Unleashing the CiviCRM Entity Module in Drupal 8
We are excited to announce a new blog and webinar series on the CiviCRM Entity module, demonstrating practical applications of CiviCRM integration with Drupal.
Proudly presented and hosted by Skvare, we will cover an initial 8 topics - highlighting key features and use cases of this powerful tool. We’ve included the first five topics below, and will update with additional topics soon:
- (May 25) - CiviCRM Contacts in Drupal 8
- (June 1) - Interactive Maps with CiviCRM Addresses
- (June 8) - Contributions and Reports within Views
- (June 15) - Customizing Event Pages with Media
- (June 22) - Using Layout Builder to Contruct Awesome Event Pages
After introducing a new topic with each blog, we will hold an open webinar with a live demonstration of the feature followed by time set aside for a Q&A with one of our lead developers and the CiviCRM Entity module maintainer, Mark Hanna. Stay tuned for the schedule to be announced with dates for these webinars.
We will also take suggestions for additional CiviCRM and Drupal integration topics and discussions!
A brief introduction to the CiviCRM Entity module...
Before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s talk a little about what the CiviCRM Entity module is and how it fits in, providing a robust integration tool for the CRM/CMS ecosystem.
Let’s take a quick look at the two major players here, CiviCRM and Drupal.
CiviCRM is the world’s largest, open source Contact Relationship Management (CRM) tool for non-profit and membership organizations. It has advanced features that allow organizations to easily handle mass mailings, user subscriptions and memberships, donations and contribution collection, events, and more.
Drupal 8 is one the largest open source Content Management Systems (CMS) offering a robust platform to edit and manage content and display data in numerous formats and styles, while providing extensive site-building support for everything from automated performance enhancement to easy-to-use SEO tools.
Both are entirely free, open source projects with large, amazingly diverse and passionate communities providing (active?) support and development.
So... what if you could combine the two?
Suppose you could Integrate the contact and relationship management capabilities of CiviCRM with the latest Drupal 8 and 9 site-building and content management tools?
Imagine you could use any contributed Drupal module or feature with CiviCRM, seamlessly integrating your database of contacts and users to:
- Use webforms for registration and collecting contributions.
- Send email blasts to smart groups and distribution lists.
- Manage permissions and access to content via subscription memberships.
- Build user and content pages with both CiviCRM and Drupal data, allowing you to use:
- Core media entities, create reservable nodes (properties/rooms), and more.
- Control your displays with your choice of paragraphs, display suite, or layout builder.
- And so much more...
Now what if you already could?
The CiviCRM Entity module has been around since 2012 and has active versions in both Drupal 7 and 8 (and soon to be 9!). The module is in use on over 1,600 sites, including many production environments.
And with the End of Life to Drupal 7 coming in November 2021, and the path from Drupal 8 to 9 being hailed as the easiest migration you’ll ever have - there has never been a better time to upgrade. Now you can painlessly future-proof your beloved CiviCRM systems and features, while also enjoying the newest features and improvements in the latest version!
So what’s next?
With active progress being made on the CiviCRM Entity module (as well as CiviCRM itself and Drupal), the potential integration options will continue to expand. Exciting new features are currently in development and we look forward to supporting systems that make the best of both the CiviCRM and Drupal open source functionality and communities.
If there is a specific use case you would like to inquire about or explore, please feel free to bring it up in one of the upcoming open forum webinars, or reach out to our expert team directly for a free consult!
For more information, you can read our CiviCRM Entity information page or visit the module homepage to review and install!