Unlock the Power of Drupal 10: Discover its Key Features and Benefits

Drupal is an open-source content management system (CMS) that has gained significant popularity for its ability to power some of the most prominent and frequently visited websites globally. With a vast developer community of 1.4 million strong, contributing over 50,000 free modules, Drupal offers unparalleled flexibility and power, making it our preferred CMS choice for large-scale websites with complex requirements.

Drupal’s customization capabilities and editorial tools have made it a go-to solution for many well-known organizations such as NASA, Tesla, UNICEF, The European Commission, Visa, The Olympic Games, and more. However, earlier versions of Drupal had developed a reputation for being somewhat challenging to use due to their complexity, which required training and could be confusing for content managers who were not accustomed to the platform.

Since its inception in 2001, Drupal has undergone numerous iterations, with each version bringing new features, improvements, and enhancements aimed at making life easier for content managers while also addressing performance and security concerns. The latest major release, Drupal 10, was launched a year ago, and it introduces several noteworthy changes that can help you determine whether upgrading your existing Drupal version or migrating from another CMS would be beneficial for your website.

In the following paragraphs, we will discuss the key new features of Drupal 10 in detail to provide a comprehensive understanding of what this latest release has to offer and how it can benefit your organization.

Revolutionize Your Content Creation: CKEditor 5’s Improved WYSIWYG Editor

The introduction of CKEditor 5 in Drupal 10 signifies a significant improvement in content editing experience for users. The earlier version, CKEditor 4, had begun to show its age, but the new iteration offers a more streamlined user interface that is quicker to learn and incredibly user-friendly. One notable enhancement is the ability to edit links and images directly within the editor, eliminating the need for separate windows and saving time for content managers. Additionally, CKEditor 5 automatically removes any extraneous markup from sources like Microsoft Word or Google Docs when pasting in content, further streamlining the process.

The Drupal Media library now supports drag-and-drop uploading of files, making it even more efficient to add multimedia content to your website. Furthermore, CKEditor 5 allows for easy editing of media captions, media links, and media alignment within the editor itself. This ensures that you can create a polished final product without leaving the main interface.

Upgrading to Drupal 10 opens up access to the premium features available in the CKEditor package. While there is a cost associated with obtaining a premium license, it represents a substantial upgrade in functionality for users. Among its many benefits are real-time collaboration capabilities, tracked changes, import and export options for Microsoft Word documents, conversion to PDF format, revision history tracking, an AI assistant, and advanced spelling and grammar checking features.

New Admin Interface

Drupal 10 is set to introduce a new default admin theme called Claro, which will significantly improve the experience of managing Drupal sites due to its cleaner and more user-friendly interface compared to previous versions. Since the introduction of the Seven theme in Drupal 7, content managers have been using an outdated design that lacked many advancements made in user interface design over the last decade. In response, Claro was developed and included in Drupal core from version 9.4. When upgrading to Drupal 10, users will notice a significant improvement in usability as a result of this new theme.

The redesign of the user interface simplifies various aspects of file management and eliminates developer terminology that often confused content managers. Almost every element of the interface has been revamped, from typography and color palette to UI components and forms. Input focus indicators and visual prompts have also been added to make navigation more intuitive for users. Additionally, the control elements now adhere to the WCAG AA standard, ensuring an inclusive experience for those with accessibility needs. The overall interface design is cleaner and more streamlined, making content management a much more enjoyable experience.

Another theme that will be unlocked in Drupal 10 is Gin, which builds upon Claro’s improvements but further enhances the user experience by focusing on UX optimization. As Gin uses Claro as its base, it incorporates all of the aforementioned enhancements and continues to push the boundaries of user-friendly content management for Drupal sites.

Experience Faster and Safer Websites: Improved Performance and Security

Drupal 10 is an exciting update that promises to significantly improve page load times for users by eliminating the reliance on a large jQuery library, which was previously used in older versions of Drupal to implement functions not supported in browsers. Instead, Drupal 10 leverages modern JavaScript components to accomplish these tasks more efficiently. This change means that pages will load faster, resulting in a better overall user experience.

In addition to the improved page loading times, Drupal 10 also introduces the use of Symfony 6 as its PHP web application framework, replacing the previous version, Symfony 4. The upgrade to Symfony 6 brings with it several advantages, including enhanced performance, fixed vulnerabilities, and overall better security for your website or application.

By eliminating parts of the jQuery library and transitioning to modern JavaScript components and a more advanced PHP framework, Drupal 10 is poised to offer a faster, safer, and more efficient platform for developers and users alike. This upgrade ensures that websites built on Drupal will be better equipped to handle increasing traffic and provide an optimal experience for all visitors.

Upgrade to Drupal 10: Is it Time for a Fresh Start?

Drupal 10 represents a significant milestone for one of the world’s most powerful and widely-used content management systems (CMS). While it may not appear as a massive leap from Drupal 9 at first glance, this latest version is the result of a gradual evolution that continues to enhance the platform in terms of speed, efficiency, and user experience. If you are upgrading from earlier versions like Drupal 7 or 8, you will notice a substantial difference compared to what you’re used to; however, even those on more recent versions of Drupal should consider making the switch as well. The primary reason for this is that updating to Drupal 10 will not only ensure your website remains current and competitive but also provides increased security and high-performance capabilities for your CMS.

Ultimately, investing time and effort in upgrading to Drupal 10 is a wise decision to future-proof your online presence, so it’s advisable to make the transition as soon as possible.