using drag-and-drop blocks to add text, images, or forms. For example, you can add a contact form block to the "Contact" page for visitor inquiries. Preview your page before publishing to ensure it looks right on desktop and mobile.  
   • Managing Media:
     Upload images, videos, and documents to the media library for easy reuse across your site. To add an image, go to the Media section, upload the file, and add alt text for accessibility. You can then insert the image into a page or blog post using the content editor. For videos, upload or embed them from platforms like YouTube. Use the media library’s search and filter options to quickly find files, and organize them with tags for better management.
   • Publishing Content:
     Schedule posts or publish immediately using the built-in workflow tools. To schedule, set a future publish date in the content editor, and Drupal CMS 1.0 will automatically make it live. For immediate publishing, click "Save and Publish" after editing. Use the moderation states (e.g., Draft, Review, Published) to manage team workflows. For example, a content editor can mark a post as "Review," and an admin can approve it for publishing.
4. Resources for Learning:
   • Drupal Community Forums:
     Join the Drupal.org forums to connect with other users and ask questions. The "Support" section is ideal for troubleshooting, while the "Drupal CMS" group discusses specific features. For example, you might find threads on optimizing SEO with Drupal CMS 1.0 or fixing common installation issues.
   • Official Drupal CMS Documentation:
     The Drupal CMS documentation on Drupal.org provides detailed guides for beginners. Topics include installation, content creation, and theme customization. For instance, the "Content Authoring" section explains how to use the content editor, while the "Media Management" guide covers file uploads. Bookmark this resource for step-by-step instructions.
   • Webinars and Local Drupal Meetups:
     Check the Drupal events page for upcoming webinars, such as "Getting Started with Drupal CMS 1.0" or "Best Practices for Content Editors." These sessions often include live demos and Q&A. Additionally, search for local Drupal meetups in your area (e.g., via Meetup.com) to network with other users. For example, a meetup might feature a workshop on using AI tools in Drupal CMS 1.0.

Real-World Use Cases

Here are two detailed examples of how Drupal CMS 1.0 can be used in practice:  

Example 1: A Local Non-Profit Launching a Donation Site
A community organization, "Green Future," wants to create a website to promote environmental events and collect donations. They choose Drupal CMS 1.0 for its simplicity and affordability. After downloading and installing the platform, they select a clean, pre-installed theme with a green color scheme to match their branding. They set up the site in a day, adding pages like "Our Mission," "Upcoming Events," and "Donate." On the "Donate" page, they embed a PayPal donation form using a pre-configured block. For the "Events" page, they create a content type with fields for date, location, and description, and use the scheduling tool to publish event updates. The AI tagging feature helps organize blog posts about their initiatives, such as "Recycling Tips" and "Community Cleanups," making them easier to find. They use the built-in SEO tools to optimize meta descriptions and titles, attracting local visitors searching for environmental causes. Analytics tracking shows increased engagement, and the non-profit’s team manages updates without technical help, saving time and resources.  
 

Example 2: A Small Business Creating a Blog and Product Catalog
A boutique owner, "Crafty Designs," needs a website to showcase handmade products and share industry insights. They opt for Drupal CMS 1.0 to avoid hiring a developer. After installation, they choose a pre-installed theme with a gallery layout to highlight products. They create a product catalog by adding a custom content type with fields for product name, price, description, and images. For example, they upload photos of handmade jewelry and add alt text for accessibility. The media library allows them to reuse images across pages, such as featuring a necklace on both the "Shop" and "Featured Products" pages. For the blog, they use a pre-configured template to start posts like "How to Care for Handmade Jewelry" and "Behind the Scenes: Crafting Process." They schedule blog posts for weekly publication, ensuring consistent content. The AI content suggestion tool helps generate ideas for new posts, such as "Top Jewelry Trends for 2025." Analytics tools track visitor engagement, showing which products and posts are most popular. The owner updates content weekly using the simple interface, adding new products and blog posts without technical assistance.

