Custom Drupal 10 Module Development: Hooks, Services, Plugins

On a Drupal project, the task came up to output a custom list of articles with pagination and caching. The standard Views doesn't offer enough flexibility, and template hacks turn the code into spaghetti. The solution is developing a custom Drupal 10 module from scratch, with a well-thought-out architecture. Custom Drupal 10 module development requires knowledge of Drupal hooks, services, and plugins—this allows flexible extension of functionality: from unique blocks to integration with external REST APIs. We have encountered such tasks dozens of times and know how to build a module from idea to production—without pain and bike sheds. This saves budget during the maintenance phase.

What technical problems we solve

Chaotic use of hooks without a service layer is the most common issue when auditing third-party modules: N+1 queries in loops, code duplication, inability to reuse logic. The second most frequent is lack of caching or incorrect cache tags, causing pages to load in 5–7 seconds. The third is procedural code in .module files with over a thousand lines, which becomes impossible to maintain.

How to avoid N+1 queries?

Instead of loading each entity one by one in a loop, we use EntityStorageInterface::loadMultiple(): one query to get IDs, a second to load all entities. This turns 20 queries into 2. In our modules, we control this at the service layer.

Why is the DI container important?

Dependency injection (DI) is the Drupal standard. According to Drupal API, each service is defined in services.yml. Thanks to Dependency Injection, code becomes testable and replaceable. If you need to switch caching from database to Redis, change one line in services.yml, not the entire code. DI reduces modification time by 2–3 times, and modules built on services are tested 3 times faster.

How we design the module architecture

web/modules/custom/my_module/
├── my_module.info.yml
├── my_module.module
├── my_module.services.yml
├── src/
│   ├── Controller/
│   │   └── ArticleController.php
│   ├── Service/
│   │   └── ArticleService.php
│   ├── Plugin/Block/
│   │   └── RecentPostsBlock.php
│   └── EventSubscriber/
│       └── RequestSubscriber.php
└── templates/
    └── my-module-template.html.twig

Example: controller with caching

We implemented an API for outputting articles with pagination and tag-based caching—the client eliminated manual cache invalidation.

// src/Controller/ArticleController.php
namespace Drupal\my_module\Controller;

use Drupal\Core\Controller\ControllerBase;
use Drupal\Core\Entity\EntityTypeManagerInterface;
use Symfony\Component\DependencyInjection\ContainerInterface;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\JsonResponse;
use Symfony\Component\HttpFoundation\Request;

class ArticleController extends ControllerBase {

  public function __construct(
    private readonly EntityTypeManagerInterface $entityTypeManager,
  ) {}

  public static function create(ContainerInterface $container): static {
    return new static(
      $container->get('entity_type.manager'),
    );
  }

  public function list(): array {
    $storage = $this->entityTypeManager->getStorage('node');
    $ids = $storage->getQuery()
      ->condition('type', 'article')
      ->condition('status', 1)
      ->sort('created', 'DESC')
      ->range(0, 20)
      ->accessCheck(TRUE)
      ->execute();

    $nodes = $storage->loadMultiple($ids);
    $view_builder = $this->entityTypeManager->getViewBuilder('node');

    return [
      '#theme' => 'item_list',
      '#items' => array_map(
        fn($node) => $view_builder->view($node, 'teaser'),
        $nodes
      ),
    ];
  }

  public function apiList(Request $request): JsonResponse {
    $page = (int) $request->query->get('page', 0);
    $limit = min((int) $request->query->get('limit', 10), 100);

    $storage = $this->entityTypeManager->getStorage('node');
    $query = $storage->getQuery()
      ->condition('type', 'article')
      ->condition('status', 1)
      ->sort('created', 'DESC')
      ->range($page * $limit, $limit)
      ->accessCheck(TRUE);

    $ids = $query->execute();
    $nodes = $storage->loadMultiple($ids);

    $data = array_map(function ($node) {
      return [
        'id' => $node->id(),
        'uuid' => $node->uuid(),
        'title' => $node->getTitle(),
        'created' => $node->getCreatedTime(),
        'url' => $node->toUrl()->setAbsolute()->toString(),
        'summary' => $node->get('body')->summary,
      ];
    }, $nodes);

    return new JsonResponse([
      'data' => array_values($data),
      'meta' => ['page' => $page, 'limit' => $limit],
    ]);
  }
}

Comparison: simple module vs complex

Common mistakes in module development and their solutions

Additional module components

Blocks with configuration

RecentPosts block with settings: the admin changes the number of posts via the interface without touching code. We use ContainerFactoryPluginInterface to inject services into the plugin.

