Preparing for a Drupal developer interview can feel overwhelming—especially when you’re not sure what to expect. But here’s the good news: most interview questions follow familiar patterns. The trick isn’t just knowing the right answer—it’s knowing how to explain your experience in a way that shows you’re confident, capable, and a great fit for the team.

In this post, I’ve compiled 25 questions I’ve been asked (or asked others) during real Drupal interviews. But I haven’t just listed them—I’ve answered each question the same way I would in a live interview, sharing practical examples and insights from years of hands-on Drupal work.

If you’ve built Drupal sites, worked on custom modules, or wrangled with configuration management and theming, you’ll find this guide familiar—but also full of fresh angles to help you answer with confidence.

What Does a Drupal Developer Actually Do?

A Drupal developer is more than just a coder—they’re a problem-solver who builds and supports websites using the Drupal CMS. On any given day, I might be writing a custom module, adjusting how a content type behaves, tweaking a Twig template, or integrating an external service using APIs.

While backend work (PHP, entities, services) and frontend theming (HTML, SCSS, JavaScript) are both part of the role, what makes Drupal development unique is the deep integration between configuration, content modeling, and business logic. I’ve also found that Drupal developers often wear many hats—consulting with content editors, collaborating with designers, or handling site deployments and security updates.

What Skills Should a Drupal Developer Have?

• Solid PHP Knowledge: Since Drupal is written in PHP, you need to understand object-oriented concepts and modern PHP practices.
• Hands-on with Composer: Whether it’s installing modules or managing updates, Composer is now at the core of Drupal development workflows.
• Drush Proficiency: Knowing how to use Drush commands can save hours—especially when managing config, cache, or users.
• Frontend Tools: You don’t need to be a designer, but you should be comfortable editing templates in Twig, writing clean HTML/CSS, and handling basic JavaScript.
• Database Understanding: Knowing how to structure entities and write efficient queries (or optimize Views) is a big part of performance tuning.
• Comfort with Git and Deployment Pipelines: Most teams work in version control, and CI/CD workflows are now common in Drupal projects.
• Soft Skills Matter Too: Clear communication, teamwork, and the ability to explain technical ideas to non-technical people make you a standout developer.

25 Must-Know Drupal Interview Questions (With Developer-Style Answers)

Let’s dive into the top questions you’ll likely face in a Drupal interview—whether you’re applying for a full-time dev role, freelance gig, or contract position. I’ve answered them in my own voice, just like I would in a real conversation with a hiring manager or lead developer.

Top 25 Drupal Interview Questions and Answers (Real-Person Style)

If you’re preparing for a Drupal developer interview, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, I’ve answered the top 25 most frequently asked questions based on my real-world experience with Drupal 8, 9, 10, and beyond. Each answer reflects how I would personally respond in a live interview.

🔷 Basic & General Questions

1. What is Drupal and what are its key features?

Drupal is a PHP-based open-source CMS I’ve worked with extensively. I love how flexible it is. Whether it’s building a basic blog or a complex web portal, Drupal handles it. Key features I’ve used include:

• Modular architecture
• Custom content types and fields
• Views for content display
• User roles and permissions
• Multilingual support
• REST and decoupled architecture
• Twig templating engine

2. What are the major differences between Drupal 9, 10, and 11?

Drupal 10 replaced CKEditor 4 with CKEditor 5 and upgraded to Symfony 6. Drupal 11, which I’m currently exploring in preview, is built on Symfony 7 and focuses on modern JavaScript, auto-updates, and a cleaner architecture. I’ve migrated projects from 9 to 10, and it was mostly smooth thanks to Drupal’s commitment to backward compatibility.

3. What is the role of Composer in Drupal 10/11?

Composer is essential. I use it to manage all dependencies—from core to contrib modules. It ensures consistency across environments and teams. A common command I use is:

composer require drupal/token

4. What is a module in Drupal?

To me, a module is a building block. Core modules like Node and User come with Drupal. Contrib modules—like Pathauto or Metatag—add extra functionality. And custom modules? That’s where I bring in specific business logic like third-party API integrations or custom workflows.

5. How do you enable/disable a module in Drupal 10?

I prefer Drush for this:

• drush en module_name to enable
• drush pmu module_name to uninstall

Alternatively, you can use the UI under the “Extend” section.

