What does this mean
After this date, support will be available from select vendors but not from Drupal themselves — no more security updates, bug fixes, core commits, or documentation. Even if your organization is on a tight budget, having an outdated platform will bring huge potential risks. Compatibility, security and compliance are very common issues when you keep running software that has reach its end-of-life. Having your Drupal site on a version that is no longer supported means your site’s data and infrastructure would be at a much higher risk of hacking than usual. If there has been plans to upgrade your corporate site from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8, now would be the time to do so. After that, there is really no benefit in waiting for the release of Drupal 9 since upgrading from Drupal 8 to Drupal 9 should be fairly straightforward. If your Drupal 8 codebase isn’t using any deprecated code, upgrading will be as easy as getting the latest version and running update.php.
What to do with your Drupal 7 Site
If you have yet to discuss, now it’s time to start planning to migrate to Drupal 8. In order to be aligned with the timing of the respective releases and the upcoming end-of-life you should plan for the following:
Q1-Q2 2020: Start planning for your migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8. Upgrading from one to another can be a time-consuming effort, be sure to get a head start.
Q3-Q4 2020: Complete migration to Drupal 8 and keep your site updated.
2021: Drupal 9 will be released in in June 2020, giving everyone about more than a year to make an hassle-free upgrade to Drupal 9 before the November 2021 end-of-life date.
The good news
Currently, Drupal 8 is based on an innovative model that relies on introducing new functionalities in minor versions while maintaining backwards compatibility. This will provide site owners with a clearer roadmap looking at the future as to how they’ll be impacted by future Drupal releases. Basically you can innovate your site resting assure thta you will not be needing a full rebuild in the future. From what we’ve heard from several media outlets and blogs like O8 Agency Drupal 9 will be an straight evolution from Drupal 8, meaning that the first release of Drupal 9 will be similar to the last minor release of 8 (DR 8.9). This means that by keeping your Drupal 8 sites up-to-date, you’ll be prepared for an easy and hassle-free upgrade to Drupal 9.Final Thoughts and Key Takeaways
In summary, we recommend following these 3 simple steps:
1) Start now to complete your Drupal 8 migration by the end of 2020.Consider this an opportunity to invest time and resources in a site redesign and flow improvements as part of the migration.
2) Keep your site up-to-date. It is imperative for to make the leap to Drupal 9 to have the most updated Drupal version.
3) Make an easy transition from Drupal 8 to 9 during 2021, right before the end-of-life date.
Get in touch with us for any questions or concerns regarding how to upgrade your current version of Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 or the latest release!