Drupal end-of-life deadlines have been shifted over the last few years, so what’s the latest on Drupal 7? Learn more about Drupal, the Drupal 7 end-of-life date and what you need to do if you own a Drupal website. Everything you need to know is clearly explained below without the jargon.
Drupal is a Content Management System (CMS) used to develop websites and web applications. It’s comparable to other open-source CMSs, such as WordPress or Magento. It’s estimated that Drupal is used by up to 3% of all websites.
Although this is a small percentage, there are around two billion active websites to date, meaning Drupal remains a popular option.
There are different versions of Drupal released over time to keep up with new features and updates. At any one time, there will be at least two versions of Drupal available for use with ongoing updates and support. Right now, Drupal 7 and Drupal 9 are available, but the situation is fluid.
Drupal 7 was released in 2011 and is still going today (more on that later!). Drupal 8 was released in 2015, however it reached end-of-life in November 2021. Drupal 9 was released in 2020 and is due for end-of-life at the end of 2023. And finally, Drupal 10 is due for release at the end of 2022.
Initially, Drupal 7 was due to come to end-of-life at the end of 2021, however this was pushed back to November 2022 due to the pandemic. Since then, the end-of-life deadline has been further extended to November 2023, with an annual review. This is due to the popularity of Drupal 7 and the number of important websites currently using the system and has led to the newer version of Drupal, Drupal 8, coming to end-of-life first.
If you use Drupal to run your website, it’s important to have a plan in place for upgrading to the newest version when your’s reaches end-of-life. If your website is currently on Drupal 7, the work required to upgrade to Drupal 9 is significant and you should be thinking about doing this work sooner rather than later.
WEBPRO Creative offers to help all existing and new clients to update their Drupal website from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9. Get in contact if you have an outdated Drupal website.
For the time being, your website will still be supported. However, if you do not upgrade to the latest version of Drupal before your’s reaches end-of-life, your website will stop receiving crucial updates, including security updates, leaving it vulnerable to attacks and with outdated functionality.
The situation with Drupal 7 is currently unclear – support may be extended past November 2023, however that will not be announced until early next year. Our advice would be to make the move as soon as possible, particularly as the work involved to move between Drupal 7 and Drupal 9 will take your developer time.
If you are concerned about your version of Drupal and what you should be doing over the next few months, get in touch and we will talk you through your options.
Business growth doesn’t have to only come from generating new customers. It’s possible to grow your business by engaging with clients who have already bought into your product or service. But how do you get it right?
READ MORE
