Drupal is a cutting-edge operating system. As is the nature of technology, it evolves every few years, enabling the development and support of new functionality for the websites it underpins, as well offer the best security against bugs, viruses and hacking.
If your website is built using Drupal 8, your host should be contacting you pretty soon to discuss a plan for upgrading to Drupal 9, but rest assured, this should all be pretty straightforward. When Drupal 8 was introduced in 2015, the intention was that it would be easily upgradeable to Drupal 9 and beyond, and consequently the upgrade needed this year to Drupal 9 will be a minor version update and one that doesn’t require a rebuild of your website (unless of course you want to use the upgrade as an opportunity to upgrade your website in other ways). For most websites, this upgrade will be a very quick turnaround. For more complex sites, you may need to discuss and agree a longer timing plan with your host.
So, onto the big question. Do you need to upgrade? In short – yes. Websites are not something that you just buy and leave. Like all of the technology in your life, they need regular updates to ensure that they give you access to all of the latest functionality on offer, but more importantly, they are being protected in the most secure way available. If you don’t upgrade, your website will not be able to receive regular security updates and will leave your website vulnerable to a cyber-attack.
Want to chat to an expert?
We are Olamalu, Drupal experts and experienced web developers. We’re a friendly and down to earth team based in West Oxfordshire, who work together to achieve brilliant outcomes. We’ve been building websites and designing tailormade tech solutions for a huge range of different challenges for over 10 years. We work alongside clients and really get under the skin of the business, understanding not just what is needed now, but also how to plan ahead and consider the business needs in the future. If you want to get in touch with us, visit our website www.olamalu.com
