Migrating From Drupal 7 to Drupal 9 – What You Need to Know

Launched on 3rd June 2020, Drupal 9 brings a powerful and highly consistent platform for businesses to encounter innovative digital experiences. With the older versions, upcoming end-of-life, enterprises have started migrating and charting to shift from the existing version to the Drupal 9 version.

As we already know, Drupal 7 will officially withdraw its support from November 2022. Does it seem scary? Well, you are not alone in this migration process. Businesses should consult experienced Drupal development agencies for the complete migration process.

Let’s dive into the following blog for more details:

If you are still on Drupal 7, KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON:

Businesses need not panic if it is still on Drupal 7. The Drupal community will support officially till November 2022. After that, it will extend commercial support for additional five years or until 2025. Thus, organizations can begin their upgrade process as soon as possible to prepare and plan.

The Drupal community has outlined a list as to what to expect from D7 to D9 transition:

• No new features for D7 sites.
• No automated testing.
• No security support- no patches, no bug fixing, and no security advisories, leaving your websites vulnerable.
• Flagged as unsecured while integrating with 3rd party tool.

Want to continue with existing D7 sites? Explore the options still available:

Have a look at some of the existing options available:

1. Continue with unsupported D7:

D7 sites will continue with the work even after its end of life. However, there is a twist to this. There won’t be any security support from the Drupal team. The lack of security support will lead to website compliance issues, especially with sensitive information.

2. Partner for Extended Support (ES):

Businesses not opting for migration can enroll for the D7 ES program and partner with the Drupal Association. The partnership involves disclosing all the D7 security vulnerabilities to the vetted vendor and fixing them. However, the ES program is available only till 2025, post that businesses have to either platform to the latest versions or move to other CMS.

3. Shift to different CMS:

Backdrop CMS:

The backdrop has a built-in upgrade path for D7 websites. If you plan to remain on the traditional website without any upgrade, backdrop CMS is a good bet. However, in the future, if you plan to shift to D9, migrating to backdrop CMS is not a good investment as there is no migration path from Backdrop to D9.

Other CMS:

D7 sites are compatible shifting to other CMS platforms outside the Drupal universe. WordPress offers plugins to simplify the move. One can also make custom CMS. However, there is a moderate and heavy investment of time and money while migrating.

Moving from D7 to D9:

Once you decide to migrate from D7 to D9, you can approach in two ways:

• Migrate directly from D7 to D9
• Migrate from D7 to D8, then to D9

The journey from D7 to D9:

With Drupal users holding the majority, users would want a direct up-gradation. Upgrading from D7 to D9 will cost the same as upgrading from D7 to D8 to D9. Yes, you heard that right!

The primary reason is D9 is a minor upgrade in terms of functionalities from D8. However, a direct upgrade from D7 to D9 is a whole different thing.

The second reason is backward compatibility. The Drupal community takes time to create enough modules compatible with the D9 version.

The journey from D8 to D9:

If you are on D8, updating to the latest D9 version is seamless. Along with core upgrades, D9 comes with Symphony 4 and 5. It will further reduce the time and effort.

The update from D8 to D9 is the removal of Deprecated Codes. One can find these codes in the modules integrated with the site.

Wrapping up:

If you are still on D7, we hope you have enough information to consider migrating to D9 as the next logical step. Once you opt for a D9 upgrade, consult the expert Drupal development agency for a smooth migration process. Infozion technologies would be happy to assist you with the entire migration process.

As we already know, Drupal has served big brands featuring increased functionality websites as one of the most prevalent CMS platforms choices for various enterprises. Drupal 7 does not cater to the current and emerging needs of the enterprises due to disruptive market trends. Businesses need to evaluate their move from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9, with its end-of-life in November 2022.

Essential tips for Drupal 9 migration:

Organizations need to choose one option out of the two options available.

Option 1: Migrating directly from D7 to D9

Option 2: Migrating first from D7 to D8 and then from D8 to D9.

Option 2 is the ideal path for organizations willing to migrate to D9. Migrate to D8 after fulfilling the pre-requisites and workflows for content migration with the help of migration scripts.

Choose from among the two approaches to get it done:

Option 1: Build an entire new Drupal website from scratch

Option 2: Build a new Drupal 8.9 site and migrate the existing content from D7. Then upgrade to D9.

