Drupal is the top choice of web professionals around the world looking for an open source content management and application framework. It powers many large websites in many industries, and has been in the toolbox here at ShooFly since 2006. Drupal is meant for building custom websites of any kind, so it's very flexible, perhaps more so than other software in its niche. As a result, it sometimes seems to have a reputation for being a little difficult or unapproachable. If you're interesting in learning Drupal, this video training course may interest you.

Getting Started with Drupal is nearly five and a half hours, and is available as a direct download from ShooFly.

We'll build a site for a fake band called Cash Bacon (a band I'm in thought about using this name for real — best or worst marketing choice ever?) using nothing but Drupal's out-of-the-box, core features. We walk through installation, configuration, creating and working with content, basic theme customization, installing modules, keeping Drupal up-to-date, and places to seek help. You'll learn real-world site building techniques, including how to use every Drupalero's best friend, drush. There are aspects of Drupal site building that I had to cut out to make this introduction watchable in a somewhat reasonable amount of time (we don't get into developing modules or serious theming), but I tried to present as much of Drupal as I could in a way that will last.

In the same way that my introductory WordPress course takes you from almost nothing to a complete website, we do that in this Drupal course. All you need is web hosting and a desire to learn. By the time you're finished, you will (I hope) feel comfortable working with Drupal and able to continue on your own.

Four sample videos of the 58 in the course are available on YouTube. This one is about running the Drupal installer:

Here are the others: Choosing a Theme, Other Popular Modules, and Getting Help on Drupal.org. If you're not interested in web development, they might make a fine sleep aid.

If you buy the course, or even if you just watch the sample videos, I'd love to hear about it. No one wants to make stuff that stinks (not most of the time anyway!), so if you have feedback, send it along.