Read about improvements and new features of Drupal 11 and how to upgrade to it from previous versions.
The official Drupal website states that major versions come out every two years . They may include breaking changes allowed by the continuous upgrade path. Before upgrading to a new major version, site owners should ensure their custom code and projects are up-to-date.
And what about minor and patch versions? The former are released every six months. These updates bring new features, fix bugs, and may mark some parts of the system as deprecated. The latter are released once a month. They only contain non-disruptive bug fixes, so they are safe to install anytime.
Drupal 11 is the latest major version of the popular open-source content management system. The official Drupal 11 release date was August 2024. Drupal 10 came out in December 2022, so releasing Drupal 11 just a year and a half later might be rushing the timeline. But Gábor Hojtsy, who coordinates Drupal’s core initiatives, explained that Drupal 11 was released early, so everyone had plenty of time to update.
Drupal 10 will stop receiving updates in December 2026, coinciding with the release of Drupal 12. Drupal 11 will be supported in parallel and will continue receiving updates after version 12 is released.
The minor version, Drupal 11.2.0, was recently released and introduced several improvements, including features that benefit SEO workflows. The following features were added:
Drupal is constantly being improved and supplemented with new features to make the platform more user-friendly. Let’s take a closer look at what’s new in Drupal 11.
In Drupal 11, developers optimized the performance of the system core: they cleaned and streamlined the code and eliminated redundancy. The upgrade to PHP 8.3 provides a good performance boost compared to previous versions. So, a lot has changed under the hood, making Drupal 11 easier to maintain, faster, and more secure.
Drupal 11 makes websites feel faster in real life. The BigPipe module, which shows the main content first while the rest of the page is still loading, now works even quicker, so visitors can start interacting almost instantly. Lazy image loading that saves traffic and speeds up page opening, especially on mobile devices, has also been improved.
Upgrading your site to Drupal 11 isn’t as easy as pushing a button. It’s more like rebuilding your house without moving out. Much depends on which Drupal version you’re running right now. If you’re already running Drupal 10, congratulations — upgrading to version 11 will be relatively simple and can be done directly. But if you’re still on Drupal 8 or 9, you can’t just jump straight to Drupal 11 — you’ll need to upgrade to Drupal 10 first. Drupal doesn’t support big jumps, and that’s something to keep in mind.
And what should those on Drupal 7 do? The situation is more complicated. It’s better to upgrade from Drupal 7 to 11 in stages: first, switch to Drupal 9, and then to 11. Why? A smooth transition through Drupal 9 reduces risks and makes the process more transparent and convenient , as if you were walking up the stairs instead of jumping off the roof.
With such an update from Drupal 7, you will not only have to install new plugins and completely transfer all content, users, and data. Sometimes, this is manual work, sometimes — with the help of special tools. Many familiar functions, such as the Views module, are already built into the core in new versions, and you will have to recreate them or use modules that simplify the transfer. Well, by the way, the design themes also require reworking — after all, Drupal 8 and higher now use Twig, not old PHP templates.
For a smooth update process, check all your modules and themes for compatibility with Drupal 11. It happens that some modules are already outdated and require updating or replacement. Fortunately, there are helpful assistants, such as the Upgrade Status module, which analyzes the site and suggests what needs to be fixed before updating. Tools like Rector will help automate code updates so you don’t have to do everything manually.
Before updating, do not forget to make a backup copy of the site — this is your safety net for unforeseen issues. Be sure to set up a test environment to practice the update and check everything without risking the live site. After the migration, it is worth carefully checking the site’s operation, testing it, and, if necessary, conducting training for the team so that everyone understands how to get the hang of Drupal 11 new features.
If you want to entrust this matter to professionals and avoid hassle, consider partnering with experts to upgrade to Drupal 11 . At Attico, we render full-cycle Drupal migration services — from planning to execution, and are capable of migrating Drupal solutions of any complexity.