Exploring The New Features of Drupal 9
Since its first release in 2001, Drupal has established itself as one of the most effective content management systems (CMS) compared to its counterparts. In June 2020, version 9 rolled out with lots of new features and improvements hiding under its hood which makes it a great choice for Drupal developers and Drupal web designers looking for an easy-to-build CMS.
Therefore, Drupal users can access more flexibility and control over their workflows and customization capabilities than ever before. Explore the enhanced capabilities associated with this latest version of Drupal as we uncover what’s changed and what’s improved from previous versions. Let’s start by uncovering its accessibilities.
Accessible Features in Drupal 9
Drupal 9 users can now rest easy knowing that it supports the proper use of semantic markup, eliminating accessibility barriers for holistic screen readers. Headings are reliably used for page-level navigation and other improvements have been made to make sure everyone has a smooth experience on the platform. The Drupal team’s work in classifying these barriers is commendable and those who rely heavily on their screen reader will thank them!
- Search engine form and presentation
- Color contrast and intensity
- Drag and Drop functionality
- Form labeling
- Adding skip navigation to core themes
- Removing duplicate or null tags
- Image handling
Accessibility for Drupal Developers
When we say a site is accessible, then we mean that the site’s content is available, and functionality is accessible to everyone. Drupal developers can rely on the CMS to use the same features supported in websites. In Drupal 9, it is super accessible.
Drupal Modules and Accessibility
For optimized accessibility, make sure you look out for the D7AX hashtag in all modules downloaded to your Drupal 9 website. Any module with this tag has been specially created by its developer to meet the highest standards of accessibility and usability – so rest assured that every bit of content on your page can be grappled with without difficulty!
Drupal Themes and Accessibility
Theme layers, where numerous accessibility issues have been addressed, display a clear message that Drupal Developers are partnering to further improve accessibility. Not only this but helpful tools like an Accessibility handbook and Theming Guide section in Drupal with best practices empower themers on how they can independently apply these improvements to their sites.
Drupal Community Sites
An object-oriented approach makes it effortless for new developers to join the party. All Drupal versions before 8 operated with a procedural scripting technique. This means that instructions are executed in exactly the same way every time the code is used, making them more dependable than ever before! If you’re experiencing any issues, simply contribute a bug report to our issue queue and we’ll get everything sorted out in no time!
Drupal 9
Drupal 9 Core’s compatibility with WCAG 2.0 and ATAG 2.0 make it effortless to develop sites, and its accessibility community is already on the rise in anticipation of future developments that will bring even greater best practices into play. The improvement in accessibility and usability of Drupal 9 is the result of years of collaboration between developers, designers, and users. The combination of these efforts has made Drupal one of the most reliable CMS platforms out there today – so enjoy the new features and get ready to explore all that Drupal 9 has to offer!
What are the interesting features of Drupal 9?
There are 4 Key Drupal 9 Features that will help grow your business in the future.
Upgrading to Drupal 9 is a must as Symfony 3 framework, which is a dependency of Drupal 8, reached its end-of-life in November 2021. Nevertheless, this is the point where the support for Drupal 8 came to a completion. Make sure you don’t wait until it’s too late, if you are on Drupal 8 go ahead and switch to Drupal 9 today. If you are confused about how to go about it, check for some Drupal development companies. You’ll get the needed help.
Alarmingly, there are nearly 25K websites still using Drupal 6. If that’s one of your sites – pay attention! Post Drupal 9 release it does not provide an upgrade path for you if you’re running on the now obsolete software of D6. Don’t wait until it’s too late and be left behind; act fast to maintain total control over your website by upgrading today!
Let’s take a deeper dive into the world-class features, updates, and paradigms that Drupal 9 has to offer.
1. Backward Compatible
When Drupal was first unveiled, Dries Buytaert did not approve of maintaining backward compatibility. Over time, however, his stance changed and we now find that the new release of Drupal 9 offers this capability. This means that all existing code built for its predecessor (Drupal 8) will also be compatible with Drupal 9 – a remarkable feat indeed!
Consequently, Drupal 9 is capable of utilizing data, modules and configurations from the prior version (Drupal 8), so if your website’s key features rely on these components, you can be confident that all your hard work will remain intact. Unlike what happened when we shifted from Drupal 7 to 8 – no need for a restart here!
2. Faster and Better Performance
Drupal 8 has taken a mobile-first approach – with over half of web traffic accessing websites from their phones, this was the only sensible way to go. And now, seriously improving the user experience for even more users, Drupal 9 will make sure that your mobiles are displaying images in an optimum size and consuming fewer data.
On 12th May, Dries joined a webinar with Acquia to emphasize that “Drupal 9.1+ is where future innovation happens”, which will lead to faster and improved website performance. Fortunately, Drupal users won’t need to wait long for the v9.1 update either – it’s expected just six months after the release of Drupal 9! Until then you can continue to take advantage of the impressive features available in both versions 8 & 9 of Drupal.
- BigPipe increasing page view performance
- Content Workflow allowing you to define multiple workflows
- Multilingual capabilities
- Structure Content: Drupal 9 ships with a wide range of available fields, including phone, email, date, and time.
3. Removed Deprecations
With the release of Drupal 9, a major adjustment is being made to Drupal 8—the outdated codes will no longer be supported. So why does this matter?
Drupal ‘Deprecated Code’ is code that should no longer be utilized as it will no longer receive any further support. However, there’s a silver lining! This depreciation of the old code makes way for more efficient alternatives to take its place – so make sure you’re taking advantage of them!
With the launch of Drupal 9, developers and users can expect an array of clean-up work from its predecessor. To ensure functionality with Drupal 9, any module utilizing deprecated code in version 8 must be upgraded prior to the release date — making for faster website performance. Ultimately, this will result in a more streamlined experience both now and into the future!
4. Headless CMS
With only 1% of businesses providing outstanding customer service, it is essential for companies to create meaningful content and leverage the power of a reliable Content Management System (CMS) to increase their chances of delivering an exceptional experience. There are numerous CMSs available on the market; so why do many organizations struggle with achieving seamless customer satisfaction?
Despite being able to offer a few commerce solutions, most existing enterprise CMSs fail to provide both an eCommerce solution and its own platform. This results in an enormous omnichannel experience gap that no single system can satisfy alone.
By combining Drupal Headless CMS and Magento, an entirely new idea came to life — one that eventually became a frontrunner in the market!
By leveraging Headless Commerce, companies can develop a consistent shopping experience on any channel – mobile apps, social media platforms, and even IoT devices. Drupal 8/9 is innovating the game with its API-first mindset; Dries mentioned in his webinar that they are devoting substantial resources to Headless CMS so as to build powerful front-end websites utilizing JavaScript frameworks like React or Angular. The stellar features of Drupal’s Headless CMS include:
- Front-End Freedom
- Create Once, Publish Anywhere
- API-First Approach
- Easier Resourcing
- Single Source of Truth
Final Thoughts
Drupal 10 rolled out on December 14th, 2022. Drupal 9 will have its end-of-life this November. Drupal 8 is no longer supported. With all these factors circling in the background, it is important to understand that Drupal 9 has many impressive features and updates that make the entire process easier and more efficient. Whether you’re a Drupal developer or Drupal web designer or Content manager, these new features can help you save time and money in the long term. With its clean codebase, improved performance, deprecations removed, as well as headless capabilities,
Drupal 9 will be the best choice for CMS solutions in 2023, if you are running on a lower version, it Is easy to get Drupal 10. So, upgrade your lower version of the software to Drupal 9 and enjoy the best features and functionalities.