Drupalcon 2024
As we stepped into Barcelona’s vibrant atmosphere, our team was ready to dive into DrupalCon 2024 and set to make the most of this year's event! DrupalCon is always a thrilling experience, bringing together enthusiasts and experts from around the world, and this year is no exception. From gathering insights on the latest Drupal technology to networking with fellow developers, we were excited to capture all the inspiration Barcelona has to offer—along with a taste of that Spanish sunshine!
With memories of our first night in Barcelona still fresh, and the sun shining brightly, we felt completely recharged for the opening morning of DrupalCon 2024! After a quick stop to pick up our badges, we stepped filled with excitement into the venue. The event kicked off in the auditorium with a welcome session and overview of what was to come over the next few days. Let’s take you with us for a summary of Drupalcon 2024:
Startshot is loading: Drupal CMS
Dries Buytaert, Drupal’s founder, shared an inspiring vision for the platform's future, emphasizing its constant evolution to meet new tech trends. A key upcoming innovation is the AI-powered feature “Starshot,” which, upon completion, will be rebranded as Drupal CMS. The development is halfway done and if everything goes smoothly an official launch is set for January 15th—coinciding with Drupal’s 24th anniversary.
| Important: Drupal CMS is not Drupal 12! It’s not a core update but a feature layer built on top of Drupal core. Drupal core will remain untouched! You can still develop on top of the core without Starshot. No need to migrate your website to Drupal CMS. It’s simply an addition that can be installed on your current website. |
In general, we discussed the experience of using Drupal compared to other CMS systems. Unlike other platforms, the longer people use Drupal, the more positive they become about it. Though this is great, people tend to be quite negative at first because of the steep learning curve. To change this, Drupal CMS (Starshot) is being developed as an extra feature to help them out. With Drupal CMS, you can create a website directly in the browser and get started right away. The site is built right there in the browser.
Drupal CMS is built on the following components:
→ Drupal core
→ Automatic updates: This feature makes it much easier to keep Drupal core up to date automatically.
→ Project Browser: It helps site builders easily find and install modules.
→ Recipes: These allow module installation and configuration automation through the user interface and the Drupal recipe runner.
→ Drupal Experience Builder: This enables site builders without Drupal experience to theme and build entire websites using just their browser, without needing to write more than basic HTML, CSS, and templating (e.g., Twig). It also allows content creators to compose content anywhere on the page without depending on developers. With the Experience Builder, creating and visualizing web pages will become much easier, allowing users to construct pages in a more intuitive and visual way.
Unlocking Creativity: Integrating LLM Technology into our own websites
With the rise of LLM (Large Language Model) technology, integrating creative applications into your website has never been easier. This powerful AI, used by tools like ChatGPT, processes vast datasets to generate contextually relevant responses and features. You can implement interactive chatbots for real-time user support, automate content generation for fresh updates, or develop personalized assistants to enhance navigation. While LLM technology has limitations based on its training data, it still offers a wealth of opportunities to enrich your website and engage visitors like never before.
Gin theme
The new "Gin" theme—a new UI layout for Drupal’s admin interface—can now be installed on older sites, including Drupal 7. This upgrade modernizes Drupal's appearance and even has a better admin UI than WordPress’s. While Gin isn’t the default theme yet, it will be with the upcoming Drupal CMS release. Fun fact: 57,000 sites already use Gin!
Some new features mentioned for Gin include:
- Support for the new core navigation.
- The sidebar is now resizable.
- The Drupal installer now has Gin’s sleek new look.
- Improvements to the Project Browser.
- They’re also working on adding sticky action buttons.
The Future of Drupal 11, 12, and Drupal CMS
Drupal 11 was released on August 2nd, 2024. This is quite a quick core release after Drupal 10, which came out on December 14th, 2022. Just as people are getting used to Drupal 10, Drupal 11 has already arrived! But no worries, mid-late support is always provided. Drupal 10 will be supported until 2026, and Drupal 11 until 2028.
After three days packed with insights and networking, we wrapped up our DrupalCon experience with colleagues from other Belgian Drupal agencies at the “Belgian Night.” It was a fantastic end to a trip filled with new connections and inspiring discussions on all things Drupal.
Curious how we can keep your website up to date or help create a brand-new one? Reach out, and let’s bring your vision to life together!