Crucial steps to follow:

• Before undergoing the migration plan, organize architecture for source and destination sites.
• Create an Excel file for the migration plan.
• Rely on the migration planner to get queries from the database.
• Allow site abilities to migrate with the content automatically.
• If your existing site has a lot of custom code, choose either standard contributed fields or a custom migration strategy.
• Use migration processors and add Drush support for non-core fields.
• Investigate all the platform requirements before migrating.

Planning Strategies used for Migration to D9:

Once you decide to migrate from D7 to D9, there are some considerations taken into account, which are as follows:

1. Ensure thorough preparation:

Undertaking a migration process from D7 to D9 does not involve a lot of complications. Update Drupal 7 to the latest version along with its extensions. Make sure to have a backup ready of the present site before starting the migration process. The fresh installation should enable migration modules and stability.

2. Content structure and modules identification:

Identify the content types, structures, and modules used in the migration process with site configurations. Install and enable all the modules, as they are not the same as in previous versions. The migration scripts mainly depend on the data used and the content catalog. After this, map the content types to the new version.

3. Using Drush Method for D8:

Use the Drush method for data migration with a prompt status delivery message. Define the database connection and import data from D7. Set up a migration process with the help of Migrate Manifest Module. List in random orders but execute them based on perceived dependencies.

4. Upgrading site to D9:

Update the contributed modules to D9 themes after migrating to D8. Upgrade to D9 with the help of contributed modules with patches when needed. Ensure the code is compatible with D9. Remove any deprecated APIs and use composer from D8 to manage dependencies.

5. Skillset needed for migration process:

The migration process depends on a team of expert Drupal developers. The migration will work if they are capable of upgrading themselves. Use a Drupal development agency such as Infozion technologies that understands your workflows and has prior migration experience.

6. Time and budget constraints:

Set out a budget and relevant timeline for the migration process. Consider the factors such as business goals and opt for phased upgrades. Assess the design aspects and figure out whether the site promises a great UI/UX experience or not.

7. Check for feature updates:

Before allowing a nod for the migration process:

• Perform a comprehensive audit
• Assess the content types fit for removal
• Utilize futuristic taxonomy
• Merge content types during the D9 upgrade
• Checking dynamic front-end features
• Assessing the site leading to rigorous checks and balances

Wrapping up:

The migration process involves a lot of phased approaches starting from a sound migration plan to the experienced skillset team. However, once you have decided to opt for D9, you need to have an experienced team of Drupal developers to carry a smooth migration process. Infozion technologies is one of the leading Drupal development agency that will help your business and organization with the Drupal Migration Process.

The software community thrives on new upgrades and updates that enable features, functionality, performance, and usability better than previous versions. The product becomes more efficient and secure if we update to the latest version of the technology.

Drupal is one of the most popular open-source CMS, offering regular updates after every six months. To enjoy the latest functionalities of the CMS, users need to upgrade to the newest version.

If you have your website based on Drupal, what is the latest version we can update? Drupal 9 is the brand new version, fresh like a cookie from the oven, released in June this year. Unlike previous versions, the update for migrating to Drupal 9 is like upgrading to the entire new version release.

If you are on Drupal 7 and looking to migrate to Drupal 9, we will discuss why you should update to Drupal 9?

Current scenario of Drupal 7:

Does your website is based on Drupal 7? If we talk about statistics, currently, Drupal 7 is used by more than 7,50,000 users across the globe. It is not the latest version and has official support till November 2022. The Drupal creators extended the support by one year by looking at the current pandemic situation. Initially, the support was going to end in 2021.

End of support: what does it mean?

Security considerations:

Keeping the overall website security and customers’ data is crucial for any business organization. For having a secured website, one needs to apply for security updates. No more security updates will get released after the end of support. It means the websites will have more vulnerability for cyber attacks.

No smooth process:

The end of official support means no bug fixes and no improvements. Due to this, some functions on your website won’t work smoothly. It will drive away potential customers.

No further development:

The end of support will not lead to any further development for your Drupal 7 version.

Reasons for upgrading from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9:

Let’s dive into the benefits of Drupal 9:

Easy upgrades:

Long updates are gone. All you need to do is move forward from the D7 version, and all the upgrades are as quick as possible. All this is possible due to D9’s backward compatibility with D8.

