Drupal 8: Should You Upgrade Or Stick With What You Have?

Asking yourself whether you should upgrade to Drupal 8, or stick with what you have is a bit of a loaded question. In order to answer this question, you need to determine a number of different factors such as which version are you using now, version 6 or version 7, what are your business needs (requirements for certain functionalities, or features), what type of budget do you have to work with?

For those of you currently using Drupal 6, the time to upgrade will be more pressing, as who knows how much longer this version will be supported. Fortunately, those who are running version 6 can upgrade straight through to Drupal 8 (no need to install. Version 7).

For others, who are currently using Drupal 7, you may also be questioning whether or not you should upgrade to Drupal 8 and while there is no immediate need to do so (version 7 should be supported until 2017 or later), you may want to consider doing so sooner rather than later if you have a new website project in the near future, as Drupal 8 has many benefits worthy of upgrading to.

Here are some of the benefits of Drupal 8:

• An easy to use WYSIWYG editor which enables you to see what other viewers would see on a number of different types of mobile devices
• Enhanced compatibility with the latest in technologies such as HTML5, JavaScript, etc.
• Content translation in over 94 different languages
• Easy to use interface (WYSIWYG editor), making it quick and simple to edit, add or modify content
• Quicker page loading times, as JavaScript is only loaded as needed (loaded from cache if stored previously)
• Drupal 8 is highly compatible with external platforms and third-party software

Knowing the benefits of what Drupal 8 provides and knowing what you’re business needs are will help you determine whether or not you should upgrade now, in the near future or later down the road. Whichever choice you decide on Drupal CMS will deliver a stable and secure platform for your business website.