Drupal 7 Sunsets in 2025 – Migrate from Drupal 7 to WordPress Now
The adaptive internet landscape we embrace requires the tools we use to manage our online content to evolve. As of January 5, 2025, a long-standing content creation and management pillar will ride off into the sunset. Drupal 7 has been a staple for users and an excellent tool for countless websites since its release in early 2011. With strong community support and a highly extensible content creation and module system, Drupal 7 gained market share. These critical features led to Drupal 7’s use as the primary content management system in many sectors and its widespread use in education and government. With support for Drupal 7 ending in just a few months, now is the perfect time to consider a move to WordPress. It’s time to migrate from Drupal 7. As an enterprise WordPress agency, WebDevStudios can assist you in the transition.
Why does sunsetting matter, and why should I choose WordPress?
Now that support is ending, there are three primary reasons to migrate from Drupal 7: security, modern features, and performance.
Security
Online security is always of the utmost importance. This is concerning, primarily if your website handles any sensitive user data. With new, nefarious methods of acquiring data from websites popping up all the time, choosing not to migrate from Drupal 7 means you will no longer receive security patches and updates. Your website will become more vulnerable by the day. Moving to WordPress, which is being actively maintained and supported, means your site will remain more secure for many years.
Modern Features and Functionality
Drupal 7 will be 24 years old as of its sunset in January next year. WordPress has released many features that Drupal 7 has yet to be able to compete with in the years since its release. From significant improvements to ease of use to its unbelievably vast array of plugins and themes, WordPress offers capabilities today that had not yet even been dreamed of when Drupal 7 was released. On top of that, the WordPress community is second to none. The community surrounding WordPress is large, active, and ever-growing. Official support for WordPress is ongoing indefinitely, so as WordPress continues to evolve, you will reap the benefits of each new release and feature.
Performance
Although Drupal 7 could be very performant for its time, WordPress continues to employ modern technologies and practices to improve its overall performance continually. WordPress provides a solid performance base that can be further improved using plugins and services to enhance server-side performance and caching. This ensures that your site will remain fast and efficient as the web and its associated technologies continue to evolve.
The sunsetting of Drupal 7 indeed marks the end of an era. However, it brings new and exciting possibilities. Transitioning from a long-used tool may induce anxiety, but a website that remains secure, fast, and easy to use now and in the future is necessary. With careful planning and the right tools, you can migrate from Drupal 7 to WordPress as a smooth process. With the move, you enjoy the benefits of a modern, secure, fast, user-friendly CMS that meets your user’s needs. Whether a small business owner or a Fortune 500 company, WordPress can offer you the features and support you need to keep your users happy online.
What steps are involved when you migrate from Drupal 7 to WordPress?
These seven steps make migration from Drupal 7 to WordPress easier.
- Prepare a WordPress hosting environment. Start with a fresh install.
- Back up the existing sites. Before beginning the migration, take the time to plan by saving a copy of the Drupal 7 site and the new WordPress site.
- Export Drupal 7 Data. Access and export content on the Drupal backend using the XML format.
- Migrate the XML file, images, and media into WordPress. This can be done programmatically or manually, depending on your data and skillset. Make sure to review everything afterward.
- Build out menus and widgets and set up the permalinks. These parts of the website will not automatically appear or migrate. WordPress permalinks should match the former website structure.
- Review the new website. Verify that all is well by checking for broken links, image and content formats, and general functionality before and after launch.
- If all looks good, congratulate yourself and flip the switch to take your new WordPress website LIVE!
At WebDevStudios we migrate clients to WordPress and the Block Editor to unleash their website performance. Contact us today to understand the difference a WordPress website can make for your organization.
Comments