From Drupal 7 to Drupal 9: The Great Migration

Since the advent of Drupal 7, the content management system (CMS) market has evolved considerably to support the needs of complex organizations undergoing digital transformation with an emphasis on providing a superior customer experience.

The End of Drupal 7

Drupal 7’s support window has been extended to November 1, 2023. This was done in recognition that a large percentage of Drupal sites still rely on Drupal 7 and will require security support throughout the extended transition period.

You can transition from Drupal 7 directly to Drupal 9, as Drupal 9’s core migrate module contains support for that transition. Though there is time due to the extended support window, you should begin the migration process soon.

Advantages of Drupal 9

Drupal 9 is open source with no licensing fees and is a leader when it comes to enterprise-ready web solutions across industries. Drupal 9 is essentially Drupal 8 with a major version upgrade to the framework (Symfony) and removal of deprecated code. 

This allows for backward compatibility with Drupal 8 modules and plug-ins. This also establishes future compatibility with subsequent versions of Drupal, such as Drupal 10, which is slated for a beta release in September 2022.

Phase2 has built thousands of sites, including our own, with Drupal 9 readiness top-of-mind. Drupal 9 is superior to Drupal 7 in the following ways:

• Simpler upgrade paths for both major and minor version releases
• Improved performance and page optimization with enhanced caching capabilities
• Built-in media integration
• Enhanced multilingual capabilities with the Content Translation module which:
  • Creates new revisions and allows for independent workflow between each translation
  • Is field-based—allowing for asynchronous translations 
  • Allows for greater implementation of third-party automated translation services
• Upgraded website accessibility with better development tooling and automated testing

Drupal 9 uses industry-standard frameworks and architecture (Composer, Symfony, and Twig), making it easier to train staff to support the platform. A content editing interface with Layout Builder,  and an updated WYSIWYG, makes for an improved editor and page design experience—all without the need for developer support.

Finally, media, digital asset management, and media library organization are all greatly enhanced from Drupal 7 and support a wider variety of media and content sources.

Making the Move

By upgrading to Drupal 9 you will be able to create content once and publish everywhere with more robust API enablement. Additionally, Drupal 9 makes it easier to manage structured content with a single database as opposed to individual pages and sites. With Drupal 9, you can more readily create flexible landing pages that support campaigns and initiatives directly within the platform—all while enforcing brand guidelines. 

Establishing personalized customer journeys that allow automated marketing campaigns with CRM integration and tracking and optimizing conversion paths with better analytics support, is also better with Drupal 9. 

Lastly, Drupal 9 provides flexibility. With no vendor ecosystem lock-in, you can easily integrate with Acquia’s suite of products to enhance Drupal or apply tools from another ecosystem.

We hope you enjoyed reading the Phase2 blog! Please subscribe below for regular updates and industry insights.