Upgrading to Drupal 9 and Beyond

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.

Now that it's time to upgrade, you're probably wondering what steps to take to ensure a smooth transition to Drupal 9. While the upgrade path from Drupal 8 is designed to be smooth, you will still need to take steps to analyze your code, select modules, and test the upgrade. It's also a good opportunity to implement continuous integration into your workflow to make future upgrades simpler. As it has been with Drupal 8, major upgrades are scheduled for Drupal 9 every 6 months as new features are added, so having a strong workflow in place will be a huge benefit to teams maintaining Drupal sites going forward.

The key to a successful preparation for Drupal 9 combines project planning and a development workflow that can accommodate the ongoing maintenance requirements.

Learning Objectives

You'll come away from the course with knowledge of:

The Drupal 8 and 9 release cycle
Underlying changes and upgrades to the technology stack that come with Drupal 9
Steps to planning successful upgrades
Best practices for testing after upgrades, and why testing is important
Handling upgrades at a Dev Ops level
Rolling out upgrades after each release going forward

Syllabus

Differences between Drupal 7, 8 and 9
Technical requirements for hosting a Drupal 9 website
Planning an upgrade
Module selection
Reviewing deprecated code
Upgrading contributed modules
Upgrading custom modules and themes
Project management and governance for upgrade processes
Adding continuous integration and automated testing to your development workflow

Who Will Gain the Most From This Training?

Developers and sysadmins who are responsible for maintaining and supporting Drupal sites.

FAQ

Our blended learning approach mixes the best of both worlds: live online sessions and self-paced complementary learning materials. The core of our online training offering is our expert-led live sessions. In addition, you can always take advantage of our virtual learning platform's training guides and video tutorials as needed.

Here's what to expect:

👩‍🏫 Interactive sessions over Zoom (twice a week from 2 pm to 4 pm ET)
📺 On-demand videos and virtual exercises to complete in between the sessions
👨‍💻 A one-to-one session with your trainer for personalized support
💬 A dedicated Slack workspace to get real-time answers to your specific questions
🏆 A certificate upon completion

What is the format of live sessions? Our classes usually have 6-10 participants, and we have a hard limit of 12 participants per trainer. Our live sessions happen twice a week, usually on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and are 2-hour long (all times are on ET).

How is this different from other courses on the market? Our courses are designed for people who work full-time jobs and need to apply what they learn to real-life projects quickly. Our training includes live learning sessions and offers real-time mentorship from an expert

What are the trainers' credentials? Our courses are delivered by Strategists, Designers and Senior Developers with 10+ years of experience. They're seasoned professionals with real-world projects in a variety of sectors, from small businesses to multinational corporations.

Do I need to install anything on my computer? We’ll give you the necessary instructions and support to work with Drupal locally on your computer for the development courses. If you face restrictions, we’ll provide an alternative remote environment so you can work from your browser.

My organization requires an invoice. Can you provide one? Yes. Contact us before proceeding with payment. We can issue you an invoice with a link to pay via credit card or electronic transfer.

Do you offer discounts for charities or individuals? Yes, contact us to receive a discount on the course.

Do you offer custom training? Yes, we can provide custom training for your team. Learn more about our approach to tailoring a custom course or get in touch with us, and we can set up training that fits your needs.

Can I switch my start date? Can I get a refund? We can reschedule your ticket to the next available course. Our training program runs twice a year, with a first cohort slated to start in March and the second in September. Tickets are refundable up until 30 days before the start of the course. And it's always free and easy to transfer your ticket to another person, just contact us.

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