Glossary

This glossary defines key terms and concepts used throughout the Varbase documentation and the Drupal content management system.

A

Administrator

The highest-level user role in Varbase with unrestricted access to all site functionality.

Alt Text (Alternative Text)

A text description of an image used by screen readers for accessibility and by search engines for indexing. Required for all editorial images.

Alias

See URL Alias.

Archived

A content moderation state in which content is removed from public view but retained in the system for reference or future reuse.

B

Block

A reusable or inline content element placed within a region or Layout Builder section. Blocks can contain text, media, menus, forms, and dynamic content listings.

Bulk Operations

Actions performed on multiple content items simultaneously, such as publishing, unpublishing, or deleting. Powered by Views Bulk Operations (VBO).

C

CKEditor (CKEditor 5)

The rich-text editor (WYSIWYG) used in Varbase for formatting content. CKEditor 5 provides tools for text formatting, linking, media embedding, tables, and source editing.

Coffee

A Drupal module that provides a quick-search overlay for admin navigation. Activated by pressing Alt+D.

Content Admin

A Varbase user role with broader content management authority, including the ability to publish, archive, and manage content structure.

Content Editor

A Varbase user role for editorial staff who create and manage content, upload media, and work with drafts.

Content Moderation

A Drupal core feature that provides a publishing workflow with defined states (Draft, Published, Archived) and controlled transitions between them.

Content Type

A template that defines the structure of a kind of content, including its fields, display settings, and form configuration. Examples: Page, Article, Landing Page.

Cron

A scheduled task system that runs periodic maintenance operations on the site, such as checking for updates, indexing search content, and processing queues.

D

Draft

A content moderation state in which content is saved but not visible to anonymous site visitors. Used for content that is being created, reviewed, or revised.

Drush

A command-line tool for managing Drupal sites. Used by developers and administrators for tasks such as clearing cache, running updates, and managing configuration.

DropzoneJS

A JavaScript library integrated into Varbase for drag-and-drop file uploading.

E

ECA (Event-Condition-Action)

A Drupal module that enables building automated workflows based on site events. Allows defining rules such as "When event X happens, if condition Y is met, perform action Z."

EntityQueue

A module that provides manually ordered lists of content items. Used for curated content sections where editorial control over order is needed.

F

Focal Point

A feature that allows setting a point of interest on an image. When the image is cropped for different display sizes, the focal point area remains visible.

G

Gin

The admin theme used by Varbase 11.0.x. Provides a modern, clean, and accessible administration interface with support for light and dark modes.

J

JSON:API

A Drupal core module that provides a standards-compliant API for accessing and manipulating content entities. Follows the JSON:API specification.

L

Layout Builder

A Drupal core feature that allows editors to customize page layouts by adding sections and blocks through a drag-and-drop interface.

Linkit

A Drupal module that provides an autocomplete-based link insertion tool for the rich-text editor. Allows finding and linking to internal content by title.

M

Media Library

The central interface for browsing, managing, and selecting media assets (images, videos, documents, audio) on a Drupal site.

Meta Tags

HTML elements that provide metadata about a page to search engines and social media platforms, including title, description, and Open Graph information.

Module

A package of code that extends Drupal's functionality. Modules can be part of Drupal core (core modules) or contributed by the community (contributed modules).

N

Navigation Module

The Drupal core module used by Varbase 11.0.x for the primary admin sidebar navigation, replacing the traditional admin toolbar.

Node

The internal term for a content item in Drupal. Each piece of content (page, article, etc.) is stored as a node.

O

oEmbed

A protocol that allows embedding content from external providers (e.g., YouTube, Vimeo) by providing a URL. Drupal core uses oEmbed for remote video embedding.

OpenAPI

A specification for describing RESTful APIs. Provides interactive documentation (via Swagger UI) for exploring and testing API endpoints.

P

Pathauto

A Drupal module that automatically generates URL aliases for content based on configurable patterns.

Published

A content moderation state in which content is live and visible to all site visitors.

R

Recipe

A Drupal concept for packaging configuration, modules, and default content into a reusable set that can be applied to a site. Varbase uses recipes to provide optional feature bundles (e.g., varbase_i18n_base for multilingual support).

Responsive Preview

A feature that allows previewing site pages at different screen sizes, simulating how content appears on various devices.

Revision

A saved version of a content item. Drupal creates a new revision each time content is saved, allowing editors to review change history and revert to previous versions.

S

Scheduler

A module that allows scheduling content to be automatically published or unpublished at a specified date and time.

Schema.org

A structured data vocabulary used to provide search engines with detailed information about web content. Enables rich search results.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

The practice of optimizing website content and configuration to improve visibility and ranking in search engine results.

Simple Sitemap

A Drupal module that generates XML sitemaps to help search engines discover and index site content.

T

Taxonomy

A classification system in Drupal that uses vocabularies and terms to categorize content. Examples: Tags, Categories, Departments.

Theme

A package of files that controls the visual presentation (design, layout, colors, typography) of a Drupal site. Varbase uses the Gin theme for administration and a separate theme for the front end.

Trash

A module that provides soft-delete functionality. Deleted content is moved to the trash where it can be reviewed, restored, or permanently deleted.

V

Varbase

An open-source Drupal distribution developed by Vardot that provides a comprehensive set of features and configurations for building enterprise websites.

View

A Drupal feature that creates dynamic listings and displays of content based on configurable criteria (filters, sorts, relationships). Used for content listings, feeds, blocks, and pages.

VBO (Views Bulk Operations)

A module that adds bulk operation capabilities to views, allowing editors to perform actions on multiple items at once.

W

Webform

A Drupal module for building and managing web forms. Supports complex form structures, conditional logic, email handlers, and submission management.

WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get)

An editing approach where content in the editor appears similar to the final published output. CKEditor 5 is the WYSIWYG editor used in Varbase.

X

XML Sitemap

A structured XML file that lists the important pages on a site, helping search engines discover and crawl content efficiently.