Drupal 7 End of Life extended to November 2023
What does this mean for your D7 site or your migration to Drupal 9?
We recently questioned whether we should cancel Drupal 7's end of life indefinitely. Initially, the End of Life date for Drupal 7 was scheduled for November of this year (2022), already superseding its successor, Drupal 8, which reached EoL in November 2021.
This isn't the first time the date has been pushed back. The Drupal community have previously decided to prolong the end of life date of the most popular Drupal version. Largely due to COVID-19 the first time, where it was decided D7 would continue to November 28, 2022, due to the effect on budgets and enterprises. During which time, the Drupal Security Team will continue to use the Drupal 7 core and contributed project Security Team methods.
This, however, requires more effort on the part of the Drupal community in general, and the security team in particular, to assess vulnerability reports, develop fixes, and publish security warnings for Drupal 7. Until this community effort will provide site owners with more time while their finances recover, the organisations that sponsor security team members and the individual security team members who donate their time could use your help.
Drupal 8 continues to be deprecated as of November 2, 2021, owing to Symfony 3's deprecation. However, due to the far smoother migration route from Drupal 8 to Drupal 9, we do not foresee the same effect on end-users.
What does this entail for the Drupal 7 site I'm currently running?
You may continue to operate the site and receive security updates via standard channels and methods. This provides you with additional time to complete the conversion of your site to Drupal 9. And it is still highly recommended that you do.
Do I need to update to Drupal 8 first?
Not necessarily, no.
The core Migrate module enables straight migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9.
It's simpler if you're currently using Drupal 8. To update to Drupal 9, just a few small platform changes are required.
You don't need to release a new branch of your project to support Drupal 9, since a single project release may now support both Drupal 8 and Drupal 9.
From version 9.1 forward, Drupal 9 will continue to get new features, as well as regular security upgrades. If you're still using Drupal 7, the upgrade to Drupal 9 will be a bit more difficult.
Fortunately, as we have done with our own website and a number of clients already, we can help you with this. Please contact one of our Drupal experts, and we'll get back to you to explore your simple migration options.
Are there any Drupal 7 developers still working on it?
Yes! In fact, we employ some here at Code Enigma. However, we can't expect D7 developers to work on this version forever. It's inevitable that resources will eventually deplete.
What should I do with my Drupal 7 site?
Drupal 7's end of life being extended does not mean that deferring the upgrade is the right course of action. Upgrading to Drupal 9 gives you the chance to change the way you think about the internet as a business tool.
Advantages of the Drupal 7 end of life extension
- You will have more time to complete your next project properly thanks to the extension
- Think of it as having the opportunity to include extra planning and explore a redesign and dedicate real time to accessibility considerations
- Starting now may save money in the long run by securing an agency before costs likely rise by 2023
Essentially, this is the gift of time, but you should continue with your migration journey as planned. Having the Drupal 7 end of life extended means you reduce the amount of time you are under pressure. Plus, sites will continue to be safe during this time.
Don't hesitate to contact us if you want guaranteed security and continuing support for the most popular Drupal version.