Create disposable
Drupal dev sites with
Cloud IDE - in less
than 10 seconds.
All for FREE!
 

Drupal Helps Starter Site

The DrupalHelps Starter Site is a free, ready-to-use Drupal template designed to make it easy for beginners to start building websites without writing any code. It comes pre-configured with best practices, essential modules, and powerful tools like Layout Builder, an enhanced media library, and four common content types (articles, news, events, and landing pages). With built-in templates, drag-and-drop design, and no custom code, it’s the perfect way to learn Drupal by doing—and you can launch it instantly here, on DrupalForge.

 



 

The DrupalHelps Starter Site template is a pre-configured, no-code Drupal site building toolkit designed specifically for beginners who want to hit the ground running with best practices and modern site-building tools—all without needing to write custom code.

Key Features of the Starter Site:

  • Pre-Installed Best Practices:
    • Advanced Admin Toolbar
    • Google Analytics integration
    • Enhanced WYSIWYG editor
    • Workflows and content scheduling
    • Autosave
    • Optional AI integration (requires your own license)
  • Predefined Content Types:
    • Article
    • News
    • Events
    • Landing Page (fully designed with Layout Builder)
  • No Custom Code or Components:
    • Everything is built using Drupal’s native site-building tools.
    • Great for learning and understanding how Drupal works out of the box.
  • Enhanced Media and Layout Tools:
    • Upgraded Media Manager for full asset management
    • Layout Builder pre-configured for fast and flexible page building
    • Custom block types to add reusable content elements to pages
  • Template Library Integration:
    • Insert pre-built full pages or individual rows (e.g., banners, text blocks, image cards)
    • Easily editable and reusable across pages
    • Users can also create their own templates
  • Built-in Help and Learning Resources:
    • Weekly tutorials and support at DrupalHelps.com
    • On-page list of installed modules and features
  • Simple Workflow for New Users:
    • Focus on the "Content" menu to add content or create pages
    • Use Layout Builder to drag-and-drop sections and blocks into customizable pages

In Summary:

The DrupalHelps Starter Site is a ready-to-use Drupal site template that gives new users a fast, low-friction way to start building real websites using industry best practices and powerful built-in tools like Layout Builder and the Media Manager—all without having to touch code. It’s available for instant launch at https://www.drupalforge.org/template/drupal-helps-starter-site.

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Drupal Forge do?
Drupal forge


Drupal Forge spins up pre-configured sites for you. Each site configuration is called a template. You provide some basic information and Drupal Forge sends you a link when your site is ready.

If you choose to include a dev environment, our partner DevPanel will provide a complete cloud development environment for you.

Does this only work with Drupal?

Yes, all of our site templates are varieties of Drupal. 

You can also share your own Drupal apps / sites / recipes / distros through Drupal Forge. 

Since the underlying platform is language/app agnostic, you can also create decoupled/headless apps and sites.

However, the mission of this project is to support the Drupal community so all apps offered here will be designed to work with Drupal.

How much does it cost?

Drupal Forge is offered as a community service. The 6-hour temporary disposable Drupal sites, with or without Dev environments are completely free.

If you created sites with Dev environments, then you can continue to use them... Your sites will auto-pause every six hours - but you can extend the timeout time, pause and up-pause, and keep your Dev environments for as long as you like. This is all Free to use for now.

This service, however, does costs us money to run. We plan to have our sponsors continue to pick up these costs going forward.

 

Where is my dev site hosted?

We've got you covered.

Drupal Forge hosts all your dev sites. You don't have to worry about it. 

But, JFYI... Drupal Forge Dev Sites are run as containers in an auto-scaling Kubernetes clusters running on Digital Ocean, AWS, or MS Azure. Drupal Forge's infrastructure is based on a multi-cloud architecture. Dev sites are transient and can moves around from cloud to cloud. 

How is Drupal Forge associated with Starshot?

Our goal is to be a platform where competing vendors can work together on a unified launch experience. This aligns with the Starshot goal of bringing vendors together to build a common Drupal product for non-technical users. We are in talks with the Drupal Association to align our work with Drupal launch button in the Starshot wireframes.

