Debugging is an essential part of developing any website, and Drupal is no exception.
Debugging in Drupal can be a complex process due to the complexity of the system and its many components. However, with the right techniques, it is possible to identify and resolve issues quickly.
In this article, we will discuss some of the top debugging techniques for Drupal that can help you troubleshoot your website more efficiently. We will cover topics such as using the Devel module, using Xdebug, and other helpful tips and tricks. With these techniques in hand, you'll be able to recognize and repair any problems on your Drupal site quickly.
Using the Devel Module for Debugging
The Devel module is a powerful tool for debugging Drupal websites. It provides a suite of tools to help you quickly identify and resolve issues. The Devel module includes features such as the ability to view database queries, generate dummy content, and debug PHP code.
It also has an API that allows developers to create custom debugging tools. Using the Devel module can be helpful when trying to identify the source of an issue. It can also be used to generate dummy content for testing purposes.
Utilizing Xdebug for Troubleshooting
Xdebug is a powerful debugging tool that can be used to troubleshoot issues on Drupal websites. It provides detailed information about the code execution, including stack traces and variable values. This can help developers quickly identify the source of an issue and resolve it more efficiently.
Xdebug also has features such as breakpoints, which allow developers to pause the execution of code at certain points to inspect the application's state. This can be helpful when trying to identify and fix complex issues.
Leveraging Drupal's Logging System
Drupal's logging system is a powerful tool for debugging websites. It provides detailed information about the events that occur on the website, including errors and warnings. This can be helpful when trying to identify the source of an issue. The logging system also allows developers to set up custom log levels, which can be used to filter out unnecessary information and focus on specific types of events. This can help developers quickly identify and resolve issues.
Using the Drupal Console for Debugging
The Drupal Console is a command-line interface that can be used to debug Drupal websites. It provides commands for inspecting the database, generating dummy content, and running tests. This can be helpful when trying to identify and fix issues quickly.
The Drupal Console also has an API that allows developers to create custom commands for debugging purposes.
Have You Completed Your Drupal 10 Migration?
The release of Drupal 10 marks a major milestone for the platform, and it is important to ensure that your website is up-to-date with the latest version.
Migrating to Drupal 10 can be a complex process, but it is essential for ensuring that your website remains secure and performs optimally. When migrating to Drupal 10, it is important to test the website thoroughly and use debugging techniques to identify and resolve any issues.
The Devel module, Xdebug, and Drupal's logging system can all be used to troubleshoot any problems that may arise during the migration process. Don't forget to ensure that all of the modules and themes used on the website are compatible with Drupal 10. It is recommended to use the Update Status module to check for any available updates and apply them before migrating to Drupal 10.
Additionally, it is a good idea to create a backup of your website before beginning the migration process in case something goes wrong. By taking these steps, you can ensure that your website is properly migrated and running smoothly on Drupal 10.
Conclusion
Debugging in Drupal can be a complex process, but with the right techniques, it is possible to debug your website faster and easier. If you need more advice on your next web development project or on your Drupal 10 migration, our team of experts is here to help you. Contact us for more details.
Photo credit: Unpslash.
Raluca Olariu / Jan 16'2023
Having a website that runs smoothly is essential for any business. Unfortunately, website issues can arise from time to time and can be difficult to troubleshoot. The good news is that there are some simple steps you can take to identify and resolve common website problems.
In this article, we'll discuss eight easy steps you can take to troubleshoot your website quickly and efficiently. With these tips, you'll be able to get your website back up and running in no time.
1. Check Your Server Status.
The first step in troubleshooting your website is to check the status of your server. If your server is down or experiencing issues, it could be the cause of any problems you're having with your website. You can check the status of your server by accessing the control panel for your hosting provider. This will give you an overview of any issues that may be affecting your server and allow you to take the necessary steps to resolve them.
2. Review Your Website Logs.
After checking your server status, your next step is to review your website logs. Logs are a great way to identify any errors or issues that may be occurring on your website. Reviewing the log files lets you pinpoint the exact source of the problem and take steps to resolve it quickly. Logs can also provide valuable insights into how visitors interact with your website, which can help you optimize your website for better performance.
3. Test Your Website Performance.
The third step in troubleshooting your website is to test its performance. This can be done by using a tool such as Google PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest. These tools will analyze your website and provide you with detailed information about its loading speed, page size, and other performance metrics. This will allow you to identify any areas of improvement that could help improve the overall performance of your website.
