Drupal 8 is here and already is the new standard for CMS and web development. Whether you’re creating sites for small businesses, for global enterprises, or anything in between, Drupal 8 does it all. As the digital landscape continues changing rapidly, Drupal remains at the forefront of industry trends.
The new initiatives in Drupal 8 – configuration management, the authoring experience, multi-lingual capability, and built-in API services – improve how it supports major multi-site platforms. Furthermore, big changes in Drupal’s architecture have made it better suited to handle the omnichannel requirements demanded in today’s digital ecosystem.
New Features
Drupal 8 may bring a few paradigm shifts to negotiate, but it more than makes up for it. It has 200 new features designed to make managing content more flexible, efficient and enjoyable. That’s right, 200! It’s a real game changer.
That includes the addition of a WYSIWYG editor to make things very user-friendly, which is a godsend for the non-technical editor.
Administrators can now customize components like views, admin tools, lists and blocks without touching code. Even SEO can be added more easily.
You also now get in-context editing, drag and drop functionality for images, and…
Mobile CMS
Administer and edit your sites from a tablet or smartphone! On top of that, all core themes are mobile responsive.
The Drupal 8 Mobile Initiative has a mandate: to make Drupal the leading mobile CMS platform.
Languages for Everyone!
Choose any of a hundred languages at the first step of installing Drupal 8. You can translate any component of the software – taxonomy, comments, configuration, image styles, and more. Browser language detection has been upgraded, right-to-left styling is easier, and built-in transliteration support has been beefed up. Build unique customized localizations and use them to create amazing internationalized experiences.
Accessibility
The Drupal 8 team, and indeed the Wembassy team, are dedicated to making the software accessible to all people and all disabilities. This goes beyond mere help with color contrast and font sizes for users with visual impairments. Semantic HTML5 facilitates usable interactive and dynamic content. Drupal 8 also now incorporates more WAI-ARIA practices which can make content structure easier to understand for people with disabilities.
Support for Drupal 6/7 Users
Drupal 6 users should definitely upgrade. The release of Drupal 8 means the end of official security support for D6 sites. It’s a smart idea for D6 users to move up to Drupal 7 or 8, just like what happened to D5 owners when Drupal 7 was released.
Using a qualified, experienced and understanding support team is a smart investment. The right team will happily assist you with the challenge of upgrading to Drupal 7, or even 8, without compromising any of the functionalities of your old Drupal 6 website.
For Drupal 7 website owners, there is currently no compulsion to upgrade. But it’s a good idea to start thinking out of the box and Drupal 8 is definitely the right choice for re-envisioning their websites.
Will Upgrading to Drupal 8 Hurt?
No – not if you get expert help to cover all your bases. Obviously, if you’re not an experienced or confident Drupaler, tackling it yourself is a risk. Help is available to make the entire process as smooth as possible, especially if you have some custom wrote or contributed modules.
It’s simple. Contact your friendly Drupal experts, enjoy a no-obligation chat, and discover the great features and benefits of Drupal 8 that will kick your business into overdrive.