Upgrading your website to the latest version of Drupal is essential for maintaining security, performance, and access to new features. With the release of Drupal 10, many site owners and developers are looking to migrate from older versions of Drupal, such as Drupal 9 or even Drupal 7. While the migration process can seem overwhelming, breaking it down into manageable steps makes it much more approachable.
In this guide, we’ll walk you through a step-by-step process to successfully migrate to Drupal 10, ensuring that your site remains secure, efficient, and ready for the future.
Why Migrate to Drupal 10?
Before diving into the steps, let’s quickly review why upgrading to Drupal 10 is important:
- Security: Drupal 10 comes with improved security features and patches, ensuring your site remains protected against vulnerabilities.
- New Features: Drupal 10 introduces a range of new features, including a more modern admin UI, better accessibility, improved media management, and performance enhancements.
- End of Support for Older Versions: Support for Drupal 7 and Drupal 8 has officially ended. Upgrading to Drupal 10 ensures continued support from the Drupal community.
- Performance Improvements: Drupal 10 comes with various optimizations that improve page load speed and overall site performance.
- Modernization: Drupal 10 is built on the latest PHP standards, and migrating ensures your site remains compatible with modern technologies.
Now that we’ve covered the “why,” let’s focus on the “how.” Here’s a step-by-step guide to migrating your site to Drupal 10.
Step 1: Prepare for the Migration
1.1. Assess Your Current Site
Start by taking a thorough inventory of your current site. This includes:
- Modules: List all the contributed and custom modules you are using.
- Themes: Check your current theme(s) and whether they are compatible with Drupal 10.
- Content: Make sure your content is structured properly and assess if any content models need to be adjusted for the migration.
1.2. Review the Requirements for Drupal 10
Ensure your hosting environment meets the requirements for Drupal 10. Some important requirements include:
- PHP 8.1 or higher
- MySQL 5.7.8+ or MariaDB 10.3+
- Composer (for managing dependencies)
- Modern web server software like Apache or Nginx
If your hosting provider does not meet these requirements, consider upgrading your hosting or migrating to a new provider that supports Drupal 10.
1.3. Backup Your Site
Before proceeding, backup your entire site — both the database and the file system. This will allow you to restore your site in case anything goes wrong during the migration process.
Step 2: Upgrade to Drupal 9 (If Using Older Versions)
If your site is running on Drupal 7 or 8, you must first upgrade to Drupal 9 before migrating to Drupal 10. Drupal 9 is a stepping stone to Drupal 10, as it is fully backward compatible with Drupal 8 and serves as an interim version.
2.1. Upgrade to Drupal 9
- Modules Compatibility: First, ensure that all your contributed modules are compatible with Drupal 9. If any are outdated or not maintained, look for alternatives or consider custom development.
- Update Core: Use the Upgrade Status module to check the compatibility of your site’s core and modules. Once everything is compatible, update your Drupal core to the latest Drupal 9 version.
- Testing: Test your site thoroughly after the upgrade to ensure that everything works correctly. This includes checking page functionality, content structure, and user permissions.
Step 3: Prepare Your Drupal 9 Site for Drupal 10 Migration
Once you’re running on Drupal 9, it’s time to prepare for the Drupal 10 upgrade. Since Drupal 10 is built on Drupal 9, this step should be smoother than upgrading from Drupal 7 or 8.
3.1. Check Module Compatibility
Check that all the contributed and custom modules you use are compatible with Drupal 10. Some modules may need to be updated or replaced to ensure they work correctly with Drupal 10. The Upgrade Status module can be helpful in determining which modules are ready for Drupal 10.
3.2. Check Theme Compatibility
Ensure that your current theme is compatible with Drupal 10. If it isn’t, you may need to:
- Update the theme: Make necessary changes to the theme to ensure it works with Drupal 10, including any changes to the Twig templates, CSS, or JavaScript.
- Switch to a new theme: If your theme is outdated or incompatible, consider switching to a new theme that is built for Drupal 10, such as Olivero, which is the default theme for Drupal 10.
3.3. Remove Deprecated Code
Drupal 9 includes several deprecations that will be removed in Drupal 10. Use the Deprecation Status module to find and fix any deprecated code in your custom modules or themes.
Step 4: Migrate to Drupal 10
4.1. Update Core to Drupal 10
Now that you’ve ensured everything is compatible with Drupal 10, it’s time to update the core. Follow these steps:
- Composer Update: If you’re using Composer to manage dependencies, run the following command:
- composer require drupal/core:^10.0 –update-with-dependencies
This will update Drupal to the latest stable version of Drupal 10 and its dependencies.
- Update Database: After updating the codebase, run the database updates by visiting /update.php on your site, or run the following Drush command:
- drush updb
- Clear Cache: After the update, clear the site’s cache to ensure that all changes take effect:
- drush cr
4.2. Test Your Site
Once the migration is complete, thoroughly test your site to ensure everything works correctly. Check for:
- Broken links or missing content
- Issues with themes or layout
- Compatibility of custom modules and functionalities
Make sure to test your site’s performance and security features to confirm that everything is running smoothly.
Step 5: Post-Migration Tasks
5.1. Re-enable Any Disabled Modules
If you had to disable any modules during the migration process (e.g., due to incompatibility), re-enable them and test that they work properly with Drupal 10.
5.2. Update Your Backups
Now that you’ve completed the migration, update your backup strategy. Set up regular backups to prevent data loss in case of future issues.
5.3. Optimize Site Performance
With Drupal 10, you may notice improvements in performance, but it’s always a good idea to perform additional optimizations. Consider:
- Enabling caching strategies like Views caching and Page caching.
- Using a content delivery network (CDN) to offload static content.
- Implementing lazy loading for images and videos to improve load times.
Step 6: Stay Up to Date
Drupal 10 is the latest version of Drupal, and the community will continue to release updates, security patches, and new features. To ensure your site remains secure and up-to-date, continue to:
- Regularly apply security updates.
- Check for module updates.
- Stay informed about Drupal community announcements and new releases.
Conclusion
Migrating to Drupal 10 is an important step toward ensuring the longevity, security, and performance of your website. While the migration process can seem like a daunting task, breaking it down into manageable steps — from preparing your current site to testing the final upgrade — makes it much more achievable.
By following this guide, you can ensure a smooth transition to Drupal 10 and take full advantage of the platform’s modern features and improvements. Happy migrating!