Drupal 9 End of Life FAQs: What You Need to Know

With Drupal 9 reaching its end of life (EOL) on November 1st, 2023, it’s essential for businesses to strategically plan their migration to Drupal 10. This is equally true – if not more so – for those still using Drupal 7, 8 or 9. To guide you through this critical transition, we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of FAQs.

These will address key considerations and ensure you’re fully prepared for a successful upgrade, no matter your starting point with Drupal.

Drupal 9 End of Life FAQs

1. Does a Drupal 9 CMS still function after November 2023?

Although Drupal 9 will continue to function after its EOL, it’s important to consider the critical risks, including security vulnerabilities and the absence of official updates. Upgrading to Drupal 10 is essential to ensure optimal functionality and security for your platform.

2. What’s the risk of delaying migration from Drupal 8 or 9 to Drupal 10?

Delaying migration to Drupal 10 poses many risks.

• Security Vulnerabilities – Older versions won’t receive security patches, leaving your site exposed.

• Compliance Issues – You risk non-compliance with data privacy regulations, leading to potential legal consequences.

• Compatibility Challenges – Modules and themes may become obsolete, complicating future upgrades.

• Performance Degradation – Outdated versions can lead to poor performance, affecting user experience.

• Technical Debt – The longer you wait, the more challenging and costly the migration will become.

• Missed Features – You’ll miss out on new features and improvements in Drupal 10.

• Drupal 9 End of Support – Community and vendor support for your version will diminish, making it more difficult to resolve service or technical issues.

3. What if my Drupal 9 site has a module that does not support a Drupal 10 version?

If a Drupal 10 compatible version or patch is unavailable, collaborate with the module or project maintainers and offer assistance to ensure a compatible version is developed and released.

4. Will there be an extension for Drupal 9 upgrading to Drupal 10 post the November 2023 EOL date?

Drupal.org has confirmed the EOL for Drupal 9 will not be extended.

5. What is Symfony? How will Symfony 4 impact Drupal 9 EOL?

Symfony is a widely used PHP web application framework that is a foundation for building web applications and websites. Drupal 8 and 9 leverage Symfony components to power their architecture. Symfony 4 relates to Drupal 9’s EOL in two primary ways.

1. Symfony 4 is a major version upgrade of the Symfony framework that brought significant changes and improvements. Drupal 8 was built on top of Symfony 3, while Drupal 9 incorporated Symfony 4 components.

2. Symfony’s release schedule is independent of Drupal’s and its versions have their own lifecycle. Symfony 3 reached EOL in November 2021 and Symfony 4 reached its EOL in November 2023.

6. How does CKEditor 4 impact Drupal 9 EOL?

CKEditor is a popular open source rich text editor widely used in Drupal 8 and 9. It has also reached its end of life. Before migrating to Drupal 10, you should review your current CKEditor configurations, plugins and customizations in D9 to ensure a smoother transition.

7. When will Composer 1 & Guzzle 6 reach EOL?

Composer 1 is a dependency management tool for PHP projects that reached its EOL on January 19, 2023. Composer 1 is no longer officially supported or maintained, and users are encouraged to upgrade to Composer 2.

Guzzle 6, a tool used for PHP HTTP clients and a framework for building web service clients, received no active support after its EOL on December 31, 2019. Guzzle 7 has been added as a dependency by Drupal. You should upgrade to Guzzle 7.3.0 and check its requirements on psr/http-client 1.0.1.

8. What if I have custom modules or themes on my website?

If you have custom modules or themes on your Drupal website, migrating to Drupal 10 will require additional considerations.

• Assess the compatibility of your custom modules and check if updated versions or alternative themes are available in the latest Drupal version.

• If custom modules or themes are incompatible, consider updating or rewriting the custom code.

• If your custom modules or themes were developed by third-party developers or agencies, contact them to inquire about Drupal 10 compatibility.

• Thoroughly test your custom modules and themes for Drupal 10 to ensure they function correctly. Address issues related to functionality, styling and performance.

• Develop a migration plan that includes specific steps for updating your custom modules and themes. Consider creating a staging environment for testing and making necessary adjustments before applying changes to your production site.

• If you are uncertain about the migration process for custom modules and themes – or if you encounter challenges – consider consulting with Drupal experts or development agencies with experience in Drupal migrations.

9. What are some upgraded features of D10, compared to D9?

Drupal’s new frontend and backend themes – Olivero and Claro – are replacing Bartik and Seven, respectively. This provides higher media functionality and layout building with better-decoupled developer and site builder experiences – particularly for menus and URL handling.

D10 replaces jQuery with modern JavaScript components and enables a new custom theme creation process using the Starterkit tools. Symfony 6.2 replaces Symfony 4 and D10 offers advanced features by shifting from PHP 7.4 to PHP 8.0. CKEditor 5 enables a vastly improved authoring experience by replacing CKEditor 4.

10. How do you prepare for Drupal 10 as a D7, D8 or D9 user?

11. What documentation is available to learn more about my upgrade?

Get all information about Drupal EOL on the Acquia Developer Portal.

12. Can I migrate my Drupal 8.x application directly to Drupal 10.x?

The Drupal 8.x application cannot be migrated directly to Drupal 10.x. Since Drupal follows a sequential upgrade, specific paths must be followed to move from Drupal 8 to Drupal 10.

1. Start by upgrading your Drupal 8.x application to the latest version of Drupal 9. This involves updating contributed modules and custom code to be compatible with Drupal 9.

2. During the Drupal 9 upgrade, verify that all modules, themes and custom code are compatible with Drupal 9. Address any compatibility issues.

3. Thoroughly test your Drupal 9 site and resolve any issues that arise during testing.

4. When your Drupal 9 site is stable, plan for the migration to Drupal 10.

5. Review and update any custom code to be compatible with Drupal 10. Use tools like the Upgrade Status module and the Drupal Rector tool to identify and address code compatibility issues.

6. Set up a staging environment to perform migration tests. This includes migrating data, configurations and content to Drupal 10.

13 How long does it take to upgrade a site from Drupal 9 to Drupal 10?

The time to upgrade can vary significantly depending on several factors, including site complexity, custom code, module and theme compatibility, testing and Q&A, data & content migration, staging & backup and the expertise & resources available.

Step into the Future with Material + Drupal 10

Upgrading a straightforward Drupal 9 site to Drupal 10 may take a few weeks. More complex sites could require additional time, but the benefits you gain – and risks you avoid – make the migration well worth the effort. Whether you’re on D7, D8 or D9, Material’s  are here to help you painlessly migrate and stay compatible with the latest technologies.

Connect with us for help upgrading Drupal – or to unlock the full potential of your Drupal-based solutions.