The Ultimate Guide to Drupal Planning and Development

Introduction to Drupal

Drupal is one of the finest Open Source content management systems. The scalability and flexibility of the system bear more than a million websites, for sure. Constant planning and updating are needed to keep your website up to date and interesting. With the release of Drupal 10 in December 2022 and the extension of the lifespan of Drupal 7 until January 2025, it is very important to understand updates affecting your CMS strategy. This guide will walk you through updates, prepare for migrations, and make your site last.

Preparing Your Drupal Planning and Development Roadmap

Review your website's user engagement, usability, accessibility, and content quality. Adjust your strategy based on the latest user needs and your site's analytics to enhance user experience (UX) and decision-making processes. Consider refining user personas and streamlining the user journey to better meet your audience's expectations.

Planning Pathways for Drupal Users

Your approach to upgrading and maintaining Drupal will vary based on your current version. Here’s how to handle transitions for different Drupal versions:

Exploring Drupal 10

Released alongside Symfony 6.2 and PHP 8.2, Drupal 10 aims for a robust and efficient codebase. Transitioning from Drupal 9 to 10 is designed to be the simplest migration yet, with new features being backward-compatible.

Drupal Planning: 7 to 10

The time is ripe for Drupal 7 users to start planning a migration to Drupal 10. Prepare by auditing content, reviewing necessary module updates, and considering a site redesign to enhance functionality and user engagement.

Sticking with Drupal 7

Remaining on Drupal 7 is viable for organizations needing more time to acquire resources for migration. Continue to leverage the community support and maintain your site’s health through regular updates and content audits.

Drupal Planning: 8 to 10

Drupal 8 users should now fast-track the migration to Drupal 10 since the end-of-life status of Drupal 8, as reported, may expose the sites to security risks.

Drupal 9 Users

You are already on a pretty good platform to migrate to Drupal 10 if you use Drupal 9. Continue applying security patches and deprecation updates to your site, and you will have made the transition easily.

Exploring Etelligens Technologies’s Drupal Planning and Development Services

Etelligens Technologies provides comprehensive support for Drupal sites, focusing on incremental improvements that fit within fluctuating budgets. Services include navigation enhancements, SEO, content strategy updates, and accessibility improvements, all tailored to ensure your website's growth and readiness for eventual migration.

FAQs

Which is better, WordPress or Drupal?

While both Drupal and WordPress are user-friendly and open-source, they serve different purposes. WordPress is favored for its simplicity and great number of offered themes, thus best for easy websites. Drupal, on the other hand, is better suited for creating complex websites that require integration with other services and ongoing developer support.

Should I Upgrade to Drupal 10?

Whether to upgrade to Drupal 10 depends on your site's current codebase and your resources. Conducting an audit of your existing Drupal site will help determine if moving to D10 is beneficial for you.

What is the frequency of Security and Module Updates?

It's important to promptly apply security updates and review module updates as they are released, categorizing them by their security risk level. Non-security updates can be scheduled monthly or quarterly, depending on your resources and budget.

How to Start Your Drupal Planning and Development Strategy?

If you're unsure about how to begin, consider working with a Drupal development specialist. A competent agency should help you develop a Drupal strategy roadmap, understand your organizational goals and budget, curate content to maximize conversions, provide module support, and offer Drupal training.

How to Find Drupal Talent?

To find skilled Drupal professionals, start with Drupal.org or consult with teams like Etelligens Technologies, where experts average 10 years of Drupal development experience.