An Easy Way To Try Drupal

The simple Dreamhost interface (examples pictured after the break) allows users to set up an install of Drupal on a dreamhost domain (dreamhosters.com I believe) or one of their own. This is a one-click install so no fiddling with databases is required. This creates an ideal situation for someone who wants to get a feel for the Drupal platform without having to worry about the cost or technical difficulties of an install.

 

Until recently these easy installs of Drupal were not very useful because users were limited to core modules and templates. That has changed. Dreamhost has loaded up a number of very useful contributed modules (listed after the break) and added a bunch of contributed templates as well. There are still limitations. You don't have FTP access so you can't add more modules and templates. But the modules and templates available now ensure that you can get a pretty robust learing experience from this simple set up.

The new options also allow site builders to go beyond just learning the system and allow people to create a site that they can go live with as well. At a price of free I think that the Dreamhost App service is a great value and a great opportunity for people looking to launch a low cost Drupal site.