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The Florida DrupalCamp website template on DrupalForge provides a visually appealing and feature-rich starting point for organizing Drupal camps. Its update to Drupal 11 and the inclusion of pre-populated content via Drupal Recipes significantly lowers the barrier to entry and facilitates customization. The integration of the Events Platform further enhances the template by offering powerful backend tools for efficient camp management, particularly in scheduling and event configuration. While the Events Platform and the base Florida template have their own strengths and slightly different approaches, their combined use offers a compelling solution for Drupal camp organizers seeking a robust and user-friendly platform. The ongoing development of the Events Platform and potential community contributions promise further improvements and feature additions.

Video:

Frequently Asked Questions about Florida DrupalCamp Website Templates and the Events Platform


1. What is the Florida DrupalCamp website template and where can it be found?

The Florida DrupalCamp website template is a pre-designed structure for building a website for Drupal events, specifically inspired by the official Florida DrupalCamp site. It includes a theme and potentially some basic content and configurations. This template, along with an upgraded Drupal 11 version, is available on Drupal Forge, allowing users to easily launch and explore a working example.

2. What are some of the key features and design elements of the Florida DrupalCamp website template?

The template showcases a modern and appealing design, often refreshed every few years by its maintainer, Mike Herchel. Notable features include CSS animations on scroll, a detailed agenda view for speakers (spanning multiple pages with potential for automatic scrolling to the current time during the event), a high-contrast color theme (in recent iterations), dedicated speaker profile pages with contact links, a clear display of session information (track, room, date, time, trainer details), and a visually prominent sponsors section with direct links to sponsor websites. The template also includes various internal pages for information like training schedules, speaker info, contributor day details, location, code of conduct, inclusion policies, FAQs, and contact information.

3. How does the Florida DrupalCamp website handle session submissions and speaker information?

The template facilitates session submissions, and in some configurations (like Florida DrupalCamp), it allows presenters to log in after submission and edit their session information, including adding videos and slides. Upon submission and acceptance, automated emails are sent to presenters (requires SendGrid API key for the demo). The speaker information is often highlighted with dedicated pages for each speaker, including their picture, biography, contact links, and session details, emphasizing the individuals presenting at the camp.

4. How is the sponsor information managed and displayed on the Florida DrupalCamp website template?

The template includes a dedicated section for sponsors, typically featuring their logos on various pages. Clicking on a sponsor logo usually directs users to the sponsor's external website. There's also often an "All Sponsors" page. While individual dedicated pages for each sponsor might not be standard out-of-the-box, the template's structure allows for extending it to include such pages by leveraging available fields like description for further information.

5. What is the Drupal Events Platform and how does it relate to the Florida DrupalCamp template?

The Drupal Events Platform is a set of modules designed to streamline the creation and management of Drupal-based event websites. It offers enhanced features for event organization, such as a more user-friendly interface for scheduling sessions (drag-and-drop), automated time slot management for recurring events, and centralized configuration for event details (name, dates, location) that dynamically update various parts of the site (e.g., footer, registration button). The Florida DrupalCamp website template served as an inspiration for the Events Platform, and some of its content types and features are bundled within the platform's modules.

6. What are some key differences between a website built with the plain Florida DrupalCamp template and one using the Events Platform with the Florida theme?

While a website using the Events Platform with the Florida theme might visually resemble the standard Florida DrupalCamp template (as the theme can be the same), there are significant backend differences. The Events Platform offers a more robust and user-friendly administrative experience, particularly for managing session schedules and recurring event setups. It centralizes event configuration, provides workflow states for sessions, and includes features like an "Add Sponsor" button directly on sponsor listing pages. The plain template relies more on manual content management and taxonomy-based scheduling. Additionally, the Events Platform bundles key content types (speakers, jobs, sessions, sponsors) as modules, whereas they come from configuration in the plain template. Features like detailed user profiles found on the Florida DrupalCamp site are not included in the base Events Platform but could be added.

7. How can someone get started with using the Florida DrupalCamp website template on Drupal Forge?

To get started, users can navigate to the Florida DrupalCamp website listing on Drupal Forge. From there, they can utilize the "Express Launch" feature, which allows for a quick deployment of a temporary Drupal environment pre-configured with the template. Login credentials and the application URL are provided upon launch. Users can choose to include a cloud development environment (VS Code in the browser) for code-level access or opt for just the site building environment. These environments are available for a limited time (e.g., six hours for free).

8. How can the default content from the Florida DrupalCamp website be used in a new Drupal installation based on the template?

The default content from the Florida DrupalCamp website was exported using Drupal Recipes, a feature in Drupal 9 and later that allows exporting database content into YAML files (excluding sensitive information like passwords, which are altered). This "default content recipe" can then be applied to a new Drupal installation based on the Florida DrupalCamp template (or the Events Platform version). By running a specific Drush command within the web directory of the new Drupal site, the content (nodes, blocks, images, configurations) is imported, providing a pre-populated website that users can then customize and build upon. This method simplifies the process of starting with a functional example compared to a blank installation.
 

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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