How Drupal Services Improve Website Security & Speed

We often talk about Drupal as a content management system, as we use it to publish content on our website. However, it is a platform that works well with other technologies and is not just a tool for content publication. Businesses can use Drupal to develop an application or a system with several websites. It is a very adaptable platform for expanding your online presence. But for any Drupal website to succeed, performance and security optimization are essential. Improving a website's security and performance leads to improved user experience, ultimately leading to business success. It will only take a carefully considered plan that starts with module and theme selection, security assurance, performance optimization, and future growth planning to create a robust and effective website that meets your specific business goals. In this blog, we will highlight the strategies that Drupal service providers follow to ensure optimal website security and speed.

Speed optimization

Speed is a critical factor in Drupal web development that ensures a better user experience and SEO optimization. Drupal service improves website performance using the following techniques:

• Enabling caching

No doubt! Caching boosts website speed by reducing the load on the server, and Drupal ensures the following techniques:

• Page caching- It makes sure that full pages are stored in a cache and served to users quickly without needing to reprocess content.
• Dynamic page caching- It optimizes caching for authenticated users by caching specific parts of a page that are common for all users.

• Optimized Images and assets

Drupal services help you implement lazy loading for images to ensure they load only when visible on the screen. It ultimately reduces the initial page load time. Moreover, techniques like image compression compress images using tools like TinyPNG without sacrificing quality. Images can be served in modern formats like WebP. The AdvAgg module also helps aggregate and minify assets. 

• Database optimization

Druapl's website performance is enhanced by optimizing the database with regular cleaning of logs, sessions, and caches. Using modules like DB Maintenance or writing custom cron jobs for database clean-up tasks, Drupal web services help you get improved Drupal website performance. Additionally, they ensure database indexing is properly configured to speed up query performance.

• Optimized JavaScript and CSS load

Leveraging Drupal's capability to aggregate and compress JavaScript and CSS files leads to improved website performance. Drupal services help you aggregate and compress both CSS files and JavaScript files.

• Varnishing for HTTP acceleration

Varnish is a reverse proxy that caches HTTP responses. Drupal services providers help you integrate your system with it for faster delivery of pages and assets, notably being effective for anonymous users or parts of the website that don't require dynamic content loading.

Security optimization

Proactive measures must still be taken to prevent vulnerabilities. Services like Drupal core and module updates optimize security. Here is a list of ways how Drupal services optimize security in a Drupal website:

• Regular website checkup

Drupal service providers keep your website, Drupal core, contributed modules, and themes updated for your business. Regular website updates are essential and a huge help in patching vulnerabilities that attackers could exploit. Businesses should also subscribe to Drupal's security advisories to implement updates immediately.

• Use security modules

Drupal service companies use numerous Drupal modules effectively to enhance the security of Drupal, such as:

• Security kit to provide a set of security hardening options like Content Security Policy (CSP) and X-Content-Type-Options headers to reduce the risk of various attacks.
• Password policy to enforce strong password policies, including length, complexity, and expiration, to protect user accounts.
• CAPTCHA/ ReCAPTCHA to prevent bots and spam by adding CAPTCHAs to the forms.

• Harden user permissions:

Drupal's flexible permission system allows for granular control, but a misconfigured permissions can expose the website to risks. A proper Drupal service can get businesses regular reviews of user roles and permissions. It limits administrative permissions to only necessary users. Also, sensitive configuration files can be encrypted, like settings.php, to ensure proper file permissions.

• Keeping Drupal modules and core updated

Drupal services support makes sure that all your Drupal core and modules are updated to the latest version, as older versions might have vulnerabilities that are eliminated with newer releases. Staying updated helps patch security flaws and fix bugs right on time.

Conclusion

Drupal CMS empowers marketers and site builders to create stunning websites with ease. Moreover, its open-source technology allows users around the world to work, manage, and improve it. With no vendor lock-in or low-code/no-code options available, businesses can independently drive their digital strategy and publishing workflows. If you, too, are looking for Drupal service, contact us. From site performance audits to performance optimizations, from Drupal module assessments to feature enhancements, our Drupal support services offer to deliver tailored Drupal services depending on your needs and ensure that your website stays fast, secure, and future-ready.

FAQ

How to increase the speed of my Druapl site?

There are numerous tools available to optimize Drupal website performance. At a minimum make sure that the basic Drupal caching and compression are enabled via:

How Drupal support and maintenance services can keep your site secure?

Drupal support & maintenance services help you with regular website updates, and proactive troubleshooting. They also keep track of who’s got access to log in to your site, their actions on the site, and if they still need access to keep your site secure, fast, and future-ready.

How to Secure & Protect Your Drupal Website?

Improving Drupal website security helps you focus on business at hand, rather than constantly fixing bugs as they arise. Key aspects include:

• Limiting access to your Drupal site
• Managing Drupal user accounts
• Using strong Drupal passwords
• Restricting Drupal access to authenticated URLs