The current version of Drupal 9 — is one of the most powerful, functional, and efficient CMS systems in the world. More precisely, it is far from being just a CMS. Drupal is more like an open-source CMF (Content Management Framework), that is, a ready-made framework for developing complex web applications and web interfaces with a ready-made admin panel. Moreover, starting from version 8, Drupal has received all the possibilities of working as a Headless or Decoupled CMS.
Key Possibilities
Anything can be built based on Drupal, including highly reliable and most secure banking services, sites of government agencies, etc. The system is very flexibly configurable for any custom Drupal development, the core is updated independently, so it provides a sufficient level of protection and performance at any time.
Out of the box, there are all the most necessary tools:
- performance reports,
- access control system and user roles,
- layout builder,
- moderation system,
- REST API,
- built-in feature testing system,
- custom taxonomies, etc.
It is almost impossible to list all the features of Drupal, but one thing is clear — this is an enterprise-level system developed by professionals. At the same time, Drupal remains completely free and open source. All add-ons to it (there are thousands of them) are also distributed free.
What’s new in version 9.1.10?
The release of the 9th version of the CMS became the direct successor of the 8th edition, which consolidated Drupal’s transition to new principles. Here are the changes that have occurred in Drupal:
- Composer is used for managing package dependencies (although it was first introduced back in D8);
- Drupal is adapted to work with PHP 8 (minimum recommended PHP 7.4);
- Upgrading (migrating) from version 8 is easier than ever in the history of the CMS;
- The Layout Builder has been improved, which allows content editors to create pages without the help of programmers and designers;
- Improved API-oriented architecture including JSON;
- The media library has been improved, which simplifies the management of images, videos, and other files;
- Adapted to GDPR requirements;
- Updated the Twig templating engine from version 1 to version 2;
- The principles of API-first, Headless CMS, and microservices are continued;
- The process automation system is developing thanks to the integration of the Workflows plugin into the Drupal core.
Plugins and integrations
There are over 42 thousand plugins in the official Drupal directory. However, only about 5.8 thousand of them are compatible with version 9. For each of them, detailed documentation for installation and configuration is provided.
They are all completely free and open source. You will hardly be able to find premium plugins only if small additions from private developers bypass the official catalog. Plugins can be used to modify and supplement any Drupal functionality. For example, change the page editor (CKEditor is supplied by default), add online store functionality or support for AMP pages, expand SEO functionality, etc.
