This video shows how to install themes using Simplytest.me to experiment with the look and feel of a site, as well how to install distributions to see if there's one you want to use as the base of your next Drupal site.

Themes

Testing themes is also easily done with Simplytest.me. Just find the theme you want to try out, for example corolla.

  • Go to drupal.org/project/corolla
  • Replace “drupal.org” with “simplytest.me” and push enter
  • Click “Launch sandbox”

Since Corolla is a sub-theme of AdaptiveTheme, and lists it as a dependency, AdaptiveTheme is also installed. Now, you can change the theme settings, and add content to see what you think about the theme. This would be another great time to also install the Devel module to quickly populate the site with dummy content. The permanent URL for that would be simplytest.me/project/corolla?add[]=devel.

Distributions

Distributions are a fantastic way to get Drupal sites up and running quickly. There are a lot of them out there, though, and you may not know which distribution is the best for you to start with. Simplytest.me makes it super easy to try these out as well. Let’s take a look at the fantastic Commerce Kickstart distribution.

  • Go to http://simplytest.me/project/commerce_kickstart
  • Click “Launch sandbox”
  • Complete the installation process

As you can see, this installation took almost 6 minutes of our allotted 30. The Commerce Kickstart distribution is pretty in-depth and will also take awhile to look through it thoroughly. This is a good example of when it would be a good idea to create an account on Simplytest.me, because you’ll get 60 minutes with sites instead of only 30.