The question remains – how do you find good Drupal professionals so that your project actually gets the power and flexibility, which possibly led you chose Drupal in the first place?

First – ask for the right thing. As a matter of fact there are different kinds of Drupal professionals and in most of the cases companies seeking to hire Drupal developers don’t understand the kind they need.

Sad but true; clients and companies new to Drupal rarely know much about Drupal. All that they know is that it is a CMS based on PHP and databases. So they focus on the PHP bit and emphasize PHP skills in their criteria.

Okay so this is for you – alongside end users, there are 3 broad categories of Drupallers

  • Themers
  • Site builders
  • Module developers

Of these 3 categories only the module developers need to be PHP ninjas

Themers are basically responsible for the site’s graphic design. Themers can be of two types such as those who customize existing themes & those who create entirely new themes.

The site builders on the other hand put together the site’s structure. They put together the data types, entry forms, displays, menus, navigation, access control, administration, and other functionality for the site’s content. Site builders have even less need for mad PHP skills.

However; for module developers, PHP is a must. Also; he should also have good site building skills

It is also pertinent mentioning here that there aren’t impenetrable divides between these three broad groups. As many themers are also site builders, many site builders are also at least subthemers, etc. In fact; a Good site builder invariably know when to bring in a themer or module developer.

However trying to hire a module developer even before figuring out if you need one simply frustrates everyone. Yes; that’s how sites also end up with unnecessary custom PHP code located in the wrong place

Good luck!

 

Read this before you hire the Drupal professionals