Recipes for Success: Expanding Backdrop CMS's Reach

Backdrop CMS has carved a niche for itself among former Drupal 7 users who appreciate its simplicity and power. However, attracting newcomers unfamiliar with Backdrop's potential remains a challenge. Currently, it’s not as easy as it should be to spin up a site with useful functionality and an attractive theme that just works. The ability to quickly and easily install a ready to use site is important for folks:

• Demonstrating Backdrop CMS
• Experimenting with Backdrops features and learning about how it work
• Getting a jump start on one’s personal site

One promising solution lies in the development of Recipe Packages designed to address specific use cases, with contributed themes that make them look good. For the last month, we’ve been working on the Digital Agency Recipe Package as well as Zeever, a contributed theme to go with it.

Why Recipes?

Recipes, in the Backdrop CMS context, are bundles of config and content that can be used as shortcuts to building specific features on Backdrop sites. Recipe Packages are pre-configured bundles of other recipes, modules, content, and configuration tailored for specific website use cases. For example, a Digital Agency Recipe Package could provide the foundation for a portfolio website used by a web developer, a designer, a photographer, or an artist of any type.

Here's why recipes could be a game-changer:

• Simplicity: Recipes dramatically simplify website creation, or at least the process of exploring and learning about Backdrop CMS.
• Efficiency: Pre-configured solutions lower the entry point for some potential new users and simply save time for more experienced folks.
• Accessibility: Recipes make Backdrop CMS more accessible to non-technical users, broadening its appeal.
• Scalability: A growing library of recipes can cater to diverse needs as the Backdrop CMS community expands.

The Digital Agency Recipe Package

The Digital Agency Recipe Package, currently under development, combines modules, configurations, and even CSS to create a functional, out-of-the-box solution. It offers CMS explorers a starting point to experiment, customize, and add features, supported by themes like Zeever that are specifically designed to support this recipe.  This streamlined entry point aims to showcase Backdrop's power and flexibility to those unfamiliar with its capabilities. This specific package comes with:

• A FAQ content type and view
• A Services content type and view
• A Portfolio Project content type and view
• A Testimonial content type and view
• Configuration for a Webform based contact form
• An example of how to use Mini Layouts for your footer
• Some useful blocks built with contrib modules for the front page
• Modified versions of core layouts to make theming easier
• Lots of sample content

Growing the Community

While a single recipe package won't cover every use case, it can spark interest and creativity among those exploring Backdrop CMS. Even a few successful adopters can generate positive word-of-mouth and introduce Backdrop to new markets.

Furthermore, this initial recipe package provides a valuable template for future development. It allows us to evaluate the effectiveness of theme/recipe combinations and refine our approach as we build more recipes. We are looking for input and advice on how to make this specific theme/recipe package successful and a useful template for the future.

Current Status and How to Help

The Digital Agency Recipe Package is available for beta testing on BackdropCMS.org. We're aiming for a stable release by the end of July, with a stable Zeever theme release to follow shortly after.

We invite the community to:

• Test the Digital Agency Recipe Package and provide feedback. Try installing it through the project installer on a demo site on BackdropCMS.org.
• Explore the Zeever theme project page and contribute to its development. See our list of things to do.
• Learn more about the project through its wiki page.
• Join Backdrop CMS office hours over the next few weeks for discussions and troubleshooting specific to this project.
• Follow or subscribe to this issue to follow the project's progress on GitHub.

We believe that recipes and opinionated themes like Zeever can make Backdrop CMS more approachable and appealing to a wider audience, ultimately fostering its growth and success.

NOTE: This entire project was inspired by the Zeever theme for Wordpress, see this demo, see some screenshots of the work in progress.