It’s the best time to be in open source and particularly to be associated with Drupal. The software development trends are sprouting out of the open source community and the tech world is experiencing all new things. In this respect, the Drupal community is eyeing on the launch of Drupal 9 scheduled for June 2020. This countdown made us think about all of you who are still on Drupal 7. 

The jump from Drupal 7 to 8 is a time consuming and heavy task. However, the ascent from Drupal 8 to 9 is said to be a seamless process. 

Let’s explore the reasons and understand the up-gradation process in detail.

Upgrade to Drupal 8

If Drupal 9 is soon to be released then what is the hype about upgrading to Drupal 8, you ask? 

Drupal 9 will be nothing but the next version update of the last Drupal 8.9 update. So, if you are not on Drupal 8, you won’t be able to upgrade to Drupal 9. In order to make the move towards Drupal 9, you have to be on Drupal 8.

Here are a few more reasons why you should upgrade to Drupal 8 before it’s too late:

• With excellent configuration management into the core, Drupal 8 allows you to create entities that can be exported to another environment. 
• RESTful web services are smooth in Drupal 8 as compared to Drupal 7. 
• New entrant - Twig- in Drupal 8 is a fast, secure and extendable way for templating. 
• Most Drupal 7 modules have either been ported or their function has been forked into a different module.

An Overview of Drupal 8

Here’s how Drupal 8 can help you advance in your business endeavors: 

• Building Tools: An improved page building tool offered by Drupal 8 creates custom pages and layout templates. 
• Improved DevOps: The DevOps is much more efficient and powerful and helps in simplifying the creation and control of developer workflows.   
• Content Authorization: Drupal 8 provisions a dramatically improved content authoring experience and enables editorial workflows.
• Higher Security: Pushing the security features of Drupal 7, the Drupal 8 version gives you the most secure CMS.
• Multilingual Options: Drupal 8 comes with the option to choose from multiple languages that can be controlled with a single codebase. 

Drupal 9 debuts in June 2020

Before Drupal 9 makes its entry in the Drupal community, we believe that these items should be checked off of your tasks:

• Update your site with minor releases, the latest being Drupal 8.8
• For the list of modules you use for your site, check their update status 
• Do not forget to check for the contributed or custom modules you are currently using. 

How will Drupal 9 Affect

• Components of your Drupal 8 will start working on Drupal 9  
• Better libraries and features will give an all-new digital experience
• Painless and smooth upgrade from Drupal 8

Why Should You Upgrade to Drupal 9?

• Security from potential issues that you can encounter with Drupal 7
• Drupal 9 will eliminate the need for third-party modules and extensions and you can upgrade features for better usability. 
• Improved user experience and design can impact the traffic on your site

Moreover, the Symfony 3 will not be supported post-November 2021. Drupal 9 is also said to offer backward-compatibility which will require you to keep your themes and modules updated with the latest Drupal 8 APIs. 

All these factors make Drupal 9 a necessity for your site. 

Why a Drupal 7 Site should be Upgraded to Drupal 8 or 9?

We are all aware that it is a task to upgrade from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8. However, not addressing these challenges make us hinder the progress of the site. If you are still on Drupal 7 and wondering if you can directly upgrade to Drupal 9, hold your thoughts. That’s not a case that is possible this time. 

According to the Drupal experts, Drupal 8.9 will be the last minor release which will have new features, and thereafter no new features will be added. Thus, you need to be on Drupal 8 in order to enjoy the functionalities of Drupal 9 later.

In case you have upgraded to Drupal 8.9 by June 2020, then it will be super easy for you to move to Drupal 9. It will be an upgrade with no major changes.

Therefore, the much-awaited Drupal 9 upgrade will not entail painful austerities for the developers. It is not a big leap that will affect your business decisions at large. 

As for Drupal 7, it will not be compatible with upcoming PHP versions which makes upgrading to Drupal 8 by June 2020 a constraint. 

Why do it now when you have 6 months to go? Well, these are a few benefits of that: 

• You can deploy the new Drupal 9 code and test for issues in advance. 
• Before Drupal 9 releases, you will get comfortable with Drupal 8. 
• With the correct amount of feedback on Drupal 8, you will be ready for the improvisions in Drupal 9.

Conclusion

With minor functionalities and limited features, Drupal 9 will take a while to create its space in the marketplace. It’s uniqueness, the overall strong built and the latest functionalities will give you the power to take your Drupal site to places.

And remember, new is always better. 

If you are looking for a smooth migration from Drupal 7 to 8, then you have landed on the right page. Contact our Drupal experts at [email protected]