The Ultimate List of Contributed Modules in Drupal CMS by Functionality

Over the past few weeks, The DropTimes has explored the power of contributed modules in Drupal CMS through a three-part listicle series. We began with 57 expertly picked essential modules, offering a solid foundation for building modern, scalable websites. This was followed by a focused look at AI modules, showcasing how artificial intelligence is reshaping content creation, accessibility, and user engagement in the Drupal ecosystem. Most recently, we covered SEO-specific modules, highlighting tools that enhance search engine visibility, improve site structure, and boost overall performance.

Now, in the final part of this series, we turn our attention to the broader functionality that brings Drupal CMS to life. This listicle presents a categorized collection of contributed modules organized by Drupal CMS recipes—curated module sets designed for specific use cases such as forms, scheduling, mapping, accessibility, consent management, and more. Whether you're a site builder, developer, or content strategist, this list reveals the modules that can help you streamline workflows, enhance user experience, and extend Drupal CMS beyond its out-of-the-box capabilities.

1. Forms 

Webform

The Webform module for Drupal allows users to create a wide range of forms to collect data from site visitors, ranging from simple contact forms to complex multi-page forms with conditional logic. It offers extensive customization options for form behavior and input elements, and supports integration with external applications like CRM systems. The module includes features such as email notifications, data export/import, SPAM protection, and more, making it a powerful tool for building and managing forms on Drupal sites.

2. Admin UI

Gin Admin Theme

Gin is a Drupal admin theme that offers a modern UI refresh, including a dark mode and a redesigned layout. It enhances the administrative experience, providing a sleek interface and additional features beyond the default Drupal themes. Gin also offers a styled login screen for headless Drupal setups. Installing the companion Gin Toolbar module is recommended for full functionality.

Coffee  

Coffee is a powerful Drupal module designed to enhance admin navigation efficiency by allowing users to access any admin page with just a few keystrokes. Inspired by Mac’s Alfred and Spotlight, it offers seamless keyboard navigation, enabling quick content creation and management without the need for extensive menu navigation. With customizable commands and support for Drupal 7, Coffee significantly boosts productivity for both site administrators and developers.  

Simple Add More  

The Simple Add More module enhances the user experience for editors by simplifying multi-value widgets with fixed cardinality in Drupal forms. It hides unnecessary empty elements and provides a client-side 'Add another item' button to reveal one new empty element at a time, eliminating the need for server or AJAX calls.  

3. Content Type Base

Pathauto

The Pathauto module automatically generates URL/path aliases for different types of content, such as nodes, taxonomy terms, and users, eliminating the need for manual path alias specification. It uses a pattern system with customizable tokens to create user-friendly and SEO-friendly URLs like '/category/my-node-title' instead of '/node/123'.

ECA: Event - Condition - Action

ECA is a no-code rules engine for Drupal that allows users to create conditionally triggered actions based on Drupal events. It integrates with BPMN.iO for a graphical interface, enabling users to design event-condition-action models easily. ECA supports plugins for events, conditions, and actions, which other modules can extend, and it stores models in configuration for easy import and export. This module is designed to enhance the automation and orchestration of Drupal sites without requiring coding expertise.

Token

The Token module provides placeholder variables and an interface for browsing available tokens in Drupal. It allows for the replacement of contextual values in records, such as node titles or user names, enhancing content personalization and dynamic content display.

Linkit

Linkit provides an autocomplete interface for internal and external linking in rich-text editors, supporting nodes, users, taxonomy terms, files, comments, and other entities with canonical link templates. It offers configurable autocomplete on link fields, metadata configuration, IMCE integration, and customizable matchers and attributes, making it a versatile tool for enhancing link management in Drupal.

Scheduler  

The Scheduler is a versatile Drupal module that enables editors to schedule the publishing and unpublishing of content, media, commerce products, and taxonomy terms at specified future dates and times. The module supports a wide range of Drupal versions and integrates with other modules like Content Moderation and Workbench Moderation, offering a comprehensive solution for managing scheduled content changes.

Autosave Form  

The Autosave Form module for Drupal provides an autosave feature for all forms, including entity forms, ensuring that users do not lose their input during editing. It allows the configuration of autosave intervals and supports content entity forms by default, with plans to extend support to regular forms. The module alerts users about existing autosaved states and offers options to resume or discard them. It uses its own storage system for autosave states, avoiding the use of revisions for efficiency.  

Trash  

The Trash module introduces a trash bin feature for all content entities in Drupal. It allows entities to be moved to the trash instead of permanently deleted, enabling users to restore or permanently delete them later.  

BPMN.iO  

BPMN.iO is a BPMN modeller fully integrated into Drupal's admin UI, allowing users to build, view, and maintain BPMN models directly within their Drupal site. It dynamically adapts to the available events, conditions, and actions on the current Drupal site, requiring no configuration. The module converts BPMN models into ECA config entities, activating the defined rules immediately. 