4. Inspect Your Code for Errors.
If you've tested your website performance, your next step is to inspect your code for errors. This can be done by using a tool such as Firebug or Chrome DevTools. These tools will allow you to view your website's HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code and identify any errors that may be causing issues. Once you have identified the errors, you can take steps to fix them and ensure that your website is running smoothly.
5. Check for Broken Links.
The fifth step in troubleshooting your website is to check for broken links. Broken links can cause a variety of issues, such as slow loading times and poor user experience. Various tools can help you identify any broken links on your website, such as Screaming Frog or Xenu Link Sleuth. Once you have identified the broken links, you can take steps to fix them and ensure that your website is running smoothly on all platforms, including mobile devices.
6. Ensure You Have the Latest Updates Installed.
Ensuring that you have the latest updates installed is imperative if you want a highly performant website. Outdated software can cause a variety of issues, such as security vulnerabilities and compatibility problems. It's important to keep your website up-to-date with the latest versions of any software or plugins you may be using. You can check for updates by accessing the control panel for your hosting provider or by using a tool such as WP Updates Notifier.
7. Analyze Traffic Patterns to Identify Issues.
You should also analyze traffic patterns to identify any issues that may be causing your website to perform poorly. Analyzing traffic patterns can help you identify any areas of your website that may be causing problems, such as slow loading times or high bounce rates. You can use tools such as Google Analytics or Hotjar to track and analyze user behavior on your website. This will allow you to identify any potential issues and take steps to resolve them.
8. Monitor Your Website Regularly.
Finally, remember to monitor your website regularly, as it will allow you to identify any potential issues before they become serious problems. You can use tools such as Uptime Robot or Pingdom to monitor your website's uptime and performance. In this way, you can ensure that your website is running smoothly and that any potential issues are identified quickly so that they can be addressed promptly.
Drupal 10 for High Website Performance
Drupal 10, launched last month, is the latest version of one of the most powerful content management systems that can help you achieve high website performance. Drupal 10 offers a range of features designed to improve the speed and efficiency of your website, such as caching, minification, and optimization.
Among the best features we can find:
Symfony 6 compatibility. Site owners and module developers will benefit from as much Symfony 6 compatibility as possible, and Symfony 4 deprecations in Drupal 9 for Symfony 5 will be resolved.
Supported solutions for rebuilding jQuery UI functionality by using either vanilla JavaScript or frameworks like React. jQuery UI components used by Drupal core will be removed.
Best practices for deprecating modules. Users will be able to use a proper mechanism for naming, versioning, deprecating wrappers, etc. A 'lifecycle' - property can be used in info.yml files for themes and modules.
Better decoupled developer and site builder experiences, especially for menu and URL handling.
Introduction of CKEditor 5 with better authoring experience and more modern editing (replacing CKEditor 4).
PHP 8.1 compatibility for Drupal 9 and Drupal 10.
Theme Starterkit tools for bespoke theme creation.
You can learn more about how Drupal 10 can take your website to the next level in this article.
Drupal 10 Migration
If you're considering migrating to Drupal 10, we can help. Optasy's team of highly skilled developers can help you migrate your website to Drupal 10 quickly and efficiently. We can also provide ongoing support and maintenance for your website, ensuring it runs smoothly and optimally. Contact us today to learn more about our Drupal 10 migration services.
Photo credit: Pixabay.
Raluca Olariu / Jan 11'2023
As technology continues to evolve, it is important for businesses to stay ahead of the curve and choose the right platform for their website.
Drupal 10 was released in December 2022, and it promises to be a powerful and reliable content management system (CMS). With its advanced features, scalability, security, and flexibility, Drupal 10 is an ideal choice for businesses looking to build a modern website.
In this article, we will discuss why you should choose Drupal 10 for your next web development project.
Advanced Features of Drupal 10
Drupal 10 comes with a range of advanced features that make it an ideal choice for businesses looking to build a modern website. These features include:
Automatic Updates: Drupal 10 offers automatic updates, so you can keep your website up-to-date without having to manually update the software. This ensures that your website is always running the latest version of Drupal and is secure from any potential security threats.
Responsive Design: Drupal 10 comes with a responsive design that ensures your website looks great on any device, from desktop computers to mobile phones. This makes it easier for users to access your website from any device and helps to improve user experience.
