With the Drupal 9 release scheduled for next year, there’s a lot of information around at the moment depending on which version of Drupal you’re running. We've broken down the most important information below so you can understand what it means for you.
End date - November 2021
Drupal 7 end-of-life is November 2021. If you are currently running a Drupal 7 site, this is the official end date you need to be aware of and it is important to consider your options around Drupal 8 and Drupal 9 well before that end date.
The Drupal community is already focussed on Drupal 8 and 9, which means there will be fewer new features and a longer resolution time on bugs and issues for Drupal 7 users.
End date - November 2021
In a change to how Drupal has historically handled the end-of-life for major versions, support for Drupal 8 will also finish in November 2021. Drupal 8 is reliant on Symfony 3, which also has an end date of November 2021. From this point on, Symfony 3 will no longer receive bug fixes or security updates, hence the same end of life date for Drupal 8.
Planned release date - June 2020
By November 2021, everyone should ensure they are on Drupal 9.
Drupal 9 will be an easy upgrade from Drupal 8 due to changes in Drupal’s approach to releases and backwards compatibility. Their aim is to make the first release of Drupal 9 very similar to the last release of Drupal 8, You can read more about Drupal’s new approach by visiting https://dri.es/making-drupal-upgrades-easy-forever.
If you are already on Drupal 8, just keeping your site up-to-date - patched and well maintained - will mean you are ready for a smooth transition to Drupal 9. If you are currently on Drupal 7 and want to understand the best time to upgrade based on your individual needs just get in touch and we’d be happy to help!
