Every year, the Drupal community gathers in a new city for the annual DrupalCon show. More expansive than regional camps, DrupalCon gives attendees from all around the world the chance to collaborate and learn from each other face-to-face.
The expansive audience of the convention makes it an ideal venue for Drupal creator Dries Buytaert to address the community. In his “Driesnote,” Dries usually focuses on highlights from the past year and upcoming developments for the platform. As such, the upcoming Drupal 8.7 update got a lot of spotlight, as did the efforts of star contributors working to make Drupal so robust. And with Drupal 9 coming in the not-so-distant future, Dries’ address this year demonstrated the advances being made at the cutting edge of Drupal.
While Dries focused on the present and future benefits of Drupal 8, he didn’t neglect users still on Drupal 7. First launched in 2011, Drupal 7 remains the most widely deployed version of the platform, even though Drupal 8 was released in 2015. The reasons for the relatively slow adoption of Drupal 8 are numerous, ranging from incompatible modules to the standard costs of a redesign. Dries understands that, and in this year’s Driesnote, offered words of support to those who have not made the change.
“There’s no need to panic,” Dries said. Indeed, he said that Drupal 7 will continue to be officially supported for over two-and-a-half years, until November 2021. At that point, Drupal 7 will reach its end of life.
What happens in November 2021, you might ask? We’ve covered the upcoming Drupal release pipeline in an earlier blog post, but the major driving force behind this date is Symfony 3. A major dependency for Drupal 7 and 8, when Symfony 3 is sunset in November 2021, it will expose sites running on D7 and D8 to security threats. Because Symfony 3 is also a major dependency for Drupal 8, most Drupal users will need to upgrade to Drupal 9 before November 2021.
As Dries said, though, there’s no need to panic if you’re on Drupal 7. This end-of-life date is still over two years away, giving you plenty of time to consider your options and decide how to move forward. In the meantime, Drupal 7 will continue to be supported by both the open-source community and agencies like Duo.
If you’re running Drupal 7 and want to get a head-start, there are a few options. Upgrading to Drupal 8 is the most logical route, as it the direct successor to D7. The Driesnote also noted that more and more modules that D7 users are accustomed to using are now functional in D8, which will make the transition smoother. The big draw of this path, however, is the ease with which you’ll be able to upgrade to Drupal 9. Drupal 8 is built on the same codebase as D9, which means that an upgrade between those two systems will not require a major design or development overhaul.
Another option for D7 users is to bypass D8 altogether. Jumping from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 would be more akin to a traditional redesign, both in terms of the work involved and the cost. That being said, even though moving from D8 to D9 will be relatively easy, it will still require some effort. Going from D7 to D9 streamlines the process, requiring only one comprehensive upgrade.
Whichever path you take, rest assured that there is time. Dries acknowledges that there are still many users who enjoy the benefits of Drupal 7, and this year’s Driesnote signifies that this crowd hasn’t been forgotten. While ever Drupal 7 site will eventually need an upgrade, users can rest easy knowing that they have plenty of time.
When the time comes to make a decision about upgrading, Duo can help you chart your journey ahead. Whether you want to stay on Drupal 7 or can’t wait for Drupal 9, we’re committed to delivering the best possible version of your site.