Accessibility: Drupal 10 is designed with accessibility in mind, making it easier for people with disabilities to access your website. This helps to ensure that your website is accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities.
Multilingual Support: Drupal 10 supports multiple languages, so you can easily create a multilingual website that caters to a global audience. This makes it easier for businesses to reach out to a wider range of customers and expand their customer base.
SEO Optimization: Drupal 10 comes with built-in SEO optimization tools that help to improve your website’s visibility in search engine results. This makes it easier for customers to find your website and helps to increase traffic and conversions.
Scalability and Flexibility
Drupal 10 is highly scalable and flexible, making it easy to customize your website to meet your specific needs. You can easily add new features and functionality to your website without having to start from scratch. This makes it easier for businesses to keep up with changing customer demands and stay ahead of the competition.
Additionally, Drupal 10 is built on a modular architecture that allows you to easily add and remove modules as needed. This makes it easy to customize your website and keep it up-to-date with the latest features.
Security Benefits
Drupal 10 is built with security in mind, making it one of the most secure content management systems available. It comes with a range of security features that help to protect your website from potential threats, such as SQL injection attacks and cross-site scripting. Additionally, Drupal 10 is regularly updated with the latest security patches to ensure that your website is always secure.
Cost-Effectiveness
Cost-effectiveness is another major benefit of choosing Drupal 10 for your next web development project. Drupal 10 is an open source platform, meaning that it is free to use and customize. This makes it a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to build a website without breaking the bank. Additionally, Drupal 10 comes with a range of features and functionality that can help you save time and money when building your website.
Why Choose Drupal 10 in 2023?
Selecting Drupal 10 in 2023 is a great choice for businesses looking to build a website that is secure, reliable, and cost-effective. Drupal 10 offers automatic updates, responsive design, multilingual support, SEO optimization, scalability and flexibility, and security benefits.
Migrate to Drupal 10
If you’re currently using an older version of Drupal, you can easily migrate to Drupal 10. The migration process is straightforward and can be completed quickly with the help of a professional web development team like Optasy. This will ensure that your website is up-to-date and secure, so you can continue to provide customers with the best possible experience. Contact us for more information about your migration process.
Learn more about Drupal 10 by reading this blog post.
Photo credit: Unsplash.
Raluca Olariu / Jan 05'2023
Drupal 10, the latest version of the most popular content management system Drupal is here.
The new release comes with a lot of improvements and features that will make your life easier as a developer or site owner.
"Drupal 10 includes many new features that appeal to developers and content creators alike. A stronger developer and site builder experience combined with easier content authoring and editing make this a key update for all users," says Dries Buytaert, Founder and Project Lead of Drupal. "The path from Drupal 9 to 10 is easier than ever, so we anticipate organizations will want to move to the latest version quickly to gain its benefits."
In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the main benefits and features of Drupal 10.
Enhanced content editing experience
CK Editor 5 is the new rich-content editor for the new version of Drupal. It has lots of new features that will make creating content more accessible than ever before.
Drupal's popular web-building platform, Layout Builder, has been updated with some major changes. These changes include an improved user interface, which includes a new layout editor.
Managing large blocks of content in the sidebar can be difficult and confusing; that's why improving this user interface has been on the list of upgrades, and it makes managing layouts so much easier.
There are also some enhancements to the Paste From Document feature. The new version of CKEditor boasts the ability to remove the extra markup that results from pasting from Microsoft Word or Google Docs, and it also automatically uploads images when pasting images copied from the clipboard instead of just inserting them into the page as tags.
Removed modules & improved content management experience
Built on the latest Symfony 6.2 version, Drupal 10 has removed redundant core modules, focusing on its foundational strengths. Regarding upgrading processes and tools, they are the same as the previous major release. Drupal 10 has the majority of its code changes automated and three times as many contributed extensions as the previous version.
New themes with better functionality
Claro theme is replacing the outdated Seven theme, which has been discouraged by giving the impression of an out-of-date site.
Drupal 10 has been built according to the latest standards and has been adapted to use the most recent features of this CMS.
The Olivero theme is Drupal 10's new front-end theme, and it was designed to harvest the new system's full capabilities.
Upgrading to Drupal 10
If you're currently using Drupal 7, you need to perform a full site migration to Drupal 9 or 10. It might sound overwhelming, but if you opt for a team of experts like Optasy to help you, you'll be in good hands.
