Since its introduction in 2011, Drupal 7 has been incredibly successful. In fact, the platform still powers millions of websites. However, Drupal 7 will officially reach end-of-life during the first week of 2025 after years of delays. 

We thought it would be helpful to create an FAQ for people using Drupal 7. This will help them understand their options better.

Please note that Brick Factory regularly works with clients on Drupal upgrades and migrations to new systems. If you would like a free consultation, please contact us.    

When will Drupal 7 reach end-of-life?

Drupal 7 will officially end on January 5, 2025. This date is exactly fourteen years after its release on January 5, 2011.

What does reaching end-of-life mean?

Once Drupal 7 reaches end-of-life, the Drupal community will no longer provide security and compatibility updates. You cannot update sites running in Drupal 7 using the normal process. Unless steps are taken, these sites will remain insecure and vulnerable to hacks by bad actors.  

Moving forward, the Drupal community intends to release a new version of Drupal every two years and support only the latest two versions. Consequently, the practical lifespan for newer versions of Drupal will be approximately four years.

Will my Drupal 7 site stop working on January 5, 2025?

No. Your website will continue to work after January 5, 2025. Moving forward, you will just be unable to quickly make critical security and compatibility updates to your site.

Can I safely keep my site in Drupal 7?

Yes. You can hire many for-profit companies to do security updates. A list of these companies is on the Drupal Associate website. 

To be clear, we strongly advise against staying in Drupal 7 unless you purchase an extended security support plan from a reputable company. If you choose to remain in Drupal 7 without a security plan, it is likely only a matter of time before your site gets targeted by bad actors.  

Why is upgrading from Drupal 7 to a newer version so tricky?

Unfortunately, upgrading from Drupal 7 to a supported version of the platform (currently Drupal 10 or 11) is a time-consuming process. Often, it is more of a rebuild than a simple upgrade. There are a few reasons upgrading is so complicated:

• In creating Drupal 8 code, the community essentially started from scratch. The priority was to innovate, not to provide an easy migration path for users of older versions. As a result, fundamental aspects, such as how themes work and how modules are created, are entirely different in newer versions of Drupal.
• Users extend their Drupal site by applying add-on modules. Since Drupal 7 is fourteen years old, many of the modules used to build sites still running on it don’t exist in newer versions. Developers must audit these modules, find replacements, or write custom code to replicate the functionality.

The good news is that, starting with Drupal 8, the Drupal community prioritized creating cleaner upgrade paths for those moving from one version to another. So, once you get your site into a newer version of Drupal, upgrading will be much less of a hassle.

I want to get my site off of Drupal 7. Should I upgrade to a newer version of Drupal or switch to a new platform?

That is a complicated question that depends on how happy you – and your users – are with the Drupal experience, the specific features and functionality of your website, and whether you want to make design updates as part of the project.  

In our experience, we have found that upgrading a site from Drupal 7 to a newer version is often just as time-consuming as moving to a new platform altogether. So, this is an opportune time to switch if you have a Drupal 7 site and want to migrate to a different Content Management System.  

As a matter of fact, a recent study found that more sites have migrated to other systems, such as WordPress, than have upgraded to a newer version of Drupal. For a deeper dive, you can read our detailed comparison of Drupal vs. WordPress here.

If you have further questions or are ready to take action, please contact us for a free consultation and to discuss options.

Can you summarize my options for a Drupal 7 site I need to maintain?

There are four distinct paths forward if you have a Drupal 7 site:

1. Leave your site in Drupal 7 and do nothing. This is not recommended, as you expose your site to security vulnerabilities.
2. Leave your site in Drupal 7 and sign up for an extended security plan. This approach allows you to keep your site safe while thinking through longer-term solutions.
3. Upgrade to a modern version of Drupal. Stay in Drupal, but move to a new version supported by the Drupal community.
4. Move to a different Content Management System. If you are considering moving your Drupal 7 site out of Drupal, this is a good time.

Can you help me understand my options and make a wise decision?

Absolutely. We have worked with many clients on both upgrades to the latest Drupal version and migrations to WordPress. Contact us now for a free consultation – we are happy to discuss your options.