Drupal 7 EOL (end of life) will occur on 5 January 2025, and the amount of support from Drupal has already reduced. Therefore, in 2024, you’ve got just under a year to figure out how you’ll upgrade to Drupal 10 (the latest version of Drupal). In this blog post, we’ll cover what you need to know about Drupal 7 EOL and your next steps.
Can I still use Drupal 7 after its EOL?
Yes. However, you need to be aware of the security risk of staying on an unsupported version of Drupal. If you stay on Drupal 7 you won't receive the following from the Drupal community:
- Bug fixes.
- Security updates or releases.
- Feature updates.
It can be tempting to stay on something that your team is used to working with. If you’ve used Drupal 7 for years, you might have customised features and work within a range of modules. Because of this familiarity, you might be hesitant about an upgrade. Additionally, you may be uncertain about your budget for this fiscal, or perhaps you don’t even have the time to look into the benefits of the upgrade. But, it’s important to carve time out to consider an upgrade sooner than later. For example, if you leave an upgrade too late, and a security vulnerability is found that affects Drupal 7 after EOL, the Drupal community will no longer provide a patch. Instead, the responsibility falls to you and your developers to patch this. However, if you don’t have the resources available, you can always work with a Drupal partner who can patch and maintain your Drupal 7 instance for you.
Can I upgrade to Drupal 8 or 9 instead?
No, Drupal 8 and 9 have already met their end of life too. It may seem odd that higher versions have retired before Drupal 7, but there are a few reasons behind this decision.
- Drupal 8 had an entire overhaul of the Drupal architecture, allowing for more modern development, as well as regular and predictable release cycles.
- Drupal 9 was built on top of these changes and continued improvements. Once those versions were completed, they reached their EOL.
- The Drupal community extended the lifecycle of Drupal 7 due to the impacts of the pandemic. This allowed users to benefit from some improved processes made in Drupal 8 and 9 without having to upgrade. However, Drupal 7 doesn’t have the modern architecture to keep building on top of. So, you’ll need to update to the most current version of Drupal, which is Drupal 10.
What are the benefits of upgrading from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10?
Upgrading to Drupal 10 ensures your content management system (CMS) is easier for content authors to use and provides a stable and supported base to build on.
7 benefits of upgrading to Drupal 10
1. Performance improvements
Drupal 10 has improved performance compared to Drupal 7. The performance improvements include:
- Enhancements to caching. Entire responses are cached instead of fragments.
- Fewer HTTP requests due to front-end improvements.
- Improves scalability with its modern architecture.
- It is compatible with PHP v8.2 and has performance improvements over older versions of PHP, such as 7.4.
2. Drupal 10 is built mobile first
Unlike Drupal 7, which required extra modules and customised features to ensure a responsive site, Drupal 10 is built mobile first. Consequently, there's no need for custom workarounds or versions to use your site on mobile. That means you can create a seamless experience regardless of the user's device.
3. Improved content creation experience
A CMS, such as Drupal, should be easy to use, regardless of your technical skills. That’s why Drupal 10 includes improvements to the WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor. Essentially, these improvements make it easier to create and edit content structures. For example, you can drag and drop page elements to test different content structures without developer support. Ultimately this will accelerate previewing changes and improve the content author's experience.
4. Addresses a11y head on
Ensuring your CMS is accessible can be quite time-consuming, especially if you don’t have the in-house expertise around accessibility. And, in earlier versions of Drupal, your theme needed to be modified to suit specific accessibility and usability requirements. However, Drupal 10 addresses accessibility head-on and embeds WCAG accessibility standards into the initial design versus retrospective modifications.
5. Developers enjoy working with Drupal 10
Drupal 10 has a robust architecture supporting modern PHP versions, improved APIs, and easier technology integrations. Basically, these advancements help free up your developers’ time to focus on custom features.
6. Work in Drupal in your language
Drupal 10 also makes it easier to create websites in multiple languages. In fact, there are over 100 languages available to work with in Drupal 10. So, core components of your Drupal can be in the language you use, and translate every component on site, including offering right-to-left text direction. The multilingual capabilities ensure your site can be accessed by more people in their native languages.
7. Increased security
Since Drupal 10 is the most recent version of Drupal this means it will continue to receive support for the foreseeable future. This includes bug fixes, patches, security updates, releases, and feature updates. With smaller, more predictable release cycles compared to Drupal 7, fixes will be released faster.
How do I upgrade to Drupal 10?
Firstly, start with planning how you will upgrade from Drupal 7 to 10. Do you have the in-house expertise and resources to do this yourself? Are they time-poor? If so, focus on the basic upgrade only. Whilst there are plenty of new features available, you can always phase these in for day two. The key is to upgrade the base and ensure you have a secure, stable, and scalable site for the future.
The amount of people and resources required depends on the size and complexity of your codebase. For example, if you have a small project, one person could complete the update with support from a project manager (PM) or quality assurance (QA). However, larger upgrades will likely require more developers, time, and expertise to be completed successfully. You can learn more about upgrading from Drupal 7 in Drupal’s documentation.
When it comes to planning, experience is everything. If you don’t have the in-house expertise or experience, it’s a good idea to team up with a Drupal partner to manage the upgrade for you.
At Catalyst, we are a Premium Drupal Partner with over 100 years of combined Drupal experience. Plus, our team of experts has performed many Drupal 7 upgrades, Drupal customisations, and we’re known for our expertise in complex migrations. To upgrade to Drupal 10, contact our team of experts today.