If your current version of Drupal is 8, then there’s no direct upgrade path to Drupal 10. You need to upgrade to Drupal 9 first.
Drupal 9 users need to take the following steps:
Perform an environment readiness check through the Upgrade Status Module.
Update any modules that need upgrading and use Drupal Rector to fix incompatibilities. Issues that can't be fixed automatically can be addressed manually using documentation.
Update Drupal Core to Drupal 10.
Drupal 10 promises to deliver a faster, more secure, and more flexible website development experience. If you want to learn more about this new version or need advice regarding your migration, don't hesitate to contact Optasy.
Photo credit: Unsplash.
Raluca Olariu / Dec 16'2022
Accessibility for disabled individuals is extremely important because they use multiple assistive technologies that often require accessible websites and mobile applications to function properly.
Web accessibility is not just for people with physical limitations; it has real business value too! Read on to learn seven important benefits of creating an accessible site for your business.
According to a survey of around 500 U. S. business executives and developers, most of them admit that making websites accessible requires too much time and financial investment. We're here to let you know that creating an accessible website isn't hard at all, will greatly improve the user interface, and will most likely prevent you from facing any legal issues.
Laws regarding web accessibility
In the United States, laws are being updated to make sure that websites are accessible to everyone. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) was first passed in 1990 and has been amended several times since then. The ADA applies to public accommodations, including businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, libraries, museums, and other organizations that provide goods or services to the general public. It also covers places of entertainment such as movie theaters, restaurants, hotels, amusement parks, sports stadiums, and concert venues.
As of 2020, there are no federal regulations requiring websites to be accessible to users with disabilities. However, some states have their own laws that apply to websites. For example, California's Business & Professions Code Section 5412(a) says:
"All persons shall have equal opportunity to obtain employment, housing, and commercial transactions without discrimination or segregation based on disability." This means that if you operate a business in California, you must ensure that your website is accessible to people who use assistive technology. If you don't comply with this law, you could face fines up to $2,500 per violation.
7 Benefits of Making Your Website Accessible
Improved conversion rates.
It's true that accessibility only helps the visitor but if you improve the user experience and make it accessible for everyone, you're planting the seeds for:
More visitors means more sales.
Better user engagement Improving
SEO ranking
Higher conversion rate
Legal complications are less likely when you invest in web accessibility.
With increasing legal requirements surrounding web accessibility becoming stricter, making your website accessible has become an absolute necessity unless you want to be fined. Be aware of the various web accessibility requirements and ensure that your website complies with them.
Bigger customer base.
Accessibility means addressing the needs of larger audiences, which may lead to you attracting more people who are likely to interact with your business on a long-lasting basis. Invest in accessibility so you can attract more people who are likely to interact with your business on a longer-lasting basis.
An innovative business mindset: an entrepreneurial one
By building accessible websites, you challenge yourself to deal with unforeseen issues and so put your creative juices into action. Adaptability means that you need to be able to adapt your designs by incorporating accessibility tools into them. To stay competitive in today’s fast-paced digital world, you need to be innovative and always ready for change.
Boosted SEO efforts.
You can improve your website's accessibility by including alternative text for any image tags, making sure that your content is easy to read, or choosing a clean and clutter-free design. These steps also mean good SEO practice. By creating an easier-to-navigate website, you're also helping it become more SEO-friendly. You may be familiar with the importance of investing in strong SEO strategies in modern times. It's all about whether your site ranks at the top of search results and how visible your site appears on Google.
Improved brand reputation.
It’s important to ensure accessibility for your business because it promotes your brand image. Ensuring your web site has a universal interface makes sure everyone who visits your site gets equal access to your content and raises awareness for your company. Today, having an inaccessible website is the digital version of putting up a big "Keep Out" notice outside of your business.
Fast page loading times.
If you improve a page's accessibility, you'll increase its performance score. To meet the demands of modern web users, you need to improve your site's load time.
By implementing features that are accessible to people who use assistive technology, you're making your website a better place for everyone. You can use several different methods to improve the accessibility of your website. For example, if you're designing a web page for blind users, they might be able to use a text-to-speech program to read out loud any important information on your site.
Hopefully, this post helps shed some insight into the importance of web accessibility for your business and how making your website more accessible can positively affect your brand. If you'd like to learn more about how we can improve the usability of your website, please contact us today.
Photo credit: Unsplash.
