Until Drupal 9, the previous versions of Drupal have been radically different from each other. There has been no backward compatibility.
The internal APIs were incompatible, modules of one version didn't work for another unless changes were made. Moreover, the theming architecture was also different. As a result, there was a lot of work done when moving from one version to the next.
If you have Drupal 7, here are some compelling reasons why you should upgrade to Drupal 8 even with Drupal 9 around the corner.
1. Easy to Use
In the past, many users have complained about the back-end user experience when managing and editing Drupal websites.
All this hustle has changed thanks to the introduction of Drupal 8. Among things that have radically improved are, Drupal 8 comes with WYSIWYG editor designed especially for Drupal's use.
Outside the usual basics like buttons for bold, italic, hyperlinks among others, D8 has brought extra functionalities such as the easily editable image captions that come alongside editor's new Widgets feature.
With Drupal 8, website admins can now perform inline editing. This means that they can access the front-end of their site and perform necessary edits in real-time, as well as instantly see the results of their editing immediately.
There is no more hustle of going through the back-end to update or edit content on your website. Drupal 8 thus provides admins a lot more flexibility than ever before.
On the other hand, Drupal 8 comes with a new material design admin that was crafted following strictly on Google's rules developed for its products.
As a result, as Drupal admins manage their content, they enjoy a unique experience similar to working with a Google product. This makes editing more comfortable and more familiar.
2. Mobile Orientation
Drupal 8 is fully seamless out-of-the-box unlike the previous versions. This means that you don't need hectic customization to improve on the user experience.
Technology has improved a lot in the past few years and by now, we don't expect lag in any web product. With the arrival of Drupal 8, any website built on D8 ha elements that automatically reshape themselves to fit and work well with any screen size.
Moreover, Drupal 8 has a mobile-ready toolbar with a wide range of benefits to it. For instance, it allows the admins to manage the content from their mobile devices like tablets and smartphones.
The tool bar was designed to enhance accessibility, therefore, it makes it easy for users to navigate to different parts of the website.
3. Excellent Performance
Everyone who owns a website would like it to be fluid with fast load times. Drupal 8 has an obvious advantage over Drupal 7 in that it comes with BigPipe technology.
This new technology was first developed for Facebook to make it perform better. BigPipe helps to have a better front-end perceived performance because of its fluid way of loading content. Currently, BigPipe is an important aspect of Drupal and upgrading to Drupal 8 brings the same benefit to your website.
4. Easy Migration
The process of updating your platform has changed for the better with introduction of Drupal 8. This change benefits users, admins and the platform itself.
In the past, users have had time when upgrading to a new version of Drupal like Drupal 7 or Drupal 6 as it required an entire rebuild. This process was not only expensive, but was also time consuming and thus not a bonus for admins. The introduction of Drupal 8 paved way for changes that would ease the process of upgrading.
Although you still a total rebuild when moving from D7 to D8, you will no longer be required to rebuild whenever a new version of Drupal is launched. This means that upgrading your platform to Drupal 9 will be an easier process as there won't be any overhauls to be done.
Read the Blog: How an Upgrade Is Now Easier In Drupal 8 for Drupal 9
Drupal 8 comes with a new release cycle. Monthly bug fixes and security patches as well as semi-annual minor releases of Drupal core have been introduced.
These are benefits you cannot enjoy when you're stuck in Drupal 7. In case your platform has a bug, or there is a problem within a certain module, you don't have to wait years to have it polished after the release of the next Drupal version.
This ensures that you constantly have a platform that is seamless throughout.
Moreover, modules now come fully compatible between immediate major version.
5. Introducing TWIG
With Drupal 8 comes TWIG, a popular and widely adopted theme system in PHP forums. TWIG has several benefits that include simpler syntax, and enhanced security compared to PHP template-based theme system you find in Drupal 7 and previous versions.
TWIG enables a theme maker or a dedicated Drupal developer with CSS/HTML skills to edit markup without the need for expert skills in PHP and with least risk of their modifications resulting to security issues on the website.
6. Drupal 8 is Highly Extensible
An important feature of D8 is its flexibility in content delivery. This aspect benefits integrations, which is Drupal's key differentiator.
Since Drupal enables integrations with your latest technologies, it is a great basis for web content management and digital experience. With Drupal 8 comes ultimate flexibility and freedom to choose the type of technology you want to employ. This is enough reason to upgrade your platform from the previous D7.
7. D8 Promises Future Proofing
Admins benefit from Drupal 8 as it makes it possible to interact with their content beyond the limits of a traditional screen.
Drupal enables developers in Drupal website development to create and provide content across any channel, application or device. As a result, you are able to easily share your content with voice recognition devices such as Amazon's Alexa and Google Home, as well as mobile applications and internet of things.
With the changing technological trends and emerging use cases, this will become important to Drupal development India in the near future.
8. Commerce 2.X
There is a lot of attention on Drupal Commerce 2 by and Drupal community. To benefit from timely maintenance and security, you need to operate on Drupal commerce 2 rather than commerce 1.
This is necessary if you intend to sell products on your website, in which case you need updated security and functionality settings and be in the hands of best Drupal development company.
9. Security
It is comforting when you are sure of having minimal complications on your website over the course of its lifecycle.
More important but often overlooked is the aspect of security. In the previous versions, Drupal has earned a reputation as one of the most secure platforms available. This aspect is the reason behind Drupal's adoption by large enterprise and governments at various levels to power their websites.
Major organization like NASA and Australian government have relied on Drupal to establish the presence.
Conclusion
All these reasons point out why you need to upgrade from Drupal 7 to D8 even with the D9 launch looming around the corner.