Master Drupal Single Directory Components: Professional Theming Course with Michael Anello

The Professional Single Directory Components course from DrupalEasy is designed for one clear purpose: to teach those with any level of Drupal theming experience how to create forward-looking, reusable single directory components. Created and taught by veteran Drupal trainer Michael Anello, it is 18 hours, in 3-hour sessions over a period of 2 weeks. The new batch begins on September 8, 2025.

Michael has been considering developing a comprehensive Drupal theming course for some time, but he recognizes the challenge of creating such content without becoming overly prescriptive about base theme choices. When he began learning about Single Directory Components (SDCs), he realized this feature, which is now supported in Drupal core, would provide an excellent foundation for structuring a course around both new and established Drupal capabilities.

"I design courses for people to become professionals" Michael said. "My goal is to have our alumni teach others in their organizations and/or community the right, best, and most-sustainable way to build Drupal sites. My goal isn't to teach people the fastest way to create an SDC, but the right way."

The course is positioned at an entry-to-intermediate level and assumes students already possess fundamental understanding of Drupal theme structure, template file overrides, and CSS implementation. Michael acknowledges the challenge of accommodating students with varying skill levels within a single course, but has discovered that providing a diverse array of examples helps address this difficulty and better serves learners across the experience spectrum.

"Once you understand how SDCs fit into the overall theming process, it becomes quite easy to start thinking about building SDCs instead of overriding template files. Plus, the compartmentalization of SDCs is really attractive for those of us that have wrestled with 1000+ line CSS (or Sass) files. Like most things, once you gain some confidence with a new technology, you start looking for reasons to use it."

adds Michael.

The course track is part of the DrupalEasy Learning Community and include ongoing access to office hours after the course ends. Students who join are not just learning syntax or APIs but also integrating into a peer-driven support network that continues beyond the classroom.

Michael has long been active as a Drupal contributor, consultant, and community organizer. That experience informs his approach to training. "It's always helpful to bring in real-world examples from both my work as a code contributor and practicing Drupal consultant," he said. "Being able to comfortably talk with people from different backgrounds and skill levels is something that I've gained confidence doing from my work as a mentor and organizer."

As a long-term instructor, we were curious to know what kind of feedback stays with him, Michael points to the moments when past students come back and share how what they learned made a lasting difference.

"It is especially gratifying when alumni share 'wins' during office hours that are somehow related to our course material,"

Michael Anello concludes.

They also have a new batch starting in November. Find more details to the class here.