What’s New in Drupal 10.2?

Based on research by W3Techs, Drupal 10 is leveraged by 12.6% of all websites using the Drupal Content Management System (CMS). This significant adoption is the result of Drupal 10’s Claro administrative theme, CKEditor 5 improvement, modern JavaScript components, Symphony 6 & PHP 8.1 updates, and other functionalities.

Not just this, the Drupal 10 open-source CMS has also been empowering individuals, businesses, and governments globally, with features such as modular architecture, scalability, effective content authoring, and strong community support.

However, launched on 15th December 2023, Drupal 10.2 is the second feature update for Drupal 10, building upon the platform’s recognized strengths and capabilities.

The improvements