🔷 Site Building & Configuration

6. What are Configuration and Configuration Management in Drupal?

Configuration includes settings like content types, views, or roles. I export and import them using Drush:

• drush cex – Export
• drush cim – Import

This keeps everything consistent across environments.

7. How does the Configuration Split module help?

I use Configuration Split to manage environment-specific settings. For instance, I enable the Devel module only in my local environment and exclude it from production exports.

8. How do you create a custom content type?

I go to Structure → Content Types → Add Content Type, then add fields and manage displays. After that, I export the config and commit it to Git so others on the team get the same structure.

9. What is a View in Drupal and how is it used?

Views is one of my go-to tools. It lets me display lists of content—like blogs, staff listings, or reports—without writing code. I often use filters, exposed filters, and relationships to create advanced queries.

10. How do you use Paragraphs in Drupal?

I love Paragraphs for building dynamic content layouts. Editors can add blocks like text, images, or sliders in a flexible structure. It makes content management easier and cleaner for non-technical users.

🔷 Theming & Twig

11. What is Twig in Drupal theming?

Twig is the templating engine used in Drupal. I use it to customize how content is rendered. A basic example:

<h2>{{ node.title.value }}</h2>

12. How do you override a Twig template in Drupal?

I enable Twig debug, find the template suggestion (like node--article.html.twig), copy it to my theme, and clear the cache. Then I customize it as needed.

13. What is a preprocess function?

I use preprocess functions to pass PHP variables to Twig. For example, in mytheme.theme I add:

function mytheme_preprocess_node(&$variables) {
  $variables['custom_class'] = 'highlight';
}

14. How do you create a Drupal 10 theme?

I start by creating a folder under /themes/custom, add a .info.yml file, define libraries for CSS/JS, and base it on Olivero or Stable if needed. I then start adding Twig templates and styles.

15. What is a base theme and sub-theme in Drupal?

A base theme provides the foundation—like templates and styles. A sub-theme inherits from the base and allows me to override what I need. I often use Olivero or Classy as base themes for sub-theming.

🔷 Custom Module & Backend Development

16. How do you create a custom module in Drupal 10?

I create a folder under /modules/custom, add an .info.yml file, optionally a .module file, routing, and services as needed. Then I enable it with Drush:

drush en my_module

17. How do you define a custom route in Drupal 10?

I define it in .routing.yml like this:

my_module.content:
  path: '/custom-path'
  defaults:
    _controller: '\Drupal\my_module\Controller\MyController::content'
    _title: 'Custom Page'
  requirements:
    _permission: 'access content'

18. What is Dependency Injection in Drupal?

I inject services through constructors for better testability and clean code. For example:

public function __construct(LoggerInterface $logger) {
  $this->logger = $logger;
}

19. What are hooks in Drupal?

Hooks allow me to modify Drupal’s behavior. One I use frequently is hook_form_alter() to change form elements or add validation.

20. What is an Event Subscriber in Drupal?

Event Subscribers let me react to specific events like user login or entity updates. I implement EventSubscriberInterface and define my logic in an event callback.

🔷 Advanced Concepts & Best Practices

21. What are entities in Drupal?

Entities are structured data types—nodes, users, terms, files, etc. I’ve also worked with custom entities when I needed something tailored beyond what a node could offer.

22. What is a service in Drupal?

A service is a reusable PHP class, registered via .services.yml. I use them for everything from custom logging to data processing and integrations.

23. Explain cache layers in Drupal.

• Page cache – for anonymous users
• Dynamic page cache – for logged-in users
• Render cache – for blocks/views
• Twig template cache – for theming

I always configure and clear them using drush cr.

24. How do you expose REST API in Drupal 10?

I enable the REST or JSON:API module, set permissions, and configure routes via UI or YAML. For custom needs, I create custom REST plugins or controllers.

25. How do you debug Drupal effectively?

I enable Twig debug, use the Devel module with Kint, and review logs at /admin/reports/dblog. For deeper issues, I use Xdebug with VS Code or PhpStorm. It helps me pinpoint exactly where things go wrong.

Final Tip: Practice these answers aloud, and tailor them to your own experiences. Want a PDF version or downloadable interview prep sheet? Drop a comment below