Drupal 8 to Drupal 9: The easiest major upgrade in a decade

Do you know your web browser's version number? What about which operating system update you have installed? Chances are, you have no idea which adaptation you’re using for any major software. And that’s the way it should be

There is a movement to more frequent, easier updates throughout the software industry. The reason behind more frequent updates is that if everyone keeps their software up-to-date and more secure, those updates become easier and more frequent. Soon, you may not know the major or minor version of your website software, just that it is up-to-date and secure, which is the ultimate goal of any update, upgrade or version release.

What version of Drupal am I running?

Chances are, if you’re using Drupal, you are using version 7 or 8. In June 2020, version 9 of Drupal was released, and the last minor version of Drupal 8 was released. Versions 8 and 9 contain the same features and code. The only difference is that Drupal 9, or D9 as it is referred to in the industry, removed deprecated code and updated third-party dependencies.

(Source: Drupal.org - How to prepare for Drupal 9)

The image above shows the timeline for Drupal 8 and its version releases since 2019. The upgrade cycle in version 8 for minor releases was established to be a single release roughly twice a year.  Now that Drupal 9 has been released, there will be an end date for support for Drupal 8, but that is not scheduled until November 2, 2021. In fact, the upgrade from 8 to 9 is so painless, version 10 will be released in 2022, likely to even less fanfare, as it will also be the same as the most recent version 9.

Upgrading between all minor versions of Drupal, including the jump to version 9, is advised but is a much simpler process than version upgrades have been in the past. See what Drupal.org has to say about it here. However, if your website was recently created or released since 2016, it’s likely that you’re on Drupal 8, and the upgrade should be extremely straightforward and relatively painless.

If you find yourself on version 7 of Drupal, you can absolutely upgrade straight to D9 and skip D8 altogether. The rebuild would likely take the form of an entirely new website, but the benefits of going right to D9 are two-fold: avoiding end-of-life issues for D8 in 2022 and jumping on a platform that will enable you to go headless, adopting the best media, personalization, translation, and content creation tool that open source has to offer.

Why migrate to Drupal 9?

Running end-of-life platforms comes with problems that will cost your company time and money over time. When official support for D8 ran out in November 2021 (D7 support runs out in 2023), security updates, bug fixes, and creating new modules for those versions also went away. If you are still running Drupal 8, you could be vulnerable to cyber attacks, potential downtime and a lack of up-to-date features that your customers would expect from your web presence.

Jumping right into a new build with D9, you benefit from having long-term official support from the Drupal community, including security releases that help protect your website from various vulnerabilities. D9 also removes outdated code and uses the new version of PHP, which is important in terms of security. 

Other reasons to upgrade to D9, from Drupal.org:

• Easiest upgrade in a decade, and a commitment to easy upgrades in the future. Never replatform again.
• Continuous innovation, cutting-edge new features, reaching new digital channels while strengthening our foundation in content management.
• Dramatically easier tools, intuitive solutions that empower business users to take advantage of the power of Drupal.

Tips for Upgrading to Drupal 9

• Make sure your version of Drupal is up-to-date.
• Use Upgrade Status to see if your website is ready for upgrading (this module will flag modules that need to be upgraded to Drupal 9).
• If you have custom code, you can use Drupal Rector to identify code that needs to be updated and, in many cases, can be automatically upgraded.

Still not sure that the upgrade to Drupal 9 is right for your organization? Have questions about the best way to handle upgrading your Drupal site? Our team is here to help you answer those kinds of questions.

Check out our Drupal and Drupal Commerce Development page for more details on our services, or contact our experts to get started on your Drupal upgrade today.

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About the writer: Josh has been creating websites since 2000, has been a Drupal community member since 2008 and is a valued Acro Commerce Alumni. He spends most of his free time playing board games and yelling at his cat with his wife.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on November 24, 2020. The content has been updated for freshness and accuracy.