The Drupal project is constantly evolving. Usually the changes are incremental, with minor updates to the core code and contributed modules. However, from time to time major releases are made which will lead to changes in the internal APIs which will lead to breaking changes. In the case of Drupal 7 to Drupal 8, the changes were quite extensive with the internal architecture of Drupal being modernised and a number of new systems being introduced or rewritten. The practical outcome for Drupal 7 sites is that they will need to be migrated up to the new version of Drupal. Currently that is Drupal 9.
Drupal 9 was released on June 3rd, 2020. It is a mature, stable product and is the version you should be looking to migrate to. GovCMS released its Drupal 9 version on the 11th May 2021. Many sites are now running on it in production. All of the Drupal 8 sites have now been moved up to Drupal 9. In short, it is the target platform which is best suited for an upgrade of GovCMS 7.
The GovCMS team have set a target date of 30th August 2022 for the upgrade of all GovCMS 7 sites to Drupal 9. The clock is certainly ticking for those currently on GovCMS 7.
An opportunity
A move to Drupal 9 from Drupal 7 is a more involved process than updating from Drupal 8. The process will necessarily involve:
- a rebuild of your site using Drupal 9 modules, code and techniques
- a migration of your data from the old site to the new.
Upgrading from GovCMS 7 to GovCMS 9 (or GovCMS 2 as it is now called) can be seen as an opportunity. The chances are that your site may be getting a bit old and is in need of an uplift. Typical areas for improvement include:
- A new brand or styleguide.
- An alignment to the Australian Government Design System
- An improvement to the content model
- New features or functionality.
- Content strategy and content design.
- Internal work processes around content workflow and moderation.
Whilst improvements can be made to your site, it is also important to maintain the parts of it which are worth keeping:
- Content and data is valuable and it should be preserved and augmented where possible.
- Site URLs are important to maintain or map in order to retain SEO rankings.
The upgrade process should therefore be seen as an opportunity to make improvements to your site. It not only is a chance to ensure the continuity of your website but also to replace or enhance key aspects of it.
How can Morpht help?
Morpht is a leading user experience and Drupal development company providing services through the Drupal Services Panel. We have worked on many large transformation projects on the GovCMS platform and are expert in upgrading sites from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9. We recommend the following approach to the upgrade of your site.
Site audit
A site audit will provide a good starting point from which to assess the site so that the migration process can be better planned. A site audit includes reviews on:
- Accessibility
- SEO
- Design
- Content model
- Functionality
- Roles
- Content moderation
- Migration
The site audit will be delivered as a separate deliverable and can be used for scoping and planning the next phases.
Upgrade project
The upgrade project is then able to continue as per a normal. Typically Morpht takes the following approach:
- Establishment
- Discovery
- Definition
- Build
- Migration
- Testing
- Training
- Pre deploy
- Deploy
- Post deploy
Time to get started
If you would like to get started on upgrading your GovCMS 7 site, please contact us to initiate an initial discussion of your project and requirements.
