We went there: Commercially-licensed Drupal Modules

The Drupal community is undoubtedly one of the most open and welcoming open source communities around. However, mention the idea of actually selling modules and you had better be prepared for the wrath of a thousand Viking warriors!

However, this is a discussion that we need to revisit and look at as objectively as we can - as well as introduce some nuance to our thinking about selling modules. The talk will present our experience after over a year’s worth of experiments.

My company deals daily with many “small” website owners. These are people that want the flexibility of managing their own websites, have limited site building skills and often close to no development skills. Using drush or the command line is out of the question and composer is an impossible hurdle. However, they can install a PHP-based CMS, and they would love to have some of what Drupal has to offer - especially in our specific area of online bookings.

The argument we will develop is that selling modules is the most efficient way to help these business owners. More importantly, we believe it is crucial for the growth of Drupal with this market segment. These users need professionally supported modules, with all the comforts of product packaging and none of the hassle of having to hunt for patches in issue queues. If they don’t find them in Drupal-land they will (and do!) go somewhere else.

So, leave your biases at the door and let’s have an open discussion about what commercially-licensed Drupal modules can be - and perhaps you will find yourself changing opinion!