Drupal CMS 1.0 is great for non-technical users who want a powerful yet easy-to-use content management system. With its pre-installed tools, user-friendly interface, and scalability, it’s an excellent choice for small businesses, non-profits, and content editors. If you’re looking for a simple way to manage your website, give Drupal CMS 1.0 a try and see how it can streamline your workflow.  

Have questions or experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below— we’d love to hear from you!

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This was a with few user-facing changes in Experience Builder (XB). But some of the invisible changes are crucial for XB’s future though.

The biggest user-facing change of the week: Jesse Baker, Harumi “hooroomoo” Jang, Ben “bnjmnm” Mullins, hemanshu_412 and utkarsh_33 landed copy/paste support for individual component instances — and entire (sub)trees, of course! That’s ⌘+C/⌘+V on macOS and Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V on Windows 1. Both operations are also available in the context menu: both by right-clicking a component instance on the canvas, and in the layers panel on the left.

Slightly under the hood

Ben, Deepak “deepakkm” Mishra, Bálint “balintbrews” Kléri and I refactored the way that the Semi-Coupled Theme Engine (introduced in week 10) is loaded. That also powers the content entity form in XB since last week.

It’s now no longer taking over the Twig theme engine for the whole site. Instead, we introduced the xb_stark theme and a theme negotiator to load that new theme on XB’s form-rendering routes. Major kudos to:

• Alex “effulgentsia” Bronstein for the idea
• Lee “larowlan” Rowlands for expressing concerns over the original approach.

The xb_stark theme is conceptually similar to Drupal core’s stark theme: it does not define (Twig) templates for most things (unlike non-stark2 themes such as Olivero), but here it provides one more function: it uses the semi_coupled theme engine that XB provides. It’s that theme engine that provides React-based rendering (where a React alternative exists for a particular Twig template), with automatic fallback to Twig (where such an alternative does not exist).

This MR both removed a lot of complexity, and contained what remained. Now the rest of the site is guaranteed to not be impacted by XB wizardry. 🪄

Missed a prior week? See all posts tagged Experience Builder.

Goal: make it possible to follow high-level progress by reading ~5 minutes/week. I hope this empowers more people to contribute when their unique skills can best be put to use!

For more detail, join the #experience-builder Slack channel. Check out the pinned items at the top!

In code far, far far removed from the UI

Ted “tedbow” Bowman and I tightened validation of component trees by introducing a new ComponentTreeMeetRequirements validation constraint that allows restricting both the used components, and the inputs for those components.

While we’re nowhere near having content type templates (yet), nor do we have block components (yet, although last week we made significant progress towards it), it is still important to ensure that everywhere XB component trees can exist3, for them to be guaranteed to make sense.

For example, for a PageTemplate, it does not make sense for the component tree for, say, the header region to contain a component instance that uses (dynamically resolves), say, the “title” and “image” fields on a “blog post” content entity, because not every page will contain it.

This is a boring implementation detail at this early stage, but if we get it right now, then it will have major impact eventually: it will guarantee XB’s config is perfectly exportable and syncable, which is one of the 64 product requirements: 14. Configuration management.

Grab bag

A few loose ends were tidied up: 

• Omkar “omkar-pd” Deshpande fixed a small but important bug: when deleting a component instance with its inputs form visible, it caused that form to show an error (because XB was trying to render a form for a non-existent component instance)
• Harumi, Omkar and Bálint streamlined the DX of writing Cypress tests: eslint and prettier are enforced for those, too.

Week 25 was October 28–November 3, 2024.

• 1

  Not having actively used Windows in over a decade, I looked up what the notation is that Microsoft itself uses nowadays. Turns out there’s many notations, far more than I expected to exist! 😮

• 2

  For the non-native speakers: “stark” is not just a name, like “Olivero”, “Garland”, “Bartik”, “Claro” or “Seven”! That name was chosen for its meaning: “bare”, as in “no ornaments”. In other words: no subjective styling or markup, but purely functional. So: module’s Twig templates are used as-is, and those are (supposed to be) as simple and barebones as possible.

