Drupal 10 Site Building: Content Structures, Configuration, and Layout
Content structures first
Site building in Drupal 10 rests on entities. Content types, vocabularies, and users are bundles of base entities (node, taxonomy_term, user). Fields are attached to bundles through the Field UI and stored as field storage plus field instance configuration. Understand the distinction: field storage (shared across bundles) versus field instance (per-bundle widget and display settings).
Configuration and layout
Most site-builder choices are configuration objects (content types, views, blocks, menus, display modes). Layout is typically assembled with Layout Builder on entity displays or with block layout in themes. View modes (default, teaser) control how fields render; display settings are separate from form settings.
Traps to watch
- Content vs configuration: nodes are content; content types and fields are configuration. Deleting a field deletes its data.
- Reference fields: entity reference vs entity reference revisions (used by Paragraphs).
- Display modes: changing a view display does not change the form display.
- Layout Builder: overrides are stored per-entity, not in the base display.
- Taxonomy: terms are content, vocabularies are configuration.
Worked example
A candidate wants a reusable "card" with an image and text shown on several content types. Correct approach: create a Paragraph type (configuration) with image and text fields, add an entity reference revisions field to each content type, then configure the Paragraph's view mode. Trap answer: adding duplicate fields to each content type - that duplicates storage and breaks reuse.
Rule of thumb
Ask: Is this structure (config) or data (content)? If it defines how content behaves, it is configuration and belongs in exported config.