Today, we're excited to celebrate the launch of the most stable and mature version of Drupal to date. Drupal 9 is the culmination of the work of thousands of contributors around the globe, collaborating to create an innovative platform that's designed for everyone to use.
What's really exciting about Drupal 9 is that it represents the work of 4 and a half years of steady work since Drupal 8 was released. Rather than a single cycle of new features added all at once, features have been released steadily since Drupal 8.0. And now all those features are already tested, stable, and ready-to-use.
What Has Changed Since Drupal 8?
Since November, 2015, there have been 8 feature releases for Drupal 8 that progressively and steadily satisfy more and more requirements for ambitious web projects. Features like Media and Layout Builder have been fully integrated into an already rich content model. This really takes Drupal to the next level compared to other options in the CMS ecosystem and means that Drupal can adapt to the digital information design needed by each individual project.
For those who upgrade to Drupal 9, continuous improvements will continue to be added in the same way. This first release of Drupal 9 represents an upgrade to the underlying technology, but there's no radical change to how Drupal works. Upgrading is important because it means that you can keep benefiting from the innovation, while staying secure and stable.
Why Should I Use Drupal 9?
In broad strokes, there are 3 main reasons to use Drupal 9:
Drupal 9 Enables Innovation
Drupal is open source, but it's also open in that it doesn't lock you into one set of technology solutions. It can adapt to your marketing tools of choice, the devices you want to push data to, and the future use cases that are coming down the road. By simply having a strong content architecture, Drupal sites are easier to extend and build on. Features will continue to be added via regular feature releases (Drupal 9.1, 9.2, etc) so you'll benefit from improvements that are added as the web evolves.
Drupal 9 Prioritizes Ease-of-Use
The thing that I'm most excited about in Drupal 9 is how much easier it's going to be for content editors to use. Layout Builder provides drag-and-drop page building. The Claro theme provides a more accessible and streamlined admin interface. Content Moderation provides workflows that are actually adapted to content editors' needs. And that's what's great about Drupal's its flexibility empowers you to create an experience that's just right for your content editors. Ease-of-use and content editors experience is at the top of the list for Drupal 9 feature releases. Expect to see continuous improvement to the experience of using Drupal.
Drupal 9 is Mature
Drupal 9 isn't a risky proposition or bleeding edge. It's been tried and tested by not just a small set of proprietary users, but a global community of users including countless government and healthcare organizations. It's built on a solid technology stack that's been tested and optimized for use cases where security, performance, and accessibility are of the utmost priority. Its multilingual capabilities are truly built into the core, not an afterthought as with so many other content management systems.
Open source development means that features are built and tested from the perspective of many. Our community truly takes pride in the fact that Drupal is secure, fast, and accessible. These aspects of Drupal are not an afterthought, but part of the core values of the community that are reflected in the software. It's in our culture to care about our users, and that culture stays with us in Drupal 9.
Dive into Drupal 9!
So since today is launch day, you have some homework to do:
- Read the Official Drupal 9 Landing Page
- Download the Drupal 9 brochure to send to your boss
- Then, bring your questions over to the Drupal 9 FAQ
- And finally, take a moment to celebrate with the Drupal community!
When Drupal 9.1 is released, you'll start seeing new features added and you won't want to miss out on the train to the future, so get started upgrading today.
If you need help with your upgrade, we'd love to hear from you. And if you want to learn how to run an upgrade yourself, sign up for our Drupal 9 Training. Subscribe to our Learn Drupal Newsletter for more Drupal tips and tricks.