The main differences between Drupal 7 and 11.

If you’re a Drupal user, you’ve probably heard about the migration from Drupal 7 to newer versions like 8, 9, 10 , and now 11. That’s because since version 8, Drupal has radically changed its approach to web design. This means that if you’re planning to upgrade from Drupal 7 to 8 (or beyond), a complete overhaul of your site is a must. In other words, you’ll have to practically recreate your website from scratch . With this in mind, a fundamental question arises: What are the main differences between Drupal 7 and Drupal 11 ? For a business, answering this question is essential to determine whether it’s worth making the move, especially considering the high costs associated with developing a website on Drupal. In this article, we’ll address this question and then explore some alternatives to Drupal.

Main differences between Drupal 7 and 11

There is a big difference between Drupal 7 and 11. In fact, Drupal 8 and later offers advantages that we see below.

1. Rewrite the base code and transition to Symfony

One of the most significant changes between Drupal 7 and Drupal 8 (and beyond) is the complete rewrite of the Drupal core. Drupal 8 introduced Symfony as the underlying framework. This means that Drupal now uses modern PHP components, making it easier to integrate with other systems, while making the code more structured and modular. Drupal 7, on the other hand, used a more traditional and monolithic PHP system. Here are some of the specifics of Symfony that influenced the Drupal redesign:

Modularity thanks to Symfony components

Symfony is composed of several reusable components (like HttpFoundation, EventDispatcher, Routing, etc.). You can integrate them individually into PHP projects. Drupal 8 and beyond have adopted some of these components to handle key features, like:

• HTTP request handling,
• URL routing
• and dependency injection.

This allows Drupal to benefit from a cleaner and more maintainable architecture.

Object oriented architecture

Unlike Drupal 7, which mainly used procedural PHP, Symfony uses object-oriented programming (OOP) . This approach promotes the creation of more organized and reusable code. In addition, it facilitates maintenance and the addition of new features. The use of objects and classes in Symfony has allowed Drupal to structure its code more efficiently.

The Service Container

Symfony has a service container that handles dependency injection . This means that Drupal components and services can be instantiated and configured automatically. This reduces the need for custom code to manage dependencies. Additionally, it allows for better modularity and reduced conflicts when integrating new modules or features.

The Event System

Symfony introduces a powerful event management system, where different parts of the code can interact without being directly linked to each other. Drupal uses this system to allow modules to register and react to events, providing great flexibility to customize and extend the behavior of the CMS without touching the core code.

Advanced Routing

With Symfony, Drupal has a more flexible routing system that allows URLs to be handled more precisely and efficiently. This makes it easier to add custom routes for pages, APIs, and other features, while optimizing performance through more fine-grained HTTP request handling.

Unit and security testing

Symfony is designed with a strong focus on unit testing and security . This has allowed Drupal to strengthen its security mechanisms while making it easier to create automated tests to validate features more reliably. The test automation system in Symfony ensures that changes to the code do not introduce regressions.

2. Object-oriented architecture (OO)

Drupal 7 used a primarily procedural programming approach. Alternatively, Drupal 8 and its successors adopt object-oriented programming (OOP) . Therefore, this makes development on Drupal 8+ more aligned with modern PHP development standards. Additionally, it offers benefits such as:

• On the one hand the codes are easily reusable,
• Additionally, you can easily manage dependencies.
• and also, developers can easily do unit testing easier.

Let's look at the main difference between these two paradigms:

1. Procedural programming:

Procedural programming is an approach in which the program consists of a series of instructions executed sequentially. In fact, the code is organized into functions that manipulate global data or data passed as arguments. Here are the key characteristics:

• Simplicity : It is easy to understand for simple projects.
• Independent functions : The program is structured around functions that perform specific tasks.
• Limited reuse : Code sharing and reuse is less flexible. Each function must be called with specific data, making it difficult to manage large projects.
• Global Data : Variables and data are typically accessible by the entire program, which can lead to bugs that are harder to isolate.

Example in procedural PHP:

 function calculerPrix($prixUnitaire, $quantite) { return $prixUnitaire * $quantite; } $prixTotal = calculerPrix(100, 5); echo $prixTotal;

2. Object-oriented programming (OOP):

Object-oriented programming is based on the concept of classes and objects . A class is a model that represents a concept (such as a product, a user). In comparison, an object is an instance of that class with specific properties. Here are some key characteristics:

• Encapsulation : Data (properties) and behaviors (methods) are grouped into classes. Therefore, you can easily manage complexity.
• Reusability and extensibility : Through inheritance and polymorphism, OOP allows code reuse . For example, you can create subclasses that inherit functionality from parent classes, and thus customize their behavior.
• Modularity : The code is
  • better organized,
  • more maintainable,
  • and more modular.
  • It is easy to add new features without affecting the entire system.
• Protected Data : Data can be protected by visibility levels (public, private, protected), limiting access to relevant parts of the program.

