Modern front end development practices are moving quickly and Drupal theming is no exception to this rule. Since the release of Drupal 8 I’ve learned many of the tricks that Twig has to offer, dabbled with css grid, integrated with external Pattern Libraries using tools like Pattern Lab, written JavaScript using ES6 syntax, and decoupled Drupal to take advantage of JavaScript frameworks like React and Angular. It is an exciting time to be doing front end work with Drupal.

It can also be challenging navigating all of the tools and approaches that are available without getting overwhelmed or distracted. It makes me wonder, what would I do if I was new to Drupal 8 and building a theme today? Which of these frameworks, build tools, modules and techniques are foundational to my success theming with Drupal 8 and which might be getting in the way?

In this session I’ll write an open letter to my theoretical beginner self and recommend the tools and approaches that can help them build a great Drupal theme without getting in over their head. I’ll also recommend related topics to learn next as they become comfortable with the basics. And at the end of it all, I’ll most likely realize that I was just talking to my modern, prone to overcomplicating self all along.

Session recording