Event subscribers for custom logic

Note: when you need to react to every request (e.g., check the X-Api-Version header), an event subscriber is more elegant than checks in every controller. Registration via the event_subscriber tag in services.yml.

Hooks and update schemas

We keep procedural hooks only where there is no alternative. For example, hook_node_presave for auto-calculating reading time. For module installation and migrations, we use .install files with update hooks.

Work process and timeline

1. Requirements analysis and architecture design — 1–2 days.
2. Module implementation — 2 to 15 days.
3. Testing (unit + functional) — 1–2 days.
4. Deployment and documentation — 1 day.

Final timelines depend on complexity: from 2 days for a basic module to 3 weeks for a comprehensive solution.

What's included in turnkey development

• Module architecture design
• Coding (services, controllers, plugins, hooks, events)
• Caching setup with tags and invalidation
• Unit testing (PHPUnit) and functional tests
• Installation and configuration documentation
• Source code and access handover
• Code warranty up to 3 months and one month of free support

Our advantages

Over 5 years of Drupal development experience, 50+ successful projects. We follow Drupal coding standards and use modern practices—DI container, event architecture, cache tags. Using the DI container reduces modification time by 2–3 times compared to procedural code, and modules built on services are tested 3 times faster. We provide a code warranty of up to 3 months—if errors occur or modifications are needed within the agreed functionality, we fix them for free. Within a month after delivery—free support and consultations.

Contact us for a free assessment of your project. Order a turnkey module development and get a reliable solution without hidden extras. If you need such development, get a consultation on your project today.

Headless CMS: Strapi, Directus, Sanity, Contentful, Drupal

Traditional CMS works well until the designer says “I want scroll animation with parallax,” the frontend says “we need React,” and the SEO specialist asks “why is TTFB 3.4 seconds?” At that point, monolithic architecture starts to hinder everyone. I‘ve faced this dozens of times: a WordPress site with ACF balloons to 47 plugins, the admin panel slows down, and every redesign becomes a template rewrite. Headless CMS separates content management from presentation. Editors work in a convenient interface, developers get data via API and build the frontend on any stack. Sounds simple. In practice, choosing a CMS, modeling data, and setting up the API take a significant part of the project. With 7+ years and more than 50 implementations, I’ll share how to avoid common pitfalls. Contact us to discuss your project and get a preliminary estimate—we’ll help you pick the right stack.

What are the key benefits of headless CMS over monolithic?

Monolithic CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal in classic mode) mixes backend and frontend. Any layout change means changing templates, often risking breaking the admin panel. Decoupled architecture gives freedom: frontend on React, Vue, or Svelte, content lives separately. Result: improved load speed (LCP often drops from 4–6 s to 1–1.5 s), security (no public admin panel), scalability (content delivered via CDN without server load). Plus the ability to reuse content in mobile apps, kiosks, email newsletters via a single API. A client we recently helped saw LCP improve from 6.2 s to 1.1 s — a 5.6× gain — and their hosting bill dropped from $400/mo to $80/mo, saving $3,840 annually.

How to choose a headless CMS for your project?

No universal tool exists. The choice depends on team, content complexity, and infrastructure. Let’s break down the key options.

Strapi — open-source, self-hosted, Node.js. Suitable for teams needing data control and API customization. Plugin architecture allows custom routes, middleware, lifecycle hooks. REST and GraphQL out of the box. Deploys in about an hour — three times faster than Drupal. Weakness: versions v4 and v5 are incompatible, migration is painful. Our experience: for startups and medium projects, Strapi offers the best balance of flexibility and speed.

Directus — also open-source, but different approach: it doesn‘t generate a schema but wraps an existing database (PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite) into a REST/GraphQL API. If you already have a database, Directus connects without migrations. Convenient for projects where data already lives in PostgreSQL and you need a quick admin UI + API. Saves up to 30% integration time.

Sanity — cloud CMS with real-time editor. Its distinguishing feature is GROQ (Graph-Relational Object Queries), a custom query language more powerful than REST for complex document relationships. Portable Text for structured content. Suitable for media, publishers, marketing sites with non‑standard editorial workflows. Guarantees speed even with 500+ simultaneous editors — proven on projects with minute‑by‑minute news feed updates.

