Developing, Managing and Maintaining Web Applications with Content Management Systems: Drupal and Joomla as case study. Samsideen A. Quadri Bachelor‟s Thesis Business Information Technology 2011 Abstract Business Information Technology Author or authors Group or year of Samsideen Adedoyin Quadri entry 2009 Title of thesis Number of Developing, Managing and Maintaining Web Applications with pages and Content Management Systems: Drupal and Joomla as case study. appendices 70 + 5 Supervisor or supervisors Eija Kalliala The use of Content management systems by businesses, individuals, corporate and non-governmental organisations are recognized in the business and technology industries. Developers and companies are realising the advantages in the concept of free development environment for Web contents. Content Management systems have made content publishing on the internet fast and easy. Companies want to reach out to their customers, sell their products and expertise, maximize profits and increase efficiency. All these are great advantages provided by content management systems applications. Open source content management gives opportunities for develpoers to utilize and practise their knowledge. It also allow developers to contribute to the contribute to growing applications on the internet. This thesis focuses on researching and examining how to build different web applica- tions with desired functionalities using both Drupal and Joomla. It contains Web ap- plications introduction, interviews and questionnaires from Drupal and Joomla experts, Definitions and argument about content management systems and Open source con- tent management systems, Drupal and Joomla analysis and guides, Sample applications to support the research, and application testing which confirm that content manage- ment applications provides functionalities that are seen in applications developed with HTML editors. In conclusion, it can be inferred from the research and analysis of the result that Drup- al and Joomla Web applications which are content management systems are secure, reliable, flexible and cost effective. Keywords Content Management Systems, Drupal, Joomla, Open Source, Web applications, Ubercart, VirtueMart Table of contents 1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Research methodology ............................................................................................... 3 1.2 Research method used ................................................................................................ 3 1.3 Organisations used ...................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Data collection ............................................................................................................. 3 1.5 Questionnaire ............................................................................................................... 4 1.5.1 Questionnaire result analysis .......................................................................... 4 1.6 Interview ....................................................................................................................... 5 1.6.1 Interview result analysis .................................................................................. 5 1.6.2 Activeark Oy .................................................................................................... 5 1.6.3 Braindigit IT Solutions.................................................................................... 6 2 CMS ....................................................................................................................................... 8 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 8 2.2 Definition ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.3 Classification of CMS ............................................................................................... 10 2.3.1 Open Source CMS ......................................................................................... 11 3 Drupal ................................................................................................................................. 14 3.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 14 3.2 Getting started with Drupal ..................................................................................... 15 3.3 Structure of Drupal ................................................................................................... 16 3.4 Drupal installation ..................................................................................................... 17 3.4.1 Web Installation of Drupal .......................................................................... 18 3.4.2 Command Line Installation of Drupal ....................................................... 22 3.5 Creating site contents in Drupal .............................................................................. 25 3.6 The site contents and configurations ..................................................................... 26 3.7 Improving site contents functionality ..................................................................... 27 3.7.1 Drupal Modules ............................................................................................. 27 3.7.2 Module installation ........................................................................................ 28 3.7.3 Creating and customizing modules ............................................................. 29 3.7.4 Drupal Themes .............................................................................................. 30 3.7.5 Theme installation ......................................................................................... 31 3.7.6 Creating and customizing themes ............................................................... 31 4 Joomla ................................................................................................................................. 32 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 32 4.2 Getting started with Joomla ..................................................................................... 33 4.3 Structure of Joomla ................................................................................................... 33 4.4 Joomla Installation .................................................................................................... 35 4.4.1 Web Installation of Joomla .......................................................................... 35 4.4.2 Command Line Installation of Joomla ....................................................... 37 4.5 Creating contents for Joomla powered site ........................................................... 38 4.6 Improving site functionality ..................................................................................... 40 1. Joomla Templates .......................................................................................... 41 2. Joomla Components ..................................................................................... 41 3. Joomla Modules ............................................................................................. 41 4. Joomla Plugins ............................................................................................... 42 5 Application Sample ......................................................................................................... 42 5.1 Drupal Web shop ...................................................................................................... 42 5.1.1 Ubercart installation ...................................................................................... 42 5.1.2 Application Scenario ..................................................................................... 43 5.2 Joomla Web shop ...................................................................................................... 46 5.2.1 VirtueMart installation .................................................................................. 46 5.2.2 Application Scenario ..................................................................................... 50 6 Testing the Applications ............................................................................................... 54 6.1 System and Usability Testing ................................................................................... 54 6.2 The Test form ............................................................................................................ 55 7 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 56 7.1 Recommendation ...................................................................................................... 57 Bibliography .......................................................................................................................... 59 Appendices ............................................................................................................................. 65 Appendix A: Drupal Questionnaires ...................................................................................