Can I deploy to production hosting?

Yes. You can deploy your Dev sites to any production hosting provider of your choice. Check out the video(s) under the How-To section. (click here) Contact us if you need help.

How is this different from Tugboat?

You can't really compare Tugboat to Drupal Forge (DF). It's like comparing Apples to Oranges. 

SimplyTest.me is a service built on Tugboat. Drupal Forge is a service built on DevPanel.

If you want to compare Tugboat to something, you can compare it to DevPanel. 

The details of that comparison, however, are beyond the scope of this FAQ, so we'll just leave it at that.

How is this different from GitPod?

GitPod is awesome. Drupal Forge (DF) is very similar to it in many ways. Here are the similarities and differences:

  1. Like GitPod, DF Cloud Dev Environments (CDE) give you VS Code and let you create Drupal Dev sites.
  2. Like GitPod, you can instantly preview your code changes without committing your code.
  3. Like GitPod, you can un-pause your sites and continue where you left off.
  4. Unlike GitPod, you can create as many Drupal Dev environments as you like.
  5. On DF, Dev sites can be saved for as long as you like for free.
  6. On DF, there's no time limit on how many hours a free Dev site is used (active) in a month.
  7. On DF, the browser-based VS Code IDE (aka Cloud IDE), comes pre-installed with Composer and Drush. 
  8. On DF, you get full access to the MySQL database with PhpMyAdmin - a browser-based db admin tool.
  9. On DF, you can invite and collaborate with other developers for parallel programming.
  10. On DF, you can download your site and use it on your Local Dev Environment.
  11. On DF, you can go live with your site - deploy it to your Digital Ocean or Light Sail server and connect your custom URL to it. After that, you can use your DF site as your Dev site.
How is this different from Simplytest.me?

Simplytest is a great service. We were in fact inspired by it. If you have not tried it, you should try it out. Seriously. Here's the link. Drupal Forge is a community service - just like Simplytest. Here are the similarities and differences:

  1. Like Simplytest, Drupal Forge (DF) lets you create 6 hour temporary disposable Drupal Dev sites.
  2. On DF, you can optionally add a Cloud Dev Environment (CDE) to your Drupal Dev sites.
  3. With a CDE, your Dev sites are automatically paused at after 6-hours instead of getting deleted. 
  4. You can un-pause your sites and continue where you left off.
  5. You can keep extending the working life of your Dev sites (in increments of 6 hours).
  6. With a CDE, you get a browser-based VS Code IDE (aka Cloud IDE), pre-installed with Composer and Drush. 
  7. Full access to the MySQL database with PhpMyAdmin - a browser-based db admin tool.
  8. Invite and collaborate with other developers on the Code IDE - think parallel programming.
  9. Download your site and use it on your Local Dev Environment.
  10. Go live with your site - deploy it to an external server on Digital Ocean, Light Sail, etc. Connect your custom URL to it. Maintain the Dev site on DF. 
How is this different from DevPanel?

Drupal Forge is built on DevPanel. 

However, Drupal Forge uses a very limited version of DevPanel with only its basic features.

You can check out DevPanel's website to learn more about it if you like.

 

How does Drupal Forge support Drupal contributors?

Drupal contributors can use Drupal Forge to try Drupal, experiment with new modules, test bugs, try out bug fixes, and to contribute code back to the Drupal project. 

You can use it to teach Drupal development and VS Code to others.

You can collaborate with other developers from around the world - in real time.

Can I share my own app through Drupal Forge?

Yes. You can share your own Drupal app / recipe / sites through Drupal Forge, please contact us. You can share your apps for free for a fee. You can provide production hosting for your apps through Drupal Forge as well and you can collect monthly maintenance, support, and/or hosting fees.

What vendors work with Drupal Forge?

DevPanel is actively contributing to Drupal Forge. We are in talks with other vendors about getting involved and would welcome assistance reaching out to more. Interested vendors should open an issue on our project page and select Vendors as the component.

How is Drupal Forge funded?

Drupal Forge is supported by various individuals and companies. 

If you would like to support Drupal Forge, then please contact us.

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