Kicking Off Your Drupal Adventure: Top DrupalCon Sessions for Those New to Drupal

This blog has been posted and edited with permission from Nadia Nykolaichuk.

Taking your first steps with Drupal? No matter your professional role, your journey with Drupal will be full of exciting discoveries. One of them is an outstanding community of passionate, fun, and brilliant people who love sharing their expertise. Once you experience how it feels to be part of it, you’ll never want to seek a different platform.  

This community is gathering soon for the biggest Drupal event of the year. Mark your calendar for 24-27 March and prepare to immerse yourself in the vibrant Drupal universe in Atlanta, Georgia. You’ll make new friends, hear about the latest Drupal trends from top Drupal creators, and find answers to your questions. With beginner-friendly sessions, hands-on workshops, and a welcoming atmosphere, you’ll gain the needed confidence and knowledge. 

Need some tips for preparing for the event and maximizing your experience? Check out “A First Time Attendees Guide to DrupalCon Atlanta 2025” which includes plenty of them. Once you’ve got the essentials covered, it’s time to plan your schedule. DrupalCon’s program is packed with insightful sessions. In this article, we’ll spotlight the best ones to help you kick off your Drupal experience.

Top sessions for newcomers at DrupalCon Atlanta 2025

New Member + Local Drupal Community Meetups and Meeting Spaces

It’s no surprise that the open and welcoming Drupal community offers special events for new members. They serve two key purposes: bringing in new people and strengthening local Drupal communities.

• New Member + Local Drupal Community Meeting Space is designed for new Drupal community members (that’s you) to meet their local Drupal camps, associations, and community groups. With designated ambassadors leading the way, this creates a welcoming and collaborative environment. The space is open 8.00-17.00 Monday through Thursday. Meet new friends and enjoy DrupalCon together!
• New Member + Local Drupal Community Meet Up is a casual and friendly gathering, meant to break the ice before the Welcome Party and other sessions. Several instances of these meetups are already in the schedule, and there may be more to come.

By attending, you get a fantastic chance to ease into the experience, meet new people, and build relationships that will make your time at the conference especially enjoyable. What’s more, these connections could extend beyond the event itself.

Getting to know your local Drupal community offers yet another fantastic benefit: it may motivate you to attend local events in the future. While smaller than DrupalCon, these gatherings are still incredibly valuable for both learning and networking.

“Finding Your Path to Drupal: How Three Unique Journeys Led to Meaningful Careers in Web Development” — by Nagat Ahmed, Lynda Santiago, Amani Mansour

It’s amazing how different paths can all lead to Drupal. Want to discover some inspiring stories about people from diverse backgrounds finding their way into the Drupal world? Then the following panel discussion by Nagat Ahmed (nagatahmed), Lynda Santiago (lyndasantiago), and Amani Mansour (amani.mansour92) is for you.

It brings together three developers who took very different roads into web development — one started as a stay-at-home parent, another worked in the conflict resolution sphere, and the third attended a coding bootcamp. Despite their different starting points, they all built successful careers in Drupal.

The speakers will cover the obstacles they faced, the skills they developed along the way, and how Drupal opened doors to exciting opportunities. But it’s not just about learning to code — each panelist will also share how their previous experiences gave them unique perspectives and non-technical skills that made them successful developers on their teams.

This session will show you that there’s no single path to success in web development. No matter where you come from, there’s a place for you in Drupal. And if you’ve ever struggled with self-doubt or imposter syndrome, this talk may help you overcome those barriers and take the next step in your Drupal journey.

Networking Area for Drupal Attendees

Networking is a key component of every Drupal event, and it’s especially valuable for new members. That’s why DrupalCon offers so many opportunities to connect. The Networking Area for Drupal Attendees is the perfect space to meet and engage with fellow Drupal enthusiasts.

This space is designed to help you participate in meaningful conversations in a relaxed setting. Chat with developers, project managers, designers, and community leaders, share your experiences, and maybe even find your next collaboration opportunity or a mentor to support you as you grow in Drupal.

The Drupal community thrives on connection and knowledge-sharing. Don’t hesitate to stop by, introduce yourself, expand your network, and who knows — this might be the start of something great.

“Drupal CMS now and beyond” — by Pamela Barone and Cristina Chumillas

If you’re new to the Drupal world, you absolutely need to learn about one topic you’ll hear a lot about: Drupal CMS (also known as Starshot). This exciting new version of Drupal is changing the way websites are built and managed, making it easier for non-technical users to create powerful website functionalities without needing to write any code. It is built on top of traditional Drupal core and exists alongside it.

Drupal CMS 1.0 made its debut on January 15, Drupal’s 24th birthday, and the community is now buzzing with excitement about what’s next. Here is a session to discover the details. It will be led by Pamela Barone (pameeela) and Cristina Chumillas (ckrina), top Drupal contributors and part of the amazing team of Drupal CMS creators.

