Mike Herchel Previews DrupalCon Chicago Sessions on Theming, Contributions, and Drupal CMS
Drupal contributor Mike Herchel is scheduled to lead several sessions at DrupalCon Chicago, addressing topics that range from modern Drupal theming practices to the process of contributing major features to the project. His schedule includes a full-day training session, a technical presentation on Drupal contributions, and participation in a keynote segment focused on the evolving Drupal CMS initiative.
Herchel’s sessions reflect several areas currently shaping Drupal’s technical direction. These include the shift toward component-based front-end architecture through Single Directory Components, the collaborative workflows required to land major contributions in Drupal core, and emerging tools such as Drupal Canvas that support reusable site templates within the evolving Drupal CMS initiative.
In preparation for the event, The DropTimes sent a set of questions to Mike Herchel about the sessions he will be involved in during the conference week. His responses form the basis of this preview of the themes he plans to address and the work he expects to discuss with attendees.
Herchel will begin the week with a full-day training on Monday, 23 March 2026, from 09:00 to 16:00 CDT in Continental Room B. The session, titled Future Proof Theming: Best Practices for Drupal’s New Era, will be conducted with Andy Blum of Lullabot and is designed for intermediate to advanced Drupal developers.
In his response to The DropTimes, Herchel described the training as an exploration of the tools and architectural patterns shaping modern Drupal theming.
All day Monday, I’ll be giving a training: Future Proof Theming: Best Practices for Drupal’s New Era (along with Lullabot’s Andy Blum) at the DrupalCon. I’m really excited about this!
The training focuses on Single Directory Components, a development pattern increasingly used to structure Drupal themes around reusable components. According to the session outline, participants will work through exercises covering component-driven theming, integration with Storybook for interface development, and techniques using modern CSS and JavaScript.
Herchel said the session had already been tested with the community during a recent DrupalCamp event.
We gave a practice run for this at last week’s Florida DrupalCamp, and it was really successful. We teach people about using Single Directory Components, which are the foundation of modern Drupal theming. We integrate them with Storybook and Canvas.
Beyond component architecture, the training will also address accessibility practices, developer tooling, and strategies for building reusable front-end systems that remain maintainable as projects grow. The session description also highlights common pitfalls developers encounter when working with page builders and how component-driven workflows can help avoid them.
On Tuesday, 24 March 2026, Herchel will return to Continental Room B for a session scheduled from 09:00 to 09:50 CDT titled How to Land an EPIC Contribution in Drupal (Without Losing Your Mind). The talk will be delivered with Matt Glaman of Acquia and focuses on the practical steps required to move a feature or bug fix into Drupal core or a major contributed project.
Herchel said the session draws on several collaborative contributions he and Matt Glaman have worked on together.
This session is so much fun. Matt and I have a history of collaborating on really cool Drupal contributions. Between us, we’ve gotten in the UI to disable caching + enable Twig debugging, Views Responsive Grid, fixed SDC issues, and more.
Basically, we want people to be able to replicate our success. We talk about assembling your team, identifying issues, and actually doing the work.
The session examines how contributors identify issues, assemble collaborators, and move proposals through review and approval within Drupal’s contribution process.
Later in the week, Herchel will take part in the Drupal CMS Spotlights keynote session on Wednesday, 25 March 2026, scheduled from 15:00 to 15:50 CDT in the International Ballroom North. The keynote is organised by Gábor Hojtsy and brings together contributors working on different areas of the Drupal CMS initiative.
During the keynote segment, Herchel plans to discuss work connected to Dripyard, a marketplace initiative built around reusable Drupal site templates and themes. The presentation will also touch on how these templates integrate with Drupal Canvas and the broader Drupal CMS initiative.
I’ll be talking about Dripyard, the marketplace, and working with Drupal Canvas and creating site templates.
Throughout the whole conference, I’ll be showing off our latest Dripyard themes, site templates, and more.
The keynote forms part of a series of short presentations highlighting ongoing development work connected to Drupal CMS and related initiatives led by contributors across the project.
Mike HerchelMike Herchel is a Drupal core contributor, co-founder of Dripyard premium themes, and front-end leader best known for developing Drupal’s default Olivero theme and advancing modern, accessible Drupal theming.
Kazima AbbasKazima Abbas is a sub-editor at The Drop Times
ASK: Drupal Community Needs Your Support
View all →
Note: The vision of this web portal is to help promote news and stories around the Drupal community and promote and celebrate the people and organizations in the community. We strive to create and distribute our content based on these content policy. If you see any omission/variation on this please reach out to us at #thedroptimes channel on Drupal Slack and we will try to address the issue as best we can.
Related Drupal Initiatives
Related Organizations
Related People
You may also like