Raluca Olariu / Sep 08'2022
If you're new to Drupal web development and maintenance, it may seem like an overwhelming task. However, once you get started, things start to run smoothly.
Building and optimizing a website is similar to buying a new house—you start out by making sure everything works fine, then you fix any issues that come up, and finally, you keep an eye on it, so nothing breaks down. The perfect time to clean up your website doesn't exist, so you might want to start as soon as you feel like it should be done—improve its performance, optimize it for search engines, and refresh it. If you do it yourself, you might even be able to increase your potential market value by 50%.
First, it's important to understand why regular maintenance is crucial, how to tell if you need Drupal maintenance, what Drupal maintenance includes, and what happens during Drupal Maintenance. Read this article to find out more about why you need regular Drupal maintenance.
Does regular maintenance help keep your site running smoothly?
Yes, regular maintenance can help with plenty of aspects of your web strategy.
Security
Website maintenance used to be an option. It wasn't something that had to be done every month or even every week. You could just let it sit there and not touch it at all for months at a time. As the digital landscape continues to expand and become more vulnerable to cyberattacks, Drupal support is essential for maintaining a secure security posture. While Drupal is known for its high level of security, this only applies if you keep up with the latest security updates and patches. If you don't stay current on the latest security updates and modules, then you're putting yourself at risk for a breach. Updating Drupal core modules regularly helps protect websites from attacks and security breaches.
Fixing errors
If you want your site to perform well and meet the needs of the modern digital user, then it’s important to fix any bugs and errors.
These malfunctions may occur due to rushed coding and deployment, inadequate testing, or miscommunications. They may affect your website's performance and loading speed or even alter its functionality.
Because users don't want to wait more than four seconds for websites to load, they won't pay attention to fixing bugs if they're not there.
Stay up-to-date by adding new features to your site
One reason why Drupal maintenance matters so much are because it allows you to scale your site as your business grows.
With Drupal 8, integrations are much cheaper than they were before, so if you haven’t upgraded yet, you may want to talk to a Drupal agency to help determine whether an upgrade is the best option for your business.
User behavior has changed drastically in the past year, so content creation, new features, and improvements allow brands to remain fresh and aligned to this changing environment.
SEO optimization
It’s important to maintain good SEO practices so that your site stays relevant. A great Drupal maintenance team includes SEO experts who perform Drupal SEO audits and optimizations.
“Good SEO only gets better over time; it’s only search engine tricks that need to be constantly updated when the algorithm changes.” -Jill Whalen.
To know when you need Drupal maintenance, ask yourself these questions: Do you get error messages?
If you aren't already convinced that you need Drupal Support and Maintenance Services for your website, here's an indicator that you can't delay it anymore without hurting your business:
You have been getting error messages like "404 Not Found" or "500 Internal Server Error". These errors mean that your site isn't functioning properly.
Your site might be down or slow to load. Your visitors will leave your site immediately if they see these errors. The solution is simple: hire a professional Drupal developer to do the job for you.
We at Optasy have a team of expert developers who specialize in Drupal development. Our team of dedicated professionals will ensure that your site is always working smoothly. Check this page for more details.
Photo credit: Unsplash.
Raluca Olariu / Aug 09'2022
Drupal 10 will be released on December 14th, 2022. The upgrade process from Drupal 9 to Drupal10 will be even easier than Drupal 8 to 9 was. Making projects that are already compatible with Drupal 9 compatible with Drupal10 requires removing deprecated API uses, which means that you'll have to remove them from your code. There are usually only a few deprecated API uses per module, but when we consider upgrading over 8,200 Drupal 9 modules on drupal.org hundreds or thousands of hours from our community could be spent on this task.
The good news is that Drupal Rector is a tool developed by Palatir.net and Pronghorn Labs. that can be used by developers who want to make their modules compatible with Drupal 10. It can also be used to automatically fix deprecated API uses in existing projects. Using Drupal Rector is easy, but running it on all Drupal 9 projects could have taken hundreds of developer days to complete.
Drupal Rector is an automated tool that generates patches for contributed modules. These patches will be made available to the community through the Drupal Association which has partnered with Acquia and Palantir. This means that developers will not need to write any code to upgrade their modules to Drupal 10. Instead, they will simply apply the patch. However, for some modules, it may still be necessary to manually replace deprecated API uses.
