What is Drupal and why does my website have to transition?
Drupal is an web content management system that most official campus websites are built with. The Drupal organization announced that older versions of Drupal will no longer receive security updates, bug fixes, or feature updates from the Drupal community. For this reason, the transition to the new UMass Amherst Framework is critical to maintain the security, functionality, and long-term viability of your website.
By when do I need to transition my website?
All UMass Amherst Drupal websites using Drupal 9 or earlier, including Drupal 7, were required to transition to the new Drupal Framework or a UMass-hosted WordPress website by Friday, December 20, 2024. All UMass Amherst Drupal websites using Drupal 9 or earlier, including Drupal 7, will be decommissioned on March 20, 2025.
Why does my Drupal website have to be recreated? Why can’t it simply be upgraded?
The latest versions of Drupal have introduced significant changes in technology, architecture, and core concepts. This means that upgrading from earlier versions of Drupal to a newer version requires a substantial transformation of the website's structure, data, and modules. Websites on earlier versions of Drupal cannot be automatically upgraded to the latest version of Drupal and need to be rebuilt within the new Drupal framework. Current website content will need to be manually transferred.
What is the new common Drupal Framework?
University Relations and IT have partnered to create the common Drupal Framework, which includes sample starter pages and flexible and reusable components and modules to help speed up website development for your new website. Standardizing official University websites with the Drupal Framework offers several advantages, both from the perspective of website developers and end users.
Standardizing website elements enables consistent security updates, reduces overall costs, simplifies maintenance, enforces security practices, boosts website performance, and enhances compatibility across various devices and browsers compared to custom websites. For users, the Drupal Framework helps ensure a consistent and accessible UMass branded user experience. Additionally, the Drupal Framework is designed to evolve with campus needs, allowing new features and functionality to be available to all sites more quickly.
Where can I find resources to help me build my Drupal Framework website?
The Drupal Transition Overview has detailed information about steps to take to transition to the new Drupal Framework.
UMass Amherst's Drupal Transition Resources SharePoint site contains helpful framework how-to video tutorials and links to framework forms for requesting a site, launching a site, requesting features, reporting bugs, and providing general feedback.