Better security:

D9 has cleaned the outdated code and uses the new version of PHP, which helps in protecting the websites from cyber attacks and offers better security.

Faster:

D9 will improve your website performance because of the integration of third-party libraries and components inside. The design of the new architecture allows creating superfast website experiences with the help of integrating JavaScript frameworks.

Accessibility to all audiences:

The D9 version is accessible to every audience, even with disabilities. The D9 front-end theme Olivero is an accessibility masterpiece.

Smooth editorial experience:

Content editors will love the admin dashboards in their D9 websites. All thanks to the media library, configurable toolbar, and quick edit feature, and much more.

Multilingual:

Earlier, D7 websites cannot imagine the multi-language capabilities that D9 has provided. Adding languages to D9 websites is now like a breeze.

Mobile friendly:

The Drupal team has seamlessly provided mobile users a boon, as the websites are mobile-friendly.

Do you want to upgrade to D9? Upgrade with us:

We would recommend first upgrading from D7 to D8 and then to D9. Our expert Drupal developers will upgrade to D8 and ensure that your code is clean without any outdated elements. After fulfilling these requirements, our developers will instantly transfer to D9.

Our experienced Drupal development team will perform your Drupal upgrade quickly. Contact us now!

With the increase in technology, every section of society is dependent upon digital devices for online activities. Your CMS must meet the needs of the recent trends as the users and students are increasing every year.

Here comes the thought of knowing which platform is the best for building a university or educational website? Drupal website is the best solution for making an educational website. Drupal is an open-source all-in-one CMS platform that develops highly scalable websites. The team will ensure the flexibility, security, and robustness of the Drupal CMS that will enable technology-driven learning methods.

It offers secure coordination with fewer efforts and time that helps in creating higher education websites. If you doubt why we should choose Drupal over other CMS websites, check out this article. We will be discussing why Drupal is a perfect fit for educational websites?

Drupal: a perfect fit for educational institute websites:

The manual auditing of text, videos, and images is pretty monotonous. Apart from that, the educational institutes have tight budgets and limited faculty resources for establishing websites. Thus, Drupal has the supporting standards starting from visitors understanding web pages to editors adding tags quickly.

Open-source CMS:

Drupal is an open-source CMS that allows educational institutes to create highly scalable, secured, and flexible websites for students and teachers. The process of distance education seems effortless with the help of Drupal websites.

Multi-site and Multilingual:

Educational websites involve a holistic approach that demands a sister domain for the development of students in various sections. Drupal offers flexibility and fulfills the demand for multi-site management for educational institutions. It is possible to share the site content with the Domain Access Module that helps in configuring the user and content settings. Drupal allows creating a joint code base where more than a hundred languages can get localized.

Easy to develop and customize the content:

Drupal websites for educational institutions are easy to develop. Drupal has functional tools that allow creating and managing multiple content types with minimal coding. Personalization and customization of content is also one of the key features of Drupal CMS.

Access rights:

Universities can use Drupal and develop ERP Software to create accounts for different categories of users. You can create access rights for the data on the website, which means that what teachers see will be different from what students see.

Mobile friendly:

If we count on the number of smartphones a student or a teacher has, everyone will have it. If any educational website gets built on Drupal CMS, the websites are mobile-friendly by default. If you want the most out of it, you need to hire an expert Drupal Developer to do the job for you. Infozion Technologies is the right choice for your Drupal Development needs.

Wrapping up:

Universities and educational institutions need to promptly respond to the demands, as higher education is vast and intimidating. Fortunately, the development of educational websites with the help of Drupal CMS has multiple functionalities. It allows users and students to manage the institute’s main page from a single place. It is always possible with the help of access rights given to content independence to each department.

Do you need to develop an educational website? Hire Drupal web developers from Infozion technologies that have master skills and are highly proficient.

As we already know, the Drupal team will officially stop supporting the Drupal 7 version. Drupal’s founder, Dries Buytaert- has stated that support will end for the Drupal 8 version simultaneously. Thus, it is critical for thousands of websites to migrate to the later versions of Drupal. It will ensure a scalable, secure, and robust infrastructure.

Upgrading to the latest versions will bring quick search compatibility, usability, and compliance. It bestows a bundle of great features for website builders, administrators, an object-oriented backend, and a twig-based templating system.