This bot is not affiliated with any individual or company. It is a tool that will automatically post updates to issues created by the Project Update Bot. These updates will be posted to issues that were created during the Drupal 8 to 9 migration. Maintainers are encouraged to review the patches and provide feedback if they feel the patches are useful.
If the project maintainers decide to use these patches, then they can help speed up the update process for modules for Drupal 10 dramatically.
Related: Drupal 10 New Features and How to Prepare Your Migration.
Maintainer Options
There are several ways to deal with these issues when maintaining a project:
Leave the issues open and apply the provided patches to remove some or all of the deprecated APIs. The Project Update Bot checks weekly if Drupal Rector can remove new deprecated APIs and posts a new patch if possible, so you don't need to worry about it.
If you would like to use this issue as a starting point please remove the "ProjectUpdateBotD10" tag from the issue. The bot will not post any updates if this tag is present. You can add the tag back and the update bot will start posting updates again.
If you see an issue that is closed, please don’t reopen it. Closing an issue stops the bot from posting new issues. You can also flag the issue if you think it should be reopened.
For more information and support regarding your Drupal migration, please contact us and get in touch with our team of Drupal experts.
Photo credit: Unsplash.
Raluca Olariu / Jul 15'2022
Drupal is a free open-source content management system (CMS) that allows you to create websites, blogs, and other web applications. It has become one of the most popular platforms for building custom sites.
The process of migrating from Drupal 8 to Drupal 9 is no small task. There are several changes and new features that you’ll want to consider before moving forward. In this article, you'll discover some of the major changes that you’ll encounter when migrating from Drupal 8 to Drupal 9.
As you migrate to Drupal 9, you’ll notice a significant change in the way things look and function. The biggest difference between Drupal 8 and Drupal 9 is the introduction of a completely redesigned user interface. This means that you'll need to rework your entire site from scratch.
What Does a Drupal Migration Mean?
A Drupal migration process involves taking an existing Drupal website or blog and converting it into a Drupal 9 installation. You can also perform a complete Drupal 9 install by starting with a blank slate.
When you migrate to Drupal 9 from Drupal 8, you need to update your Drupal 8 website to the latest version of both core and contributed modules and themes. If you have any custom code, such as custom content types, views, and fields, you will need to convert them to Drupal 9 compatible versions.
You may also need to upgrade your database schema to support Drupal 9's new data model. And finally, you should make sure that all your files are converted to Drupal 9 standards.
What Is Drupal 9?
Drupal 9 is the same as the Drupal 8.9 version but without the deprecated code available in the previous version. It's identical to the 8.9 version for editors, website builders, and developers and it is built with an API-first approach in mind. Drupal 9 improves structural tools and editorial workflows.
Key Drupal 9 benefits
Drupal 9 brings forward a continuous innovation cycle that delivers all the best features of Drupal 8, plus updated system requirements that improve security support.
Drupal 9 provides feature additions twice a year, so you'll be up-to-date with the latest technology innovations.
What is more, your developer team will most likely work very easily with Drupal 9, as the Drupal 8 experience is quite similar. Prepare your upgrade process and get a cleaned-up, consistent, API-based modern environment.
You might also like: Drupal 10 New Features and How to Prepare Your Migration.
Migrating to Drupal 9: What do I need to know?
Before you begin your Drupal 9 migration, there are three key areas where you'll need to take action:
Update Your Site Core
In order to successfully migrate to Drupal 9, your site must be updated to the latest version of Drupal 8 core. To ensure that your site works properly after the migration, you should use the same version of the core that you used during development.
Upgrade Modules and Plugins
When you migrate to Drupal 9 you'll need to upgrade all your modules and plugins to their respective Drupal 9 versions. For example, if you're using Views 7.x-3.0 then you'll need to upgrade to Views 8.x-2.1. Similarly, if you're using CCK 3.x-7.x then you'll need to move to CCK 4.x-4.6.
Convert Custom Code
If you've developed custom content types, views, or fields, you'll need to convert these items to Drupal 9 compatible versions so they work properly on your new site.
How does a Drupal migration affect your brand reputation and business value?
Upgrading to Drupal 9 comes with benefits like all system and software upgrades. To understand the business value added by such a migration, consider asking the following questions:
Are your current features and modules secure and relevant for your business scope? How would you rate them?
Do you clearly know the scope of a Drupal migration for you? How many resources like time and money do you plan to spend on this migration?
Does your developer team have the necessary skill set to plan and complete it successfully? How will your Drupal migration impact the content design and architecture on your site?
