Drupal 7 EOL (end of life) occurred on 5 January 2025. This means it's a good time to set plans in motion (if you haven't already) for your upgrade to either of the currently supported versions, Drupal 10 or 11. In this blog post, we'll outline what Drupal 7 EOL means for you and the benefits of upgrading to the latest Drupal release.
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 your team is familiar with. You may have customised features and modules, a stretched budget, and a lack of resources to upgrade before Drupal 7 EOL. However, if you leave an upgrade too late, and there's a security vulnerability affecting 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.
If you don’t have the in-house expertise, consider partnering with an experienced Drupal team who can maintain your Drupal 7 for you. However, staying on Drupal 7 should only be a temporary solution while preparing for an upgrade.
Can I upgrade to Drupal 8 or 9 instead?
No, Drupal 8 and 9 have also met their end of life. 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 architecture, enabling more modern development and regular and predictable release cycles.
- Drupal 9 was developed based on changes to Drupal 8, so once these versions were completed, they reached their end of life.
- The Drupal community extended the lifecycle of Drupal 7 due to the impacts of the pandemic. 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 your CMS delivers a range of benefits for your content authors, development team, and website users. We've rounded up our eight key benefits below.
8 benefits of upgrading to Drupal 10
1. Performance improvements
Drupal 10 has improved performance compared to Drupal 7 such as:
- enhancements to caching: so entire responses are cached instead of fragments
- fewer HTTP requests due to front-end improvements
- improvements to scalability with modern architecture
- compatibility with PHP v8.2.
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 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(external link). 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 web accessibility 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(external link), 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 everything on site, including offering right-to-left text direction. These multilingual features ensure your site is accessible to more people in their native languages.
7. Increased security
Since Drupal 10 is a more recent version of Drupal, 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.
8. Extended support until 2026
Drupal 10 has an extended support version. Although Drupal 11 was released in 2024, you can continue using Drupal 10 until Drupal 12 launches in mid to late 2026.
Should I upgrade to Drupal 11?
You could, but this is optional. Drupal 11 was released in August 2024 and remains supported until mid-late 2026, when Drupal 12 is released.
Drupal 11 packs some exciting new functionality, which you can read in detail on the Drupal 11 release page. However, whether it’s due to your budget or simply being satisfied with what Drupal 10 offers, you can safely and confidently remain on this version.
Our Drupal team at Catalyst would be happy to discuss the pros and cons of these options to help you make the best decision for your organisation.
How do I upgrade to Drupal 10?
Firstly, start 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. Whilst there are plenty of new features available, you can always phase these in for stage 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. However, larger upgrades will likely require more developers, time, and expertise to be completed successfully, ideally including quality assurance. You can learn more about upgrading from Drupal 7 in Drupal’s documentation(external link).
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 Drupal experts to manage the upgrade for you.
At Catalyst, we have decades of combined Drupal experience. Our team of experts has performed many Drupal 7 upgrades and Drupal customisations, and we’re known for our expertise in complex migrations. To upgrade to Drupal 10, contact our team of experts today.