Starting a new Drupal project? And the first thing you might do is to install a module, but which one first? There are a few obvious ones to install and sometimes these have no relation to the functionality of your project but they always help you in the background.
But why do we install them? It's simple, they make our life easy while we are implementing the universe of features into our Drupal website. But then you always miss some of those life-saving modules and only install them when you feel the pain.
Now here is my list of Drupal modules that will make your life smooth and you should install them as soon as you see that welcome message on the home screen.
- Admin Toolbar
- Environment Indicator
- Config Split
- Token
- Site Settings and Labels
- Pathauto
1. Admin Toolbar
Project page: https://www.drupal.org/project/admin_toolbar
Okay, this was obvious! It was always annoying to go through all those pages to reach the manage field of a content type. Admin Toolbar module came to the rescue and does the job perfectly.
Admin Toolbar module integrates with the core's toolbar module and provides a drop-down menu for easy access to the menu items in the Administration menu. Just install it and forget about it.
2. Environment Indicator
Project page: https://www.drupal.org/project/environment_indicator
Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WbP9ZYxAx0
Remember the time when you accidentally changed settings or updated content on the wrong environment, thinking you were in the local environment? For these situations, the Environment Indicator module comes to the rescue. This module simply adds colors to the Drupal admin toolbar to indicate which environment you are working on.
You can simply configure different colors for different environments to differentiate like Development (Green), Staging (Orange), and Production (Red). Just try it and you will see how often you leave the wrong environment tab open in your browser.
3. Configuration Split
Project page: https://www.drupal.org/project/config_split
Tutorial: https://www.daggerhart.com/drupal-8-configuration-management-with-config-split/
Drupal 8 introduced configuration management in the core to allow the export of database configurations in YML files. But what if we don't want to keep everything the same in all environments, maybe you want some development modules on configurations different from the local environment.
For these situations, Configuration Split does the job for us. This module allows you to create groups of configurations that you want to separate from the rest of the configuration.
4. Token
Project Page: https://www.drupal.org/project/token
You might not remember to install the Token module until you miss that specific node field token. The token module provides additional tokens not supported by the core (most notably fields), as well as a UI for browsing tokens.
The token will be helpful by providing a special token to any field that accepts a token to dynamically insert the value.
5. Site Settings and Labels
Project Page: https://www.drupal.org/project/site_settings
From Drupal 8 all settings start to save into the configuration and we export the configuration. But if you want to have a configuration that can be changed whenever needed without the fear of overriding it on the next config import.
The "Site Settings and Labels" module is something you can use in your Drupal project if you are in the same situation. This module allows you to set settings as content with the features and feel of the Drupal configuration system. So remember this module as this could be your secret weapon on your next Drupal project.
6. Pathauto
Project Page: https://www.drupal.org/project/pathauto
When it comes to managing URLs and creating human-readable paths for your content, the Pathauto module is a must-have. It automatically generates URL aliases based on patterns that you define, saving you the time and effort of manually creating URLs for each piece of content.
With Pathauto, you can create SEO-friendly URLs that enhance the user experience and improve search engine rankings.
In the comment, please let me know which module is your favorite or if there is a go-to module that I missed for a fresh Drupal installation.