Tools & Modules For Completing Your Drupal Migration
Now that you've asked the right question, you might be ready to start your migration. If so, here are some tools and modules to help you in this process:
Core Migrate Module Suite: migrate your content and site configuration
Upgrade Rector: automate module updates for Drupal 8 sites of common deprecated code to the latest Drupal 9 compatible code
Drupal Module Upgrader: scan and convert outdated code on your site
Upgrade Status Module: provide information about contributed project availability
4 Steps to Prepare Your Drupal 8 site for Migrating to Drupal 9
Check out this to-do list before starting your migration to Drupal 9:
1. Check that your hosting environment meets the compatibility requirements of Drupal 9.
2. Update your contributed projects so that you resolve Drupal 9 compatibility issues gradually, keeping Drupal 8 compatibility at the same time.
3. Make sure to upgrade to the latest Drupal 8 version available (Drupal 8.8 and 8.9).
4. Edit your custom code by removing deprecated API use.
The transition from one version to another can be challenging, but the migration process is simple once you learn how it's done. If you find it overwhelming and want to opt for professional services, check out Optasy's services.
Our dedicated team of Drupal experts will support you in every step of your migration process and ensure that your website is up and running smoothly after the migration. Optasy offers assistance and custom migration to suit the specific needs of each business.
Photo credit: Unsplash.
Raluca Olariu / Jul 07'2022
Drupal is a free and open-source content management system that allows you to create websites with a simple interface, but it has many powerful features for more advanced users. Drupal is being used by millions of people worldwide and many businesses and institutions like Harvard, Twitter, or Whole Foods.
The first version of Drupal was released on January 15, 2001, more than twenty years ago. Drupal 10 is expected to be released in December 2022. It will be a refined version of Drupal 9 and it will include many new features, including:
Symfony 6 compatibility. Site owners and module developers will benefit from as much Symfony 6 compatibility as possible and Symfony 4 deprecations in Drupal 9 for Symfony 5 will be resolved.
Supported solutions for rebuilding jQuery UI functionality by using either vanilla JavaScript or frameworks like React. jQuery UI components used by Drupal core will be removed.
Best practices for deprecating modules. Users will be able to use a proper mechanism for naming, versioning, deprecating wrappers, etc. A 'lifecycle' - property can be used in info.yml files for themes and modules.
Better decoupled developer and site builder experiences, especially for menu and URL handling.
Introduction of CKEditor 5 with better authoring experience and more modern editing (replacing CKEditor 4).
PHP 8.1 compatibility for Drupal 9 and Drupal 10.
Theme Starterkit tools for bespoke theme creation.
How to prepare for Drupal 10
The following are steps that you should take before upgrading your existing sites to Drupal 10.
Upgrade all modules on your current site to their latest versions. If you have not already done so, upgrade core to its latest release. You can do this by running drush up --all from within your Drupal root directory.
Perform a full backup of your site. This includes database backups as well as files and folders outside of the Drupal installation directory.
Update your site's configuration file. The easiest way to do this is to download the Configuration Upgrade Module module and run it against your site. To do this, go toUpdate your themes and modules to the most recent versions available. In particular, update any custom modules or themes you use to their latest releases.
Will the upgrade to Drupal 10 be easy?
New functionality for Drupal 10 is added to Drupal 9 releases, meaning module developers can start adopting new APIs right away. Old functionality is removed, but backward compatibility is kept. Once we are ready for Drupal 10, we remove deprecated code, breaking backward compatibility, but because developers had a chance to update their modules, the upgrade to Drupal 10 should be easy.
More exactly, Drupal 10 is identical with Drupal 9, except for its deprecation list. There shouldn't be any big or unexpected changes.
What are the Drupal 10 platform requirements so far?
PHP requirements:
At least PHP 8.0.2 and PHP 8.1 is recommended.
PHP 8.0 is being dropped after November 2023, but security patches for PHP 8 will continue to be provided by other organizations. Some of Drupal's Composer dependency packages might start dropping support for PHP 8 after November 2023.
Database server requirements:
Check out the Database server requirements documentation.
Web server requirements:
They are the same as for Drupal 9. If you need additional support for preparing your migration to Drupal 10, our experienced team of Drupal experts can provide step-by-step assistance. Learn more about our Drupal services today!
Photo credit: Unsplash.
Raluca Olariu / May 25'2022