The Risks of Ignoring the Drupal 9 Update

Your website is an investment in your business, but as time goes on, technology changes. Staying on top of your Drupal content management system upgrades is essential to your website’s functionality and security. With the release of Drupal 9 that took place in June 2020, it’s leaving some businesses to wonder if they can just “get by” without migrating to D9. But soon Drupal 7 and 8 will reach End-Of-Life (EOL), raising the stakes for platform users. Many businesses believe that the update can simply be put on the back burner, or they feel they’re satisfied with an old version that works for them. But take some time to consider the potential issues that this can cause for both your business and customers. 

Loss of Credibility

Risking your online credibility is a recipe for disaster. EOL for Drupal 7 and 8 means that projects, themes, and Contribution Modules (modules built and maintained by the Drupal Community to enhance functionality) will no longer be built, maintained, or improved by the community. This will leave current Drupal 7 and 8 websites “stuck in place’ with the functionality they currently have with no community to maintain and fix issues with current modules.

It takes only 50 milliseconds (.05 seconds) for users to form an opinion about your website that determines whether they’ll stay or leave.

Remember, technology changes – and quickly. Keeping up with your website’s functionality, look, and feel is critical for a user to feel like your business is legitimate. 

Open Season for Hackers

Worst case scenario, ignoring the Drupal 9 upgrade will leave your website open to hackers, who are quick to pursue old platforms for vulnerabilities. Needless to say, a security breach will also damage your business’s reputation. When D7 &8 end-of-life approaches, the Drupal Security Team will no longer provide support or Security Advisories, leaving your website’s data and infrastructure at a much higher risk of hacking and compromise. 

Google Has the Last Say

To put the cherry on top, Google also has a hand in the fate of breached websites. Any website that has endured major hacking that involved phishing campaigns or malware can be dropped down on the results page and marked as harmful to users with the phrase “This site may harm your computer” directly in the listing. Most customers will see this as an immediate red flag and take their business to a competitor. Google can even go as far as completely blacklisting websites, expelling the site from their search results. 

Don’t Worry, We’ve Got This

We’ve already helped companies migrate to Drupal 9 and are well versed in the ins and outs. This includes website functionality testing to ensure their websites function as intended, and users have an error-free browsing experience. If you aren’t sure where to start with your Drupal 9 upgrade, let’s get in touch and our team of Drupal experts can take care of the heavy lifting.