Drupal is one of the best and most recommended content management systems designed to give outstanding benefits through its excellent security, reliable performance, and easy content authoring features.
The core principles of this software include modularity and flexibility. Hiring an experienced team for Drupal development for your business will bring you a notable success rate to your business.
Recently, the makers of Drupal announced the Drupal 7 end of life from 5th Jan 2025. This indicates Drupal 7 will lose all the support from its makers. As Drupal 7 is nearing its life’s end, the majority of Drupal 7 users are showing interest in making use of the upcoming Drupal10. If you are a user who is on Drupal 7, then you have to wait and change to Drupal 10 soon after it is released.
Key Features of Drupal
Drupal is a very powerful and open-source content management system designed to allow dynamic websites and web application creation as expected by users.
Here are the lists of some key features developers can leverage from Drupal.
1. Modular Architecture and Content Management
The modular architecture of Drupal lets developers include and modify features using a vast library of modules. This nature ensures that the overall platform can be customized to meet exact project requirements.
Drupal is a good option when you seek a tool that excels at content management and an easy way to create, arrange, and publish content. It has the best stuff for robust content creation and its users can get different content types like articles, images, and videos.
2. Scalability and Security
Your website may have to serve some visitors or millions. The best features of Drupal can handle it. Drupal’s scalability makes it a good choice for complex web projects.
Security is a top option in Drupal development. The platform is known for its proactive security team and regular updates to address vulnerabilities. These things make it a reliable choice for secure web solutions. Every client of the company that specialises in Drupal development services nowadays is satisfied with the overall security aspects of their content management system.
3. Community Support
Drupal has an active community of certified developers and happy users who play an important role in its growth. Everyone in this community is happy to get prompt support, updates, and the best resources as needed for website development and site owners.
The main things to do
As a user of Drupal 7, you have to wait and migrate to Drupal 10 when it is released. You can also migrate to Drupal 9 at first. This is because you require running a small incremental migration to use Drupal 10.
Instead of directly attempting a major migration by skipping two major releases, you can switch to Drupal 9 or can consider a staggered method to migrate based on the complexity of the project.
What options do you have?
If you can access the best-in-class aspects of professional services from the reputable Drupal Development Company, here are the lists of options you may have.
- Staying On Drupal 7: Organizations who need more time to gather resources to upgrade or switchmay stay on Drupal 7, but it is a temporary solution. The platform may soon lose its features, modules and integration.
- Upgrading to Drupal 10: Upgrading to Drupal 10 would be a good option for organizations looking to avail advanced features and functionality along with additional security measures.
- Migrating to Other Platforms: Depending upon the site and its functionality, preferring this option will be a cost-effective solution. However, migration procedures should be carried out properly.
The main steps to plan and prepare for migration
The first step in your plan and preparation for migration is to evaluate your website and make a plan for the upcoming Drupal 7 end-of-life. Here is what you should do to ensure your site stays alive.
- Create a very compelling audit of your website.
- Find the content model, structures especially blocks, views, and documentation in detail. Do not forget to remove unwanted and duplicated content and structures.
- Evaluate which pieces of content require to be scripted for migration and easy to migrate manually.
- Appraise every module in use, especially contributed and custom modules. Find any upgraded version of the contributed modules and appraise compatibility.
- Find each function in the custom modules and if there are incompatible calls or methods in use.
- Create a good migration plan.
- Ensure that your website is properly updated and validated with the most recent Drupal 7 version.
Bottom Line
As Drupal 7 is nearing its end, users may need to take prompt action to ensure their business’s online presence. This article has provided the available best options for Drupal site owners. Don’t like to migrate your website to other platforms then consider upgrading to Drupal 10, you can leverage more from the platform.