As a leading UK based Drupal agency, we're committed to keeping ourselves ahead of the curve with open-source innovation, and there's no better place to do this than at DrupalCon Europe. Attending DrupalCon is the perfect opportunity to learn, get inspired by the Drupal community and finally meet the people we have been collaborating with on Drupal contributions. And did we mention the conference is usually in a pretty amazing European city?
This year's trip took us to vibrant, sunny Barcelona where we immersed ourselves in the latest Drupal developments and connected with the brilliant global community that makes Drupal thrive. We returned brimming with excitement about the innovations on Drupal's horizon.
There were many great takeaways from DrupalCon 2024, but these are the highlights we’re most excited about.
Making Drupal’s CMS work for everyone
During Dries Buytaert's keynote, we got our first look at Drupal CMS, an ambitious project designed to make Drupal accessible to a much wider audience. This new version will become the default Drupal, allowing anyone to build a website straight out of the box – no technical expertise required.
Drupal CMS has a lot of potential for content creators and marketers. Using clever WebAssembly technology, users will be able to trial the CMS directly in their browser without any server-side setup. No more wrestling with MySQL databases or seeking developer assistance just to get started.
This no-code solution means small businesses, event organisers, artists, and individual creators can now build fully featured websites independently. From microbusiness websites to product launches and portfolios, Drupal CMS will open up powerful web publishing to everyone. Don't worry, developers – the full, complex version of Drupal we know and love remains intact for more sophisticated projects.
The new "Recipes" feature is fascinating, offering ready-to-use functionality packages. Want a basic blog or e-commerce site? Just download the recipe for that.
Drupal CMS represents a significant step in making web development more accessible; we can't wait to use it.
If you’d like a sneak preview of what’s to come, you can catch up with Dries’ keynote here
Working smarter, not harder with Drupal’s AI
Artificial intelligence was unsurprisingly a major focus at this year's conference. Drupal CMS will launch with built-in AI capabilities, leveraging intelligent technology to support key website development tasks. From automatically generating taxonomies and content types to creating SEO metadata and managing content migration, AI is set to transform how we build websites.
Content migration particularly caught our attention. In website projects, content migration is rarely anyone's favourite part, and at worst, it can be an unplanned and unpredictable expense that significantly inflates budgets and timelines. Transferring years of content between systems can be a complex, time-consuming, and expensive process that nobody looks forward to. Now, AI promises to simplify this challenge, potentially reducing what was once a costly and laborious task to a single action.
Finding the right module just got easier
One of Drupal's greatest strengths is its extensibility. Thanks to the incredible Drupal community, we rarely need to build functionality from scratch – there's usually a module that gives us a head start. However, with over 52,000 modules available, finding the perfect one can feel like searching for a needle in a digital haystack.
Enter the improved Drupal Project Browser, designed to make module discovery and installation more intuitive. Built directly into your Drupal site, it eliminates the need to leave your admin interface to search for modules. The system has been streamlined with refined categorisation (now just 19 categories instead of 55), smart relevance-based sorting, and clearer module information, such as compatibility details.
The Project Browser will be particularly valuable for newcomers to Drupal and site builders, offering a faster, more user-friendly experience. It queries the Drupal.org API in real time to ensure you always have up-to-date information. Future plans include integration with Package Manager for smoother installation, plus exciting additions like theme browsing and those recipe applications that we mentioned earlier.
Unlocking pathways for aspiring drupal developers
Many of our team members have transitioned into tech from other industries, and we heard all about the challenges they faced in securing their first technical role before they could gain hands-on experience on real-world projects. Drupal IXP is a Drupal community initiative aimed at helping new developers acquire the experience needed to land their first junior developer position.
While the details are still being finalised, the core premise is to provide roles for inexperienced Drupal developers, offering mentorship and support within a structured framework. Participating organisations will be rewarded for supporting the next generation of Drupal talent through the existing Drupal contribution system.
As an employer, we've found that hiring team members with diverse backgrounds bring invaluable perspectives to our business, so we'll be excited to see how this new industry entry pathway evolves.
That’s a wrap for DrupalCon 2024, but we’ve already got DrupalCon 2025 in our calendar, ready to visit Vienna, the music and cream cake capital of Europe.