Considerations while upgrading to Drupal 9:

• Content workflow defines various workflows.
• Support for multilingual capabilities.
• Improved page view performance
• Faster page loading
• Authorized front-end freedom
• API- First approach

Drupal 9 is the most innovative version in Drupal history. It is the modest version of Drupal 8.9.0 with the up-gradation of third-party dependencies.

It is also a high-quality choice for the formation of integrated digital frameworks.

In this article, we will help to understand

Some of the new features embodied in the Drupal 9 version and why do organizations need to upgrade?

What differentiates Drupal 9 from Drupal 8?

In simple terms, think of Drupal 9 as the reliable, faster, and easy-to-use version.

In Drupal 9’s upgrade, there are not many significant schema changes that require a complicated upgrade. All Drupal modules use object-oriented programming and YAML, including Drupal 9. As long as all the project components use the updated code, the transition phase from Drupal 8.9 to Drupal 9 is not complex.

The core dependencies that run on Drupal 9 are:

• PHP 7.3 as a minimum version
• MySQL 5.7
• Drush 10
• Symfony 4

What’s new in Drupal 9?

The security support provided to the Drupal 9 version is the fundamental advantage to upgrade. Furthermore, it also offers effortless features that are:

Backward compatible:

Drupal 9’s is compatible with its predecessor version- Drupal 8. Thus, it is reverse compatible. Unlike the case with D7 sand D8, D9 can use modules, configurations, and data created on D8.

Faster and smooth performance:

D9 has extended its pillar support for responsive images. It displays the best mobile pictures with faster loading and better performance.

Cleaner codebase:

D9 has removed the support for deprecated code in D8. Thus, it guarantees that the code marked as deprecated is no longer supported.

New versions of Symfony and Twig:

Drupal community launches Twig 2.0. Also, Symfony 3 gets replaced with Symfony 4 and 5 in the D9 version. The upgrades result in advanced performance, improved development experience, and better security.

Panelizer gets removed and replaced:

In D9, the panelizer is removed and replaced with the layout builder and the contributed module of the moment.

Headless CMS:

D8 and D9 have API-first approaches. D9 uses headless CMS to enhance user experience with the front-end, having a JavaScript framework.

Reasons for upgrading Drupal 9:

• The Drupal security team will soon cease to provide security advisories, wavering the websites and cyber security.
• The D7 and D8 versions will get flagged as insecure in the 3rd party scans.
• Leading service providers will also withdraw their support from D7 and D8.

Wrapping up:

Drupal’s migration process will bring relief for the sites employing older versions. The latest version can fulfill the high-stake development process vigorously. Would you like to have a try?

The key to achieving a smooth transition process is to plan a migration process with deadlines. If you are looking for a smooth migration/ up-gradation process, Infozion technologies is the best choice.

With Drupal 7 and 8 reaching the end of their lives and Drupal 9 all set to release their new versions- the crucial question that pops up in our mind is whether you should wait or upgrade to Drupal 9?

Instead of pondering over the reasons as to why upgrade to Drupal 9, organizations must start figuring out their approach towards Drupal 9.

Let’s dive into more details and understand how to survive the Drupal 7 and 8 end-of-life.

Drupal 9: Reasons to migrate:

With Drupal 7’s end-of-life, Drupal’s official team will not extend any support. In simple terms, contributed modules and themes won’t get any maintenance apart from exposed security loopholes, affecting the recantation of the downloadable release of the projects.

Drupal 7 and 8 end-of-life:

End-of-life means the Drupal team officially withdraws the support for older versions. With the launch of Drupal 9 in the last year and Drupal 10 set to schedule for release in June 2022, end-of-life is quickly approaching Drupal 7 and 8.

One might get a mini shock as Drupal 8’s end-of-life will occur before Drupal 7. In most cases, the transition from Drupal 8 to 9 is insignificant. Another reason is Drupal 8 majorly depends on Symfony 3. Symfony 3’s end-of-life was on November 2021.

How will organizations get impacted?

Drupal is one of the large content management systems with open-source and robust security models.

• Drupal has a dedicated team of security professionals that review core and contributed vulnerabilities.
• After identifying the possible issues, the Drupal team gets notified and quickly fixes the code.
• After code fixing and announcing, a patch gets released to the community.
• Drupal sites get an automatic notification that they need to upgrade.

With Drupal 7 and 8 end-of-life, there won’t be support from the Drupal team, even for critical security issues. The contributed modules won’t get reviewed and tested.

So, what do you need to do next?

Without taking active steps to protect your websites, you are vulnerable to a security breach. Hackers and hacking groups are waiting for the official support to end. They can use security exploits to access the websites.

We advise our partners and clients to follow these steps:

• To ensure continuous security support, one can develop an internal plan to monitor future Drupal 7 and 8 security releases.
• It is time for reassessment on using the web if you are still on Drupal 7 and 8.
• Take the help of an expert development company like Infozion technologies. We will help to reassess the website plans and determine an effective digital strategy.
• After identification of secured platforms, plan and execute the migration process.

Upgrading to Drupal 9 is more than just security:

Drupal 9 has out-of-the-box features that allow you to build modern digital experiences.

We can say Drupal 9 is a box of innovation.

Best of Drupal 8:

Drupal 8 has improved authoring experience with Layout builder, Twig templating engine, and build-in web integrations. All these features are carried forward to Drupal 9.

Automatic tools:

Ease of use is Drupal’s topmost priority. New front-end themes and automatic updates are among the intuitive tools of Drupal 9.

Future upgrades:

Upgrades on Drupal 9 are automatic, and one need not platform as new versions get released.

Prepare for an upgrade of Drupal 9:

The upgrade comes with difficulties. As you prepare for Drupal 9’s upgrade, prefer the best development agency such as Infozion technologies for a steady migration path to Drupal 9.

Undoubtedly, Drupal is a widely used open-source content management system. However, the Drupal 7 version’s life is coming to an end, officially released on 5th January 2011. Now, what do we mean by the end of life? End-of-life means the official date the core Drupal team stops supporting a particular version of the content management system. November 2021 was the initial date for Drupal 7 end-of-life. However, the Covid pandemic that hit the businesses and their budgets, the Drupal team decided to extend their support till 28th November 2022.

The most awaited question that comes is- are you still a part of Drupal 7? If yes, what next? Have you given a chance of thought about the risk after its end-of-life? If not, you should think about it right away.

In this article, we will discuss-

Is it safe to stay on Drupal 7 after its EOL?

How protected is it to stay on Drupal 7?

This particular segment will help you to figure out whether you should adhere to Drupal 7 or not? But the difficulty arises, how will you perform this choice? Business organizations need to estimate the ongoing and up-gradation cost in comparison with the current state of things. Once estimation gets completed, business leaders will get an opportunity to project the break-even point for the up-gradation. Also, the projection of future security threats cost won’t get predicted as nobody knows how much will it cost in the future.

If the business organizations decide to stick with the Drupal 7 version, they must get aware of the risks.

Let’s dive into some of the risk factors:

Risks after Drupal 7 EOL:

Some of the common risks are as follows:

Security threats:

Websites based on Drupal 7 won’t get any security support for the core issues or contributed modules. Site maintainers will need the majority of their time to search security loopholes and fix them. If there are various contributed modules in the Drupal configuration, the risk gets compounded. No doubt, business organizations might hire a development agency allowing a helping hand to resolve the Drupal seven issues.

One of the advantages to upgrade from the 7 to 9 version is that you will get all the security updates and features.

Integration threats:

Another risk that accompanies the security threats is the integration threats. It will be difficult to maintain the status quo as the key integrations will start to fail. Organizations need to update the module or make a custom module to keep the integration work ongoing as the current version won’t be supported by the core Drupal team.

Functionality threats:

The Drupal community will eventually reduce the amount of activity spent on the core modules after their end-of-life. As a result, there won’t be any free updates. You will end up struggling to fix the bugs or hire an expert agency to work on behalf of your website. It will end up resulting in additional costs.

What’s your pick?

As mentioned earlier, it is difficult to predict a particular figure cost for an upgrade investment. However, we can understand the complexity of the business case based on the existing Drupal 7 solutions. We can tell you the complexity level, the number of modules used, and the nature of integrations.

If you are looking for an upgrade or want to stick to the existing version of Drupal, Infozion technologies is the correct place to solve your queries.