Drupal 11 launched in early August, marking a significant milestone achieved through the contributions of 1,858 individuals from 590 organizations. This remarkable teamwork showcases the talent and collaboration of the Drupal community. A big shout-out to everyone involved!
Building on the foundation of Drupal 10, Drupal 11 introduces more intuitive content management tools, enhanced site builder capabilities, and simplified upgrades and maintenance.
According to Dries Buytaert, the Founder and Project Lead of Drupal:
Drupal 11 is designed to empower ambitious site builders to create exceptional websites and accelerate Drupal's innovation."
Let’s explore some standout features of Drupal 11 and what’s on the horizon for future versions.
Key Features of Drupal 11
Single Directory Components (SDCs)**
SDCs are now fully supported in Drupal core, enabling front-end developers to work more seamlessly with Drupal without needing extensive platform knowledge. This approach organizes all necessary code for a component into one self-contained directory, simplifying writing, locating, and reusing code.
Recipes*
While still experimental, Recipes are anticipated to become stable in Drupal 11.1. This feature allows users to quickly add new functionalities by applying predefined configurations (like content types and user roles). You can utilize Recipes shared by others or create your own for reuse.
Workspaces
The Workspaces module is now stable, offering users a powerful tool for managing content updates. It enables content editing across multiple environments without affecting the live site. This is particularly useful for coordinating campaigns, allowing users to prepare, stage, preview, and publish content in bulk.
Decoupled Navigation
Drupal 11 enhances the management of navigation in decoupled setups. New endpoints enable front-end developers to access menu data easily, while non-developers can manage menus without coding.
JavaScript Modernization
Drupal 11 replaces some jQuery UI components with modern JavaScript, allowing developers to utilize built-in JavaScript minification. This reduces file sizes by up to two-thirds, simplifying development and potentially eliminating the need for some external minification modules.
Twig Development Mode**
This new feature provides developers with robust debugging tools and minimizes the need for frequent cache clearing. A "Do Not Cache Markup" option offers better control over caching.
Core Code Enhancements**
Drupal 11 improves performance by streamlining its core code, focusing on security and efficiency, and removing outdated code from Drupal 10. Running on PHP 8.3 also boosts application speed.
Upgrading to Drupal 11
For those already using Drupal 9 or 10, upgrading to Drupal 11 is straightforward. The Upgrade Status module ensures your environment is prepared, assisting in updating each component, no matter its origin.
If you're using an older version of Drupal, check out our guide for migrating from Drupal 7 to 10.
Looking Ahead: Drupal 11 Roadmap
The roadmap for Drupal 11 aims to make the platform even more user-friendly and maintainable. Future features, including Automatic Updates and Project Browser, are on the horizon. Recent updates to the roadmap have highlighted new focus areas such as:
- Intuitive content management tools
- Enhanced site builder tools
- Simplified upgrades and maintenance
Additionally, many of Drupal 11’s features will be incorporated into Drupal CMS, a beginner-friendly version being developed under the Drupal Starshot Initiative.
Stay tuned for more updates as we progress into the latter half of 2024 and beyond!