Example in object-oriented PHP:

 class Produit { private $prixUnitaire; private $quantite; public function __construct($prixUnitaire, $quantite) { $this->prixUnitaire = $prixUnitaire; $this->quantite = $quantite; } public function calculerPrixTotal() { return $this->prixUnitaire * $this->quantite; } } $produit = new Produit(100, 5); echo $produit->calculerPrixTotal();

Main differences:

3. Twig as a template engine

In Drupal 7, the default template engine was PHPTemplate where developers mixed PHP and HTML. And yet, starting with Drupal 8, Twig became the template engine. Twig is more secure, faster, and much easier to read for front-end developers. Indeed, this clear separation between PHP logic and templates improves the security and maintainability of sites.

4. Configuration management

With Drupal 7, managing configurations (like module settings, menus or blocks) was a challenge. Indeed, these configurations were stored in the database. This made it difficult to synchronize them between environments (dev, staging, production). Starting with Drupal 8, a file-based configuration management was introduced. Now, it is easier to export, import and version configurations as part of your version control (Git).

5. Migration and compatibility

Drupal 8 introduced a robust migration system to make the transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 8 easier, and this system has been improved in Drupal 9, 10, and 11. However, moving from Drupal 7 to 8 (and beyond) can be a complex project, as the migration requires a complete overhaul of the theme, modules, and data structures. Drupal 9, 10, and 11 continue on the foundation of Drupal 8, which means that upgrades between these versions are much simpler and do not require complex migrations. Drupal 11, for example, is essentially an incremental improvement release based on Drupal 10, so upgrades are smoother.

6. User experience and editor (CKEditor)

Drupal 8 introduced a better user experience for content editors. The default WYSIWYG was upgraded to CKEditor , offering a much more powerful and modern visual editor. In Drupal 7, administrators had to manually install an editor like TinyMCE . Additionally, Drupal 10 comes with CKEditor 5 , an improved version with advanced features for content editing.

7. Restful API and headless support

Another big difference is the addition of headless capabilities in Drupal 8 and beyond. Drupal 7 had no native support for REST APIs, while Drupal 8+ offers a Restful API out of the box, allowing Drupal to act as a backend for front-end applications (like React or Vue.js applications). This makes it much easier to create headless sites or applications where the UI is separated from the backend.

8. Performance and cache

Starting with Drupal 8 , developers have improved performance by integrating a more advanced caching system. Drupal 7 had basic caching capabilities, but Drupal 8 and later versions offer full-featured caching systems, such as page cache, render cache, and static cache, making sites much faster and more efficient, especially for offline visitors.

9. Modernized administration interface

Users sometimes find the Drupal 7 administration interface outdated and difficult to navigate. However, starting with Drupal 8 , and especially in Drupal 10 and 11 , developers have modernized the interface. Indeed, you have:

• smoother navigation,
• responsive design for better use on mobile,
• and an improved overall user experience.

10. Drupal 11: the evolution continues

Drupal 11 , scheduled for release in 2024, will continue to evolve with improvements in performance, ease of use, and security. It will adopt the latest versions of PHP and Symfony , while integrating even more powerful development tools for developers.

Conclusion – differences between Drupal 7 and 11

In short, the transition from Drupal 7 to Drupal 11 represents a fundamental change, both in architecture and functionality. Drupal 7 is based on a procedural approach, while Drupal 11 adopts a modern object-oriented architecture, with technologies like Symfony and Twig , which improve performance, security, and maintainability. In addition, recent versions offer a better user experience thanks to a more intuitive interface, advanced caching systems, and headless capabilities for modern applications. Although the migration requires a complete overhaul of the site, the benefits of a more performant , modular , and secure system more than justify the investment. For businesses, it is crucial to weigh the benefits of migrating to Drupal 11, particularly in terms of flexibility and longevity, in order to stay at the forefront of web technologies. If your site is still using Drupal 7, now is the time to consider this upgrade to ensure that your platform is ready for the future. We hope that this article has helped you understand the differences between Drupal 7 and 11. We invite you to contact us if you have a migration project.