How to Create a Backup of Drupal?

In order to backup your Drupal application you have to:

STEP 1Backup all your web site files.

Backup all the files and folders inside your Drupal directory. You can do that by downloading them via your favourite FTP client. 

STEP 2Backup/Export your database

Then, you have to export your Drupal database. You can do that by using PHPMyAdmin. Please, check our tutorial on how to backup/restore MySQL database in order to create a backup of your Drupal database.

Please, make sure that you choose the correct database, which your Drupal application uses.

If you are unsure about the Drupal database name, you will be able to find it in the drupal_folder/sites/default/settings.php file. You can view this file through cPanel -> File manager. 

How to optimize Drupal?

There are several steps that you should follow in order to improve the performance of your Drupal-based website:

First, you should enable the caching system of your Drupal application. In order to do this, login as administrator and go to the Administer -> Site Configuration -> Performance menu. In it, set the values of Caching Mode to "Normal" and Block Cache to "Enabled". Then, click on the "Save configuration" button at the bottom of the page.

Next, you can disable all the modules/blocks that you are not actually using. To do this, go to the Administer -> Site Building -> Modules menu. Note that the enabled modules have a check in the "Enabled" column. Remove this check for all the modules you want to disable and then click on the "Save configuration" button at the bottom of the screen.

Finally, you should optimize your Drupal database. 

In addition, you can try reducing the content you are displaying on your front page. Too much links/images/scripts on your main page can signifficantly increase the time your website needs to load.

How to Manage Users in Drupal

You can manage users' rights from the Drupal Admin Section -> People.

Here you can filter the list with the users registered in your system based on the role, defined permissions and status (active, blocked or both).

The Update Options drop-down menu allows the chosen accounts to be blocked, canceled, promoted as administrators or downgraded back to regular users.

Also, you can add a new user or edit a selected one using the corresponding links.

How to change the default Drupal theme?

The default Drupal installation comes with several themes which can be changed from your administration area. Log in as an administrator,click on Administer -> Appearance and choose which theme you want to use for your website.

How to install new Drupal themes?

Drupal keeps its skins in the themes subfolder. To install additional themes, you can get from the Drupal official theme resource. Extract the files under the themessubfolder. This can be done through cPane l -> FileManager.

If you don't have cPanel or you prefer using an FTPclient, you can extract the archived theme to your computer and then upload the theme's files to the themes folder in your Drupal installation directory.

You should now be able to see the theme at your Drupal Administration Area -> Appearance. Enable it and set it as default.

The Update t ab allows to view the outdated themes and get the new versions.

In the Settings section you can manage the global visualization settings for your web site. You can also overwrite them per each theme.