• 3

  They currently can already exist in content entities using the XB field type, the PageTemplate config entity, soon also the Pattern config entity, and later in a ContentTypeTemplate config entity. The component tree data structure is identical throughout, but what makes sense depends on where it is contained/stored. Hence this validation constraint.

Today we are talking about The IXP Fellowship Initiative, Workplace Developer Training, and making Drupal better for the little guy with guests Carlos Ospina & Mike Anello. We’ll also cover Cloudflare Turnstile as our module of the week.

For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/489

• What is the IXP initiative
• Why does the community think this is important
• What is the current status
• What changed in the last 10 years
• How do we encourage businesses to do this
• How can people get involved

• Turnstile
  • Intro blog post from Cloudflare
  • Irvine reCAPTCHA Study
  • Deep dive on Google Scholar
  • Alternatives
    • https://www.drupal.org/project/hcaptcha - privacy-focused alternative, still image-based
    • https://www.drupal.org/project/altcha - open, self-hosted option. Seems more basic.
  • Posts referencing Irvine study
    • https://boingboing.net/2025/02/07/recaptcha-819-million-hours-of-wasted-human-time-and-billions-of-dollars-google-profit.html
    • https://www.theregister.com/2024/07/24/googles_recaptchav2_labor/
    • https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/a-2023-study-concluded-captchas-are-a-tracking-cookie-farm-for-profit-masquerading-as-a-security-service-that-made-us-spend-819-billion-hours-clicking-on-traffic-lights-to-generate-nearly-usd1-trillion-for-google/
• Widgets
• IXP Fellowship
• Drupal Couple
• Talking Drupal 488 - Drupal Open University
• Get Involved in IXP
  • #ixp-fellowship on the Drupal Slack Workspace

Carlos Ospina - adrupalcouple.us camoa Mike Anello - drupaleasy.com ultimike

Nic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Avi Schwab - froboy.org froboy

Martin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu

• Brief description:
  • Have you ever wanted to use Cloudflare’s Turnstile web service to secure Drupal web forms, as an alternative to more intrusive CAPTCHA widgets that force users to select squares that contain traffic lights, cars, or bicycles? There’s a module for that.
• Module name/project name:
  • Cloudflare Turnstile
• Brief history
  • How old: created in Sep 2022 by Adam Weiss (greatmatter)
  • Versions available: 1.1.13 which works with Drupal 9.4, 10, and 11
• Maintainership
  • Actively maintained
  • Security coverage
  • Number of open issues: 6 open issues, 3 of which are bugs, with 2 of them postponed
• Usage stats:
  • 3,981 sites
• Module features and usage
  • Anyone who maintains a Drupal site is well acquainted with the need to mitigate form spam submissions. Best practices around which tool to use are an ever-changing conversation.
  • Recently Google announced that reCAPTCHA implementations will need to be associated with a Google Cloud account, and will need to enable payment for anything that exceeds the free allowance of 10,000 assessments per month
  • reCAPTCHA v2 widgets are notorious for the challenges they can present to actual users, particularly image challenges. In addition, a 2023 UC Irvine study concluded that “the true purpose of reCAPTCHAv2 is as a tracking cookie farm for profit masquerading as a security service”, so it’s definitely worth considering other solutions
  • Cloudflare developed turnstile as a CAPTCHA alternative, designed to provide security while minimizing the friction for actual users. More importantly, Turnstile never harvests data for ad retargeting.
  • A free Turnstile account can create up to 10 widgets, with unlimited usage.
  • The turnstile module plugs into the existing Drupal CAPTCHA ecosystem, so it can be an easy swap out for anywhere you’re currently using CAPTCHA widgets.