Web Development, Infographics, and Graphic Design

Register a User with Drupal 8 REST API

User registration using Drupal 8's REST API has been in flux but appears to be stabilized (for now).

There are many blog posts on using Drupal 8's REST API. Getting a user registered using REST, however, seems to be in flux. This post will get you set up for using the REST API, and in particular, will outline the steps to get a new user registered on a Drupal 8.3.x site.

First, enable the 4 core Web Services modules: HAL, HTTP Basic Authentication, RESTful Web Services (REST), and Serialization.

Create and Email PDF files from Drupal Webforms

Set up automated, professional, formatted PDFs from Drupal webforms using Views and Rules - and have them emailed once created.

This tutorial shows how to create a high-resolution PDF file from a Drupal webform. (The same basic concept can be used to create PDF files from nodes as well - you just won't need the Webform Rules module.)

Menu Tricks with Drupal, Bootstrap, and Special Menu Items

Here are 2 tricks I use on every Bootstrap-based Drupal website to make sure top-level menu items work correctly on all devices.

Drupal's Bootstrap theme makes developing responsive sites streamlined. But the way it handles menus can be problematic. Moreover, if you are using the Special Menu Items module, its out-of-the-box configuration will make the links nonfunctional on touchscreens. Here are 2 quick tips I use on almost every website to make menus work across devices.

Display a Google Map in an iFrame on a Drupal Website

Getting a Google Map to display in an iframe on a Drupal site means following a very specific set of steps. Here's one solution, using the iframe module.

Embedding a Google Map via an iframe makes it very convenient for your viewers. The map displays well, and has helpful links: Directions, View in Google Maps, etc. This is tricky to do using standard Drupal input formats, but is made much easier with the iFrame module - which allows you to create an iframe field on any content type. Finding the Google Maps embed link can also be challenging (and it's the only one that will work in an iframe), so here's how to find it.

Integrating Amazon S3 with Drupal for File Storage and Website Backup

Customize Amazon Web Services S3 for maximum security with user-specific access privileges.

Amazon Web Services Simple Storage Service (AWS S3) is an ideal space for backing up your Drupal websites, and it's an inexpensive place to store images and files.

Tracking Newsletter Signups with Google Analytics Goals

Get valuable information about your website visitors' actions using Google Analytics goals.

Google Analytics' Goals let you track valuable information about your website traffic, above and beyond the normal GA statistics. How many people reach a specific page? Which keyword search drives the most sales? What percentage of people trigger an event, such as signing up for a newsletter? Using Goals - sometimes in conjunction with Events - you can gain more insight into how your site is used.