The end of Drupal 7 is officially supported by the developers till January 2025 after which the support will come to an end. Since January 2011, from the date of Drupal 7.0 release it has been widely accepted and now in its seventh stage of globally recognised CMS world, with over 11,000 contributed modules, 600 themes, and 200 distributions.
It’s crucial to understand and make informed decision for your site. In this blog we will dive deep into Drupal 7’s End of Life (EOL) and cover the options available for Drupal 7 websites, after the official support is over.
What to expect for end of Drupal 7
The versions of Drupal
By understanding the history of the platform, we can appreciate the platform’s evolution.
In its early stages, Drupal was known as Dorp (the Dutch word for “village”), and it was far from the versatile tool that we use today. In 2000s, Dorp (soon to be names as Drop) was primarily a place for then-college student Dries Buytaert and the social network at his university to talk about current events and organise get-together.
Drupal 1.0: It wasn’t long before Dries decided to formalise his creation and release it as a software. It was based on slash (another CMS) with 18 core modules and this version of Drupal was code-intensive. Everything in this version of Drupal was accessed via PHP files, but even then, it was flexible, elegant, and simple to use.
Drupal 2.0: By the year of 2001, Dries began listening, and in turn, responding to user demand. He started to allow Drupal users to create or translate their Drupal based websites into other languages, and with 22 core modules. This version released in two months, with minor additions, like the ability to edit a comment after it was posted.
Drupal3: The Drupal 3 release marked a significant milestone for the CMS, introducing interconnected nodes and a total of 26 core modules, as many websites adopted Drupal as their framework, resulting in a significant increase in content.
Drupal 4: In 2002, Drupal 4 became an international open-source movement, incorporating Metatags, attributes, and taxonomy. This made Drupal an enterprise-ready CMS. In 2003, Drupal experienced a 300% increase in content, leading to the first official Drupal conference in 2005.
Drupal 5: Drupal 4, a popular open-source content management system, gained popularity among developers. Over 500 developers contributed 1,173 patches and 2500 modules to Drupal 5, released in January 2007. It featured 29 core modules, jQuery adopters, a web-based installer, and a CSS preprocessor for improved loading times.
Drupal 6: In 2008, Drupal 6 was enhanced with drag and drop administration, new menu and security systems, and was adopted by the White House during the Obama administration, with 7,000 modules and 600 custom themes contributed by users.
Drupal 7: Drupal 7 revolutionized web application development, offering over 11,000 contributed modules and 600 custom themes, making it the preferred choice for building any website.
Drupal 8: In November 2015, Drupal underwent a significant redesign to adapt to the ever-changing web, resulting in a revamped release cycle that makes Drupal 7 obsolete, ensuring Drupal remains efficient and relevant in the ever-evolving web landscape.
Drupal 9: In June 2020, Drupal 9 was introduced, removing deprecated code and updating core dependencies like Symfony and Twig. Layout Builder and PHP Unit replaced Place Blocks and Simple Test in Drupal core. The biggest improvement was a smoother upgrade path from Drupal 8 to Drupal 9, making future upgrades easier.
Drupal 10: Drupal 10 offers a range of new features, including the Olivero front-end theme, Claro back-end theme, CKEditor 5, decoupled navigation, and more, making it a popular choice for site builders. It also has the easiest upgrade path.
What Drupal 7 and 8 site owners need to know about it
If you are a Drupal 7 site owner
The Drupal 7 end of life announcement means that the official support for Drupal 7 will end, that’s bad news for the website owners. But wait, this does not include any new security measures, bug fixes, or any updates, which may make your site more vulnerable to cyber-attacks. So, planning to upgrade of your website is crucial for the security and performance of your website.
If you are a Drupal 8 site owner
The upgradation of Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 or 10 is easy, with its in-built development path. And also, Drupal 8’s end of life is passed, so it’s time to start considering about your upgrade plans.
If you are a Drupal 9 site owner
The path to Drupal 9 site owners is also easier. Drupal 9 was designed with consistency in mind, ensuring a seamless Drupal 10 development process.
Staying on Drupal 7
The Drupal 7 platform is urged to transition to Drupal 9 or 10, although some may choose to stay due to budget constraints, time, or complexity of the upgrade. Vendors offer long-term support to Drupal 7 website owners, ensuring their site remains secure and functional, though at an additional cost.
Why upgrade from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10
The decision to upgrade from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 may seem daunting, but the benefits outweigh the challenges. The upgrade offers a secure, efficient, and user-friendly platform designed with modern web standards, ensuring your website stays current with the latest technology and offers future-looking capabilities.
Conclusion
Drupal 7's EOL date is January 2025, and there are two options for managing your site: staying on Drupal 7 after the deadline, or undergoing a full site upgrade and rebuilding onto Drupal 9 or 10. New approaches include leaving Drupal 7 altogether, removing the CMS while keeping the site functional, keeping Drupal 7 for content publishing, and rebuilding the site using a Drupal theme to reduce the time to move to Drupal 10.
