Today I received an email from a client thanking me for following up on a problem that has arisen after their site was upgraded to Drupal 4.7.

In part the email read:

That's great that you can sort out the paypal problem. There is always an unexpected challenge with change.

This made me reflect. (Not that I don't have more urgent things to do than sit around reflecting.)

Why do people need us Drupal Experts anyway? After-all Drupal is a system designed to make it easier for people to take control of their own website.

• Building a website with Drupal means change. A change from the old way of thinking - of building static html/css pages with Dreamweaver for example.
• Converting an existing static site into a Drupal site means change. Sometimes innocent-looking functionality in the old version means hours of hair-tearing to reproduce in Drupal.
• Updating to the latest version of Drupal means change. Sometimes old modules do not work as expected with newer core versions. Or do not work at all.
• Adding or altering content via the Drupal client interface means change. To some people it is a new way of thinking about how they interact with their own website. Sometimes the need is as simple as providing support or training to clients whilst they or their staff go through a small learning curve.

Change is good! Change is what got us to where we are today; and change is what any reasonable person will expect of the future. And change brings with it the unexpected.

Change means sometimes we are confronted with difficulties we cannot solve; or do not want to put the time into solving. And that's where the Drupal specialist comes in. He or she, for all sorts of reasons, has decided to look deeply into the way Drupal works and to the best of her or his ability make things work better with Drupal.

A professional has the committment and resources to make progress when change brings problems. When new ideas cannot be brought into reality; when things that used to work come tumbling down; when the time is not available to continue the DIY approach - call in a professional.

"There is always an unexpected challenge with change." I may be able to help with that challenge.

Contact me.