Drupal Interview Questions and Answers (Beginner to 4 Years Experience)
---
Beginner Level
1. What is Drupal?
Drupal is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) written in PHP. It is used for
building websites and applications with flexible content structures and a wide range of customization
options.
2. What is a node in Drupal?
A node is a piece of content in Drupal. It can be an article, a page, a blog post, or any other content
type defined in the system.
3. What are content types?
Content types define the structure of content. For example, "Article" and "Page" are default content
types. Each type can have different fields like title, body, image, etc.
4. What is a module?
A module adds functionality to Drupal. Core modules come with Drupal, contributed modules are
shared by the community, and custom modules are written to fulfill specific project needs.
5. What is a block in Drupal?
A block is a container for content that can be placed in different regions of a theme like sidebar,
header, or footer.
6. How do you clear cache in Drupal?
You can clear the cache using the admin interface or by running `drush cr` (cache rebuild) from the
command line.
---
Intermediate Level (2-3 Years Experience)
7. What is the Configuration Management system in Drupal?
Drupal stores configuration in YAML files, allowing consistent deployment across environments. Use
`drush config:export` to export and `drush config:import` to import configurations.
8. What is a View in Drupal?
Views is a powerful query builder that lets you display content lists (e.g., blog posts, users) with
filtering, sorting, and formatting options.
9. What is a taxonomy?
Taxonomy is used for categorizing content using terms and vocabularies, e.g., tags or categories.
10. What are hooks in Drupal?
Hooks are PHP functions that let modules interact with and alter Drupal's behavior. For example,
`hook_form_alter()` lets you modify forms.
11. How do you make a custom module in Drupal?
Create a folder in `/modules/custom`, add a `.info.yml` file and a `.module` file, and define routes,
controllers, services, etc., as needed.
12. How do you override a Twig template?
Copy the base template (like `node.html.twig`) to your theme's `templates` directory, rename it if
using template suggestions, and clear the cache.
---
Advanced Level (3-4 Years Experience)
13. How do you create a custom REST API endpoint?
- Define a route in `MODULE.routing.yml`
- Create a controller class that returns JSON
- Add `_permission` and `_format` to the route definition
14. How do you create and use services?
- Define the service in `MODULE.services.yml`
- Create a class that implements the service logic
- Inject the service into controllers or plugins using Dependency Injection
15. What is an Event Subscriber? How is it different from a Hook?
An Event Subscriber is an OOP method to respond to system events using the Symfony event
system. Unlike hooks, it allows multiple listeners with execution priority.
16. What are the caching layers in Drupal?
- Page Cache (anonymous users)
- Dynamic Page Cache (for all users)
- Render Cache (stores render arrays)
- Twig Cache (compiled templates)
17. How do you perform a content migration?
- Use Migrate, Migrate Plus, and Migrate Tools modules
- Define source, process, and destination in YAML files
- Use `drush migrate-import` and `migrate-status` to run and monitor
18. How do you migrate files or media and reference them?
- First, migrate files/media entities
- Then reference them in content using `migration_lookup` in process plugins
19. How do you secure a Drupal site?
- Keep modules/core updated
- Use correct file permissions
- Limit user permissions
- Use HTTPS
- Enable security modules like Security Kit
- Validate/sanitize all inputs
20. How do you handle multilingual sites?
- Enable Language, Content Translation, and Interface Translation modules
- Configure language negotiation
- Enable translation per content type or field
