The great thing about Drupal is that you can do a lot yourself without needing to be a programmer or sysadmin – but here is a rundown of some common titles that you may encounter.
A Drupal developer is a person who writes PHP code that specifically interacts with Drupal. They often live and breathe Drupal, and make up the core part of the Drupal community. Drupal programmers can also often suggest other helpers you may require for other parts of your project. Your developer should have specific knowledge of Drupal’s APIs, as well as have a good working knowledge of MySQL and PHP. Speaking from experience, I’ve never had a job go well where the developer was a PHP coder who figured Drupal would be easy to pick up along the way. Go for someone who already knows Drupal.
A sysadmin is short form for a system administrator. Sysadmins are hired most often in order to maintain or operate a computer system/network. While their main duty is to keep your web server running and secure, they may also be put in charge of other smaller responsibilities like installation, maintenance, and support of the site. Sysadmins are also the ones who generally handle backups and site performance issues (together with your developer). Sometimes, sysadmins may even do programming or scripting for your site - each case varies depending on project and person. You should make sure you are clear about who on your technical staff is doing what – will your developer be setting up your website on your server, or do you need someone to do this for you?
A site builder or webmaster is usually responsible for configuration of the website, along with maintaining it. They also may set up modules and themes for you, as well as being responsible for setting up access for the different user accounts needed. Your webmaster may help with content entry and configuration of various displays of content (such as Views and Blocks, in Drupal terms). Webmasters often know CSS/HTML and perhaps even PHP. They should know the ins and outs of Drupal and how to keep the pieces running smoothly once your site is set up. If you have a site that won’t require any programming, you may just need a webmaster or Drupal site builder to set up your installation and modules, and then be ready to go!
If your goal is a successful and popular website, one of the most important aspects is how easy it is to find in search engines. This is where a SEO Specialist comes in. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and these people help rank your site higher in search engines. SEO Specialists have several responsibilities - while it may seem easy to just use keywords in order to be found, there are countless unwritten rules and complex algorithms at play in your search engine rankings. SEO involves optimizing your code, content, presentation, and fixing problems that may prevent your website from ranking highly. SEO can be a shady business where a sly ‘professional’ looking to make a quick buck can actually ruin your long-term prospects for SEO, so it’s best to pick someone based on a good recommendation, not just a random forum post or Google ad. There are individuals and companies who specialize in SEO within Drupal, and many modules dedicated to improving search engine placement.
A graphic or web designer can be hired to create the visual look and feel of your website. You will likely need a company logo, business cards, and marketing materials, as well as your web site design. Some designers only do print or web design, and some do both. Make sure you are clear about this – a “web designer” may know nothing about preparing design materials for print, and there are too many horror stories about print designers thinking they can create web site designs.
You may also work with someone doing information architecture (IA) at this stage. This is someone who focuses on the layout, functionality, and content on each page, without working with the graphic design yet. They usually create “wireframes”, which are outlines of what your pages should look like.
Your designer likely works in Adobe Photoshop, and may only create “mockups” or “comps” (which are static pictures of what your website will look like), or he/she may also create the cut up web-ready graphics and CSS for you. In some cases, your graphic designer may also be proficient at creating a whole Drupal theme, but this is not a common combination of skills. If you have either just mockups, or static HTML/CSS, you will still need a themer to turn this into a live Drupal theme.
A themer is someone who specifically creates the Drupal theme (aka “skin” or “template”) for your website. This is a position that bridges the gap between designers and developers, and your themer may be on more of the creative or technical end of the scale. Your themer must know CSS, be very familiar with Drupal’s configurations, and should also have some graphics editing and PHP skills. If you have a developer and/or designer as well, the themer will need to work closely with them.
Depending on your project, you may also need a moderator, editor, or community manager. If you are going to have a large amount of user-generated content, such as a video site or large forum, you may also need someone to assist with moderating and managing this content. Editors and writers can also provide content for your site.