Scheduler Content Moderation Integration  

The Scheduler Content Moderation Integration module is a submodule designed to enhance the Scheduler module by integrating it with Drupal's core content moderation system. This integration allows for scheduled publishing and unpublishing of content while respecting the workflows and states defined in the content moderation settings. 

4. Authentication

ECA: Event - Condition - Action

Token

BPMN.iO  

Login Email or Username  

The Login Email or Username module for Drupal simplifies the login process by allowing users to log in using either their username or email address in the same input field on the standard login form. It requires only core dependencies and does not offer any configuration options, making it easy to install and use.  

5. Accessibility

Editoria11y Accessibility Checker  

Editoria11y is an automatic accessibility checker designed to help content editors identify and fix accessibility issues directly within the editing interface without needing to navigate to a separate dashboard. It focuses on checking rendered content for issues that appear after page assembly and provides alerts and tooltips to guide authors in resolving content-specific accessibility problems. The module is intended to complement more comprehensive accessibility testing tools by focusing on issues that content editors can address.  

6. Anti-spam

Honeypot  

The Honeypot module for Drupal employs honeypot and timestamp techniques to effectively deter spam bots from submitting forms on your site. It offers a less intrusive alternative to CAPTCHAs, allowing you to protect all forms or specific ones like user registration, contact, and comment forms. Configuration is straightforward, and the module can be customized to fit your specific needs through its API.

CAPTCHA  

The CAPTCHA module for Drupal adds challenge-response tests to user-facing forms to prevent spambot submissions. It supports various CAPTCHA types through additional modules, ensuring robust protection for web forms against automated spam.  

CAPTCHA: Friendly Captcha  

The CAPTCHA: Friendly Captcha module integrates Friendly Captcha with the Drupal CAPTCHA module, enhancing website security by providing a user-friendly challenge mechanism. It requires the FriendlyCaptcha/friendly-challenge JavaScript library and a Friendly Captcha account to function effectively.  

7. Blogging, News, Case Study and Project

Better Exposed Filters  

The Better Exposed Filters module enhances the user experience in Drupal Views by replacing default single or multi-select boxes with more intuitive radio buttons or checkboxes. It allows for the addition of description fields and Select All/None links, providing greater control over exposed filters and making advanced search functionalities more user-friendly.  

Selective Better Exposed Filters  

Selective Better Exposed Filters enhances the Better Exposed Filters module by adding an option to display only the terms that are actively used in filters. This functionality is particularly useful for entity reference fields indexed by Search API, allowing for more streamlined and relevant filtering options.  

Add Content by Bundle Views Area Plugin  

The Add Content by Bundle Views Area Plugin module enhances the core 'Empty Node Frontpage behavior' by allowing site builders to add direct links to content forms for specific content types in views. It simplifies site maintenance by providing intuitive editorial links and integrates with Form Mode Control for linking to specific form modes. The module currently supports nodes and offers options to open forms in different ways, such as in a settings tray or modal dialog.  

8. CMS Starter

ECA: Event - Condition - Action

Token

BPMN.iO  

Automatic Updates  

The Automatic Updates module simplifies the process of keeping Drupal core up to date by applying patch-level updates in a sandboxed environment, detecting issues during the update process, and providing an API for error detection and custom triggers. It requires Composer-managed sites and supports updating Drupal core within the same minor version, while also offering an experimental feature for updating contributed modules and themes. 

Project Browser  

The Project Browser module allows Drupal site builders to easily find and install modules directly from within their site, eliminating the need to navigate away. It features a user-friendly interface with enhanced filtering capabilities and real-time queries to the Drupal.org API, ensuring up-to-date content. This module is particularly beneficial for new Drupal users and site builders, providing composer commands for developers as well. It integrates seamlessly into the admin interface, offering a 'browse' tab for exploring and adding new functionalities to your site.  

Dashboard  

The Dashboard module provides a centralized interface for users to access key information and essential tools after logging into a Drupal system. It enhances user experience by offering a customizable overview of relevant website or application aspects, including widgets or blocks for data like traffic statistics and content summaries. Users can define multiple dashboards with adjustable layouts and manage access through permissions, catering to different roles and preferences.  

9. Privacy

ECA: Event - Condition - Action

BPMN.iO  

Menu Link Attributes  

The Menu Link Attributes module allows users to add custom attributes to menu links and their wrapping list elements in Drupal. This functionality enables enhanced customization and styling of menu items by setting attributes directly through the Drupal admin interface.  

Klaro Cookie & Consent Management  

The Klaro Cookie & Consent Management module for Drupal integrates the Klaro! consent manager JS-Library, providing a comprehensive solution for managing external sources and cookies. It allows site administrators to configure and customize consent management, manage services and purposes, and ensure compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR. The module also offers features such as customizable and translatable consent texts, automatic setting of required HTML attributes, and the ability to block unconfigured external resources by default.  