The speakers will dive into the ongoing development of Drupal CMS. You’ll be introduced to the plans for future versions, the features currently in progress, what has been built so far, what lessons have been learned, and how the strategy defines the roadmap.

This session will also offer you a chance to appreciate the strength of the Drupal community, as the speakers share how it united to build Drupal CMS. You’ll get to know how anyone, including newcomers, can contribute, as all types of contributions are welcome.

“Recipes: It's About Time!” — by Martin Anderson-Clutz

Another exciting Drupal innovation that makes website creation faster and more efficient is Recipes. With Recipes, even non-technical users can add feature sets — like blog functionality, event management, and SEO capabilities — simply by clicking a button. For developers, Recipes offer a way to package features following best practices.

In this session by Martin Anderson-Clutz (mandclu), a leading Drupal contributor, will demonstrate how Recipes work, focusing on the Events recipe. This pre-packaged solution allows you to instantly add event functionality to your site. It includes everything you need: a content type for events, fields for start and end dates, duration, location with integrated Google Maps, and more. You’ll see the Events recipe and its add-ons in action during the session.

Recipes are one of the key building blocks of the earlier-mentioned Drupal CMS (Starshot). Martin will show the built-in capabilities and the options to extend them. However, Recipes are not limited to Drupal CMS but are also available in traditional Drupal core, so Martin will explain how to add the same features to “classic” Drupal websites as well.

If you're a fan of live demos, this session is for you — by the end, you'll know exactly how to enhance your website with features from the Events recipe or other Recipes.

“Experience Builder is coming. Are you ready?” — by Lauri Timmanee

Be sure to catch a session on yet another gem in Drupal’s growing collection of innovations. While Drupal has seen many page layout tools over the years, a next-generation page builder is now in the works — one that promises to redefine the process.

Experience Builder is designed to bring together best practices while introducing game-changing capabilities. It will make creating and customizing pages easier and more efficient than ever before.

With Experience Builder, marketing teams can design and theme entire websites directly in their browser, without needing advanced technical skills beyond basic HTML, CSS, and templating markup. Content creators will have more freedom, too — they’ll be able to compose and edit content anywhere on the page, without waiting for developer support.

In this session, initiative leader Lauri Timmanee (lauriii) will walk you through how Experience Builder works. You’ll see this exciting tool in action with a live demo, with a step-by-step walkthrough of how websites will be built with it. Plus, you’ll also get a sneak peek at what’s coming next, beyond the initial release. 

Driesnote by Dries Buytaert

While there are so many sessions around exciting features and great practices, there is one you absolutely cannot miss. In just one keynote, you’ll get a front-row seat to the best of Drupal — its core values, the latest developments like Experience Builder, Recipes, and AI-powered tools, and an exclusive look at what’s ahead. Driesnote often unveils game-changing innovations and future plans before they’re shared anywhere else.

But Driesnote is more than just a session packed with insights — it’s where you truly feel the heartbeat of Drupal. Dries Buytaert, the founder of Drupal, has a unique way of inspiring the audience, making everyone proud of Drupal’s progress and excited to be part of its thriving community. He’ll likely highlight the people driving Drupal forward.

You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how Drupal is evolving and how you can be part of its future, no matter your background or experience level.

Contribution workshops for beginners

One of the greatest strengths of open-source communities is that anyone can contribute to the platform. In Drupal, contributions are not only rewarding but also recognized — contributors earn credits on drupal.org and respect from the community.

Even if you're new to Drupal, you can make an impact alongside seasoned experts. No contribution is too small, and there’s a wide range of tasks for every skill level. Plus, contribution isn’t just about coding — there are plenty of ways to get involved as a designer, QA specialist, marketer, content editor, and so on.

At DrupalCon, you’ll have the perfect opportunity to kick off your contribution experience in a welcoming and supportive environment. Special sessions are designed to guide you through the process:

• 1st Time Contribution Workshop is ideal for those who have never contributed to Drupal before. You’ll get a step-by-step introduction to the contribution process, including how to navigate drupal.org, find beginner-friendly tasks, and collaborate with the community. There are several instances of this workshop.
• Mentored Contribution session is open to everyone — whether you’re brand new or already a little familiar with contributing. You’ll join experienced contributors and maintainers to work on real issues, ask questions, and gain hands-on experience while making a meaningful contribution to Drupal.

Final thoughts

Let DrupalCon 2025 give a great start to your exciting path in the Drupal world — one where learning, growth, and opportunity await at every turn. The warm embrace of the Drupal community, paired with beginner-oriented sessions, will give you the foundation you need to feel confident, supported, inspired, and energized. Who knows — one day, you might find yourself on stage at the biggest Drupal event, inspiring others!