For the Drupal Project & Drupal AssociationFor Agencies & DCPs
Why a Drupal Site Template Marketplace?
Here’s what we’ll be working on over the coming weeks:
Now we’re starting the work of transforming those broad ambitions into working models of value, governance, trust, and experience. We’re beginning to sketch what the Marketplace does, how it creates and protects value, and what contributors and users can expect from it.
We also heard loud and clear what gets in the way of contribution:
An ecosystem catalyst that drives qualified leads, lowers implementation costs, and helps you deliver faster, better Drupal experiences to more clients.
In Slack, surveys and our real-time collaboration session we asked contributors directly: “What would make it worthwhile for you to contribute a template?” Key themes emerged from the discussion:
We’re still in active input-gathering mode, and your voice matters.
A sustainable marketplace that strengthens the ecosystem, generates new revenue, and reflects the values of open source through governance, quality, and inclusion.
A library of trustworthy, ready-to-launch Drupal sites — professionally built, continuously vetted, and provided by the Drupal community.
A trusted, visible channel to distribute, monetize, and showcase high-quality site templates that reflect your expertise — and generate leads, recognition, and revenue.
What Makes Contribution Worthwhile?
For Contributors
- Compensation matters. Contributors suggested price points between $300–$1,000 per site template, depending on complexity. Some see templates as a viable business; others view them as strategic loss leaders.
- Lead generation is an incentive. Access to user contact info or opportunities to offer services was cited as a powerful motivator—even more than direct revenue in some cases.
- Recognition and visibility also surfaced as important non-financial incentives, especially for those aiming to grow brand or project awareness.
- Licensing clarity and IP protection remain concerns—contributors want guardrails to discourage cloning and unauthorized redistribution.
- Marketplace features—such as demo previews, rich media listings, and clear tech specs—can enhance both contributor experience and buyer confidence.
Over the last few weeks, the Marketplace Initiative has been mapping assumptions, surfacing motivations, and exploring real-world expectations for a Drupal Site Template Marketplace. The initial rounds of feedback were designed to surface motivations, beliefs, unknowns, and frame what success might mean. That work has helped ground the initiative in shared purpose and direction.
- High (Uncompensated) Support Expectations: Ongoing maintenance, support, and clarity of lifecycle.
- Lack of Clarity: Around what qualifies, what gets featured, and how disputes are handled.
- Governance Gaps: Without rules, the risk is chaos — too many low-quality or misaligned submissions.
- Misaligned Incentives: Contributors worry about monetization models that exclude or exploit.
What’s Coming Next
Across survey feedback, community prompts, and RTC themes, several consistent value propositions have emerged — answering the question: Why build a Drupal site template Marketplace?
- Governance Sketching: From submission flow to trust signals and appeals.
- Contributor Workflow Design: What the path from idea → listing → maintenance actually looks like.
- Quality & Review Criteria: What “good” looks like across code, content, accessibility, and UX.
- Revenue & Recognition Models: How value is created, shared, and sustained.
How You Can Contribute Now
For End Users (Builders, Subject Matter Experts, Evaluators)
- Survey #2 is still open – If you haven’t yet shared how a Drupal CMS Marketplace might help you or your business, take it now.
- Survey #3 just launched – This one explores expectations around fairness, openness, and revenue models. Take the survey here.
- Join the weekly Slack prompt in #drupal-cms-marketplace
Up this week: What would make you trust a site template listing? - Participate in our Drupal Certified Partner and Agency Ecosystem Roundtable 15 May 2025 UTC 15:30. Register here.