10. Events

Smart Date

The Smart Date module enhances Drupal's date functionality by offering an intuitive admin interface for time range and event data entry, similar to calendar applications. It supports features like all-day and zero-duration events, recurring dates, and timezone specifications while optimizing performance by storing dates as timestamps. Additionally, it provides sophisticated formatting options and integrates seamlessly with Views and various admin themes, making it a versatile choice for managing date fields in Drupal.

Address  

The Address module for Drupal provides comprehensive functionality for storing, validating, and displaying international postal addresses. It includes address, country, and zone field types and form elements, supporting address formats for 200 countries and subdivisions for 60 countries. The module also offers translations for country lists in over 200 locales and supports complex territorial groupings for shipping or tax purposes. It adheres to the OASIS eXtensible Address Language (xAL) standard for property names.  

Leaflet  

The Leaflet module provides advanced integration with the Leaflet JS mapping library, enabling Drupal sites to create mobile-friendly interactive maps. It offers a user-friendly API for map customization, supports multiple map layers and overlays, and integrates with various plugins for enhanced features like marker clustering and gesture handling. The module also includes tools for geocoding and dynamic styling and supports multiple maps on a single page, making it a versatile choice for geospatial data visualization in Drupal.  

Geofield  

Geofield is a Drupal module that provides a geo-location field for storing and managing geographic data, allowing for the integration of maps, geocoding, and location-based functionalities. It supports various geo-types such as points, lines, and polygons, and integrates with JavaScript mapping libraries like Google Maps and Leaflet. The module offers multiple data input methods, including latitude and longitude, Well Known Text, and bounding box, and supports geocoding from other fields. Geofield is compatible with advanced mapping solutions and geocoding modules, making it a versatile tool for geographic data management in Drupal. 

Geocoder  

The Geocoder module for Drupal acts as a wrapper for the Geocoder PHP library, enabling the conversion of text addresses and WKT geometries into geographic data formats like Geofield. It supports geocoding and reverse geocoding, allowing integration with various geolocation services and formats, and provides an API for handling geographic information, including complex geographies such as lines and polygons.  

Add to Calendar Date Augmenter  

The Add to Calendar Date Augmenter module enables users to add events to their calendars without relying on external dependencies or libraries. It utilizes the Date Augmenter API to integrate add-to-calendar links with other formatters, allowing for enhanced flexibility and functionality. This module is compatible with the Smart Date module, supporting recurring dates and enabling users to add entire recurring series to their calendars.  

Add Content by Bundle Views Area Plugin  

11. Image

Focal Point 

Focal Point is a Drupal module that allows users to specify the most important part of an image, ensuring that this focal area is preserved during cropping or scaling. By using a crosshair tool, content editors can easily set the focal point on images, preventing important elements from being cut off. The module includes image effects that maintain the focal point at the center of cropped images, providing flexibility and precision in image presentation.  

Svg Image  

The Svg Image module modifies the default image field widget and formatter to support SVG images within the standard Image field, eliminating the need for a separate field type. It allows users to specify image dimensions in formatter settings, choose between rendering images as `<img>` or `<svg>` tags, and support responsive images through an additional submodule.   

12. Google Analytics

Google Tag  

The Google Tag module integrates your Drupal site with Google Tag Manager, allowing you to manage analytics and measurement tags through a web-based interface without needing administrative access to your site. It supports multiple containers and various conditions for tag insertion, such as user role and domain, and is compatible with both 7.x and 8.x Drupal branches. Users should be aware of specific configuration requirements and potential issues with Google Search Console verification.

13. Email

Mail System  

The Mail System module provides an administrative interface and developer API for managing mail backends and plugins in Drupal. It allows users to configure different backends for formatting and sending emails by default, per module, and per mail key, with an option to apply themes to sent mails. The module supports both Drupal 7 and 8, offering a reliable solution for rendering any email template during the building and sending process.  

Easy Email  

Easy Email is a Drupal module that simplifies HTML email templating with minimal configuration. It offers features like template creation through a user-friendly interface, token replacement, email preview, and an override system for Drupal core emails. The module supports dynamic attachments, email logging, and integrates with the ECA module for triggering emails, making it a comprehensive solution for managing HTML emails in Drupal. 

Drupal Symfony Mailer Lite  

Drupal Symfony Mailer Lite integrates with the Symfony Mailer library to send HTML-formatted emails and attachments from Drupal. It serves as a direct replacement for the deprecated Swiftmailer module, allowing users to configure it as the default email formatter and sender. The module requires the Mail System module and provides a straightforward upgrade path for those transitioning from Swiftmailer.