Insights

Upgrading from Drupal 8 or Drupal 9 to Drupal 11 requires a methodical, step-by-step approach through intermediate versions rather than a direct migration path. This comprehensive guide walks you through the entire upgrade journey, covering critical architectural changes including the CKEditor 5 migration, admin theme transitions from Seven to Claro and potentially GIN, and the Path Alias module introduction. You'll learn how to handle incompatible modules using custom repositories, prepare your codebase by auditing and removing unused dependencies, and modernize your custom code using tools like Upgrade Status and Rector. The article provides practical implementation strategies including using git branches for each upgrade milestone and Makefile automation to ensure repeatable, reliable upgrades. Whether you're starting from an early Drupal 8 version or a recent Drupal 9 release, this guide equips you with the knowledge to navigate version-specific considerations and avoid common pitfalls. For sites with large databases, the guide also covers optimization techniques like creating slimmed-down testing databases to speed up your iteration cycles. With over a decade of Drupal upgrade experience and official Drupal.org partnership credentials, iTech4Web shares battle-tested strategies that have successfully guided dozens of projects through these complex migration paths.

At iTech4Web, we build and maintain complex Drupal websites for media publishers, nonprofits, and enterprise clients. In doing so, we often rely on Drupal’s powerful built-in responsive image handling system to deliver optimized images for different screen sizes and resolutions. But when something goes wrong—like the wrong image style loading, breakpoints behaving unexpectedly, or performance bottlenecks from oversized images—debugging can be a frustrating, time-consuming process.

The article discusses the concept of "Technical Debt" in the non-profit sector, highlighting the hidden costs of quick technological fixes that can create long-term operational challenges. It suggests strategies for managing this debt, including strategic planning, quality infrastructure, regular code reviews, and maintenance tasks. The importance of automation, training, and partnerships with tech experts is also emphasized. Additionally, the article introduces iTech4Web’s custom web development solutions, aimed at helping non-profits navigate and reduce technical debt to enhance their digital effectiveness.

As we approach the extended end-of-life (EOL) deadline for Drupal 7 in January 2025, many organizations are facing pivotal decisions about their digital future. The discontinuation of support for Drupal 7 and PHP 7.4 presents both challenges and opportunities for businesses reliant on this technology. With the digital landscape evolving rapidly, transitioning from Drupal 7 to a more advanced and secure platform is essential for maintaining and enhancing online presence.

Continuous Deployment (CD) is a software development practice in which every change to the code base goes through a pipeline of automated tests, resulting in an automatic deployment on each successful test. This is extremely useful for small teams that want to get features out as fast as possible without having to worry about an entire release cycle.