Drupal 7 to the Latest Version Migration – Droptica’s Top Recommended Enhancements

Upgrading from Drupal 7 to the latest version opens up a range of benefits, allowing you to leverage a modern CMS. By enhancing areas like content structure, SEO, and security during migration, you can maximize the impact of your investment.

But, without Drupal expertise, deciding what to change and improve can be overwhelming during the migration process.

Our free checklist, built on Droptica’s experience with clients, helps you explore common migration improvements and decide which ones fit your needs.

Migration Options

During your Drupal 7 to Drupal 11 or 10 migration, there are three primary strategies to choose from. Your decision will shape the timeline, budget, and overall migration success. Here’s a look at the options:

1. Migrate Without Changes

This is the quickest and simplest approach, where you upgrade to Drupal 10/11 without changes. It’s ideal if you’re focused on compatibility and keeping the site operational. However, it may bypass opportunities for SEO, security, or content improvements.

Recommendation: Choose this option if you’re on a tight budget, need a quick upgrade, and are planning to address improvements later.

2. Migrate with Small Changes and Improve Later

This option involves upgrading while making essential adjustments to enhance performance, fix urgent issues, or implement minor improvements. For example, you could address outdated content types, enhance SEO configurations, or clean up old fields.

Recommendation: If you’re looking for immediate improvements while staying within budget, this approach strikes a good balance. You can tackle more complex updates later, spreading out costs and efforts.

3. Migrate and Overhaul All Aspects at Once

This option offers a full-scale transformation, tackling everything from redesigning the user experience to fixing issues like content structure, user permissions, SEO, and security.

Recommendation: This is the best route for businesses aiming to modernize their site to align with updated buyer personas and current audience expectations. If you have the budget and want a comprehensive solution, this approach ensures long-term success, though it requires more investment upfront.

How We Created This Document

We built this guide by analyzing our last 10 Drupal migration projects, which ranged from small (200 hours) to large (thousands of hours). Simple migrations focused on quick fixes, while larger ones involved redesigns, performance improvements, and content restructuring.

By combining insights from these projects, we’ve created a document that highlights key improvements to consider during migration. No matter the size of your project, this guide will help you make informed decisions and focus on impactful changes.

Scope of the Document

This document provides a comprehensive guide to the key areas you should consider when migrating from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10/11. It covers essential aspects of the migration process, helping you identify potential improvements in various areas of your website. The document includes recommendations for:

• Content Structure: Optimizing nodes, taxonomy, and other data types.
• User Management: Enhancing user profiles, roles, and permissions.
• Design and Theme: Updating the look and feel of your website, including frontend and framework choices.
• SEO Optimization: Improving your website’s search engine visibility with better structure, URL management, and content optimization.
• Security Enhancements: Implementing security best practices, such as two-factor authentication and role-based access control.
• Performance Optimization: Speeding up your site by optimizing media, caching, and database queries.
• Editorial Workflow: Improving content creation and publishing processes through better workflows and automation.
• Integrations and APIs: Connecting your website to third-party tools, such as CRMs and marketing platforms.
• Hosting and CI/CD Automation: Streamlining deployments, backups, and updates for more efficient website management.

This guide offers practical insights based on real-world experience, helping you decide which areas to prioritize for your migration. Whether you’re looking for a basic update or a full site overhaul, this document will help you navigate the complexities of the migration process.

How to Use This Document

This document is available in Google Docs format, making it easy to copy and use as a checklist during your migration process. Simply go through each section, and if certain recommendations don’t apply to your project, feel free to remove them. For any features or improvements you want to implement, just describe them in the corresponding table cells.

Once you've finalized your version of the document, you can share it with your Drupal development company. To make the estimation process even smoother, we recommend providing it alongside the text file generated by the tool described in the blog post Curious about Drupal 7 to 11 migration costs? Collect all the info for estimation in 5 minutes.

If you'd like to send the document to us at Droptica, you can reach out using our contact form, and we’ll provide you with a tailored estimation for your migration from Drupal 7 to the newest version.

Where to Get This Document

You can download the Drupal 7 to 10/11 Migration: Features and Enhancements to Consider document for free on our Drupal 7 to Drupal 11 Migration Services page. 

Summary

Migrating from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10/11 is a chance to update your system and improve your site's performance, security, and user experience. Whether you opt for a simple migration or a complete overhaul, our Drupal 7 to 10/11 Migration: Features and Enhancements to Consider document will guide your decisions.

Use it as a checklist to evaluate your current setup, plan improvements, and collaborate with your development team. You can download the document for free, and if you need help, Droptica is available to provide expert advice and a tailored migration plan.