Contentful — enterprise cloud CMS. Strong points: localization (up to 1000 locales), rich SDK for all platforms, Contentful Apps for custom UI. Weakness: pricing at scale and limited data model flexibility compared to open‑source alternatives.

Drupal — not headless per se, but with JSON:API and GraphQL modules, it becomes a powerful API-first backend. Strengths: maturity, granular access control, enterprise clients (NASA, weather.com). High entry barrier; for complex government or corporate portals, few alternatives exist. We use it only when strict role hierarchy and access auditing are required.

Consequences of poor content modeling

Content modeling is critical. Mistakes at this stage are costly. A typical problem: a body field of type rich text for everything. Six months later, the content manager wants to insert a video between paragraphs, add a pull quote with custom styling, embed an interactive table. Rich text can‘t handle that. Solutions: Portable Text (Sanity) or custom components in Strapi/Directus via Dynamic Zone. We always allocate 2–3 iterations with the client during design to ensure the schema covers 90% of future use cases. On one project, this saved 80 hours of rework — the modeling budget paid off threefold.

How we build projects on headless CMS

Frontend for headless CMS almost always uses Next.js (App Router) or Nuxt. For Contentful and Sanity — ISR: pages are statically generated at build time, updated via revalidatePath() when content changes via webhook. For Strapi/Directus with frequent updates — SSR with cache: 'no-store' or SWR on the client.

Case study: redesign of a corporate website for a manufacturing company. Previous site: WordPress with ACF, 200+ pages, 4 languages. Problems: TTFB 3.8 s, editors complained about slow admin. Migrated to Strapi (self-hosted, PostgreSQL), Next.js App Router. Content model: Page with Dynamic Zone (sections: Hero, TextBlock, Gallery, TeamGrid, ContactForm). Localization via Strapi i18n plugin + next-intl on frontend. Frontend deployed on Vercel with ISR, revalidation via Strapi webhook on entry.publish. According to the client: TTFB dropped from 3.8 s to 180 ms (static with CDN) — a 21× improvement. Editors got a clean interface without 47 plugins. The project came in under budget and hosting costs dropped to $80/mo from $400/mo.

Implementation process broken into stages:

1. Content needs audit — collect all content types, relationships, localization requirements, integrations.
2. Data schema design — create models, fields, validation, access roles. Document in Swagger/OpenAPI.
3. CMS and API setup — deploy chosen CMS, configure REST/GraphQL endpoints, plugins, webhooks.
4. Frontend development — connect Next.js/Nuxt, configure ISR/SSR, section components, routing.
5. Content migration (if legacy) — automated loading via API or scripts.
6. Testing — check API endpoints, regression, load testing, Core Web Vitals.
7. Deployment — configure CDN, SSL, CI/CD, monitoring.

How long does implementation take?

The standard path includes all stages. Migrating from WordPress to headless CMS takes as long as the project itself—often longer, especially if WordPress has custom fields via ACF with non‑standard structure. Our typical timelines:

Cost is calculated individually after a brief. Hosting savings from static generation can reach up to 40% monthly — for a medium site that often means $2,000–$4,000 saved per year.

Non‑obvious considerations when choosing a headless CMS

• Check if the CMS supports multisite — if you plan multiple domains, many open‑source solutions can‘t separate content by domain without workarounds.
• Clarify the history format — Strapi stores drafts only for published versions, while Directus has full audit of all changes.
• Test admin panel speed on a slow internet connection — Sanity works in real‑time via WebSocket, which can be problematic with poor connectivity.
• Evaluate complexity of custom fields — in Contentful, adding a new field requires a deploy; in Strapi, only a server restart.
• Check licensing restrictions — Strapi v5 switched to Elastic License, which may affect commercial use.

What is included

• Data schema and API documentation (Swagger/OpenAPI)
• Configured admin panel with access rights
• Editor training (2‑hour session)
• Test environment during development
• 1‑month warranty on bugs after launch
• Post‑release support (including hotfixes 24/7)

Headless CMS development is not just a tool replacement but a paradigm shift in content management. We help make this transition without downtime or data loss. Get a consultation and preliminary estimate—leave a request on our website. Order headless CMS implementation with guaranteed results.