Act NOW to keep your website secure!
Drupal is an open-source content management system that allows people and businesses to build a website, usually with the help of Drupal website designers. It is estimated that Drupal has been used to create around 14% of the top 10,000 websites worldwide, meaning it is one of the most relied on content management systems within website development.
But anyone that owns a Drupal website needs to know about some major changes in 2023. And they’ll need to take action!
What is Drupal 9?
At the time of writing Drupal 9 is the latest version of Drupal. It was released on June 3rd 2020 by building on Drupal 8. The most significant difference between the two is that Drupal 9 removed most of the deprecated functions found in Drupal 8. Many website owners operating with Drupal 8 upgraded to Drupal 9 when it was released. And now they will have to do the same again…
Drupal 9 coming to an end!
Drupal 9 includes something called Symfony 4.0, which is an open-source PHP framework used to build high-performance websites. However, Symfony 4.0 has an end-of-life date in November 2023. This is because any security issues or bugs with Symfony 4.0 will not be fixed after November 2023, which could cause issues for websites built with Drupal 9.
The better news is that Drupal 10 is already in the pipeline and expected to become available before Symfony 4.0 ceases to be updated and fixed. It is anticipated that Drupal 10 will be available at some time in June 2022, giving website owners over one year to get up to speed. The new Drupal 10 will operate with an updated version of Symfony which will continue to receive updates and bug fixes.
Consequences of not moving to Drupal 10
If you own a website built with Drupal 9, the first question you probably have is if its’ necessary to move to Drupal 10? The simple answer to this question is yes. It’s necessary to upgrade to Drupal 10 because not doing so will put your website at risk.
If you don’t make the switch to Drupal 10, you’ll continue to own a website with Symfony 4.0 and any bugs and issues related to Symfony 4.0 will never be fixed. This would create major security issues for your website and any of your website users, which could subsequently damage your brand and business.
Will moving to Drupal 10 be easy?
The switch from Drupal 9 to Drupal 10 will be relatively straightforward, which is good news for you and your website developer. The switch should provide no hiccups and should be complete relatively quickly to avoid any disruption to your business processes.
The reason that the switch has been made straightforward is that Drupal 10 is already added to Drupal 9 releases. The only difference is that its deprecations will be removed. This is also how the switch from Drupal 8 to Drupal 9 was made seamless.
Drupal query? Speak to WEBPRO Education!
If you want a website made with Drupal but have more questions about Drupal and what future updates will mean for you, don’t hesitate to ask. Our WEBPRO Education developer team are a friendly bunch and willing to answer all your Drupal and web design queries. Get in touch with an in-the-know web developer today!
Recap: Drupal is one of the most used content management systems to create small and complex websites, including for organisations like NASA and Oxfam. The most up-to-date version of Drupal is going to stop receiving important bug fixes and security updates in November 2023. This means anyone with a Drupal website will need to switch to the new Drupal 10 which is estimated to be available in June 2022. Don’t forget to ask a developer to help you migrate your website over, or you could end up with significant website security problems.
P.S. We can help you switch to Drupal 10 even if we didn’t create your Drupal 9 website. Get in touch for help upgrading your site and keeping it secure.
