YaleSites is a content management system built with Drupal that allows you to create, manage and publish web pages. With Drupal at its core, YaleSites utilizes Drupal structures and concepts to provide an environment where you can easily build a dynamic website with relatively little technical expertise. In addition, YaleSites provides a number of contributed modules to extend the functionality of your site.
Drupal Structures
Entity - An entity is the parent class of all Drupal structures. Nodes, users, comments, terms and taxonomy are all entities that can be shared within the various structures to provide a more flexible development platform.
Node - All content in Drupal is stored as a node and represented as a Page on your site.
Content Types - All content is generated from a Content Type.
Regions - A section of your page where additional content can be added; regions vary based on the theme and should be a major consideration when choosing a theme.
Blocks - A container that holds text, images, menus etc. and can be be placed in various regions on your site.
Menus - Display and control the navigation for your site. Menus live in blocks and can be positioned in various regions of your theme.
Modules - Modules are Drupal plug-ins that add functionality to your site.
Taxonomy - Taxonomy is a way to categorize your content using “tags”. Once tagged, the content can be grouped and listed based on the terms associated with the content.
Themes - Drupal uses “themes” to define the structure and color scheme to define how content is displayed. A theme determines the structure of the site and how the header, navigation columns and footer display on the page.
Views - Views are a powerful and flexible way to create lists, generate reports, create summaries, and display collections of links, images and other content.
URL Aliases - URL aliases or “friendly” URLs turn a database coded URL (yoursite.yale.edu/?node/356) into a web address that is understandable to users (yoursite.yale.edu/about-us).