Did you know?
Over 1 million sites worldwide run over Drupal – from government sites to high tech companies, NGOs, higher education institutes, and medal websites.
Out of 1 million, nearly 700,000 sites are still using Drupal 7. But now, it might be challenging to acknowledge that Drupal 7, our most beloved CMS, is coming to an end in November 2022. It means that Drupal 7 will not be supported by Drupal.org, and there will be no security support.
So, now that Drupal 9 has been released, should you migrate from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9? Our answer is definitely, YES!
Benefits of migrating from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9
It’s not been long since Drupal 8 was launched, and all businesses migrated their websites to the latest version. However, last year, Drupal announced version 9, and this new version is a call for all those businesses that are still on the older Drupal version. Moreover, Drupal 9 is built on the foundation of Drupal 8.
Some of the new functionalities that were added to Drupal 9 are:
- Better accessibility
- Easier migration process
- Intuitive content management
- Enhanced user experience
- Focus on automatic updates
If you aren’t still feeling tempted to migrate to Drupal 9, here are some more reasons to upgrade your CMS:
#1. Faster and better performance
There is no doubt that the newest version of any software or CMS is an upgrade of the previous version, meaning it performs better than older versions. Drupal 9 might not have some massive changes in features or code requirements, but it works faster than Drupal 7. Drupal 9 supports responsive images, ensuring a great user experience on mobile devices. Its content workflow allows developers to define multiple workflows during the mobile & web development that leading to better and smoother performance. It also provides a broader reach due to its multilingual properties.
#2. Enhanced security
Drupal 9 is more secure than Drupal 7 as the old code was replaced or removed. Moreover, third-party dependencies, including Twig, Symphony, and other similar dependencies, have been updated in the D9. As far as it’s about compatibility, you don’t have to worry about it as most code interfaces have remained untouched. It also means developers wouldn’t experience any migration issues.
#3. Backward compatibility
Most people think they wouldn’t be able to use the modules, data, and configuration of Drupal 8 once they migrate to Drupal 9. However, this is not the case. Drupal 9 is backward compatible. With Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 migration, there will be no historical baggage, and website owners can expect clutter-free websites with enhanced performance.
#4. Smooth editorial experiences
Drupal 9 offers various new features for content editors, including CKEditor for post creation, content moderation options, Layout builder, the quick edit feature, Media Library, modern Claro admin theme, configurable toolbar, and more.
Drupal 9 focuses on the smoother editor to make their content editors fall in love with their admin dashboard. Earlier, Drupal site builders and content editors were integrated with layout builders to build layouts for content display with a drag and drop interface. However, the new layout builder in Drupal 9 replaces the PlaceBlocks module, making it easier to work with.
#5. Open to integrations
Drupal 9’s priority is to be compatible and support integrations for new applications and devices. Imagine posting content on a website via mobile your mobile phone.
Conclusion
Drupal 9 marks a significant transformation. With new features and backward compatibility, migrating from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 seems seamless. Moreover, Drupal 9 offers high performance, smoother user experience, enhanced security, and more, giving us enough reasons to migrate to the newest version.
Want to migrate your website from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9? Contact the Alberta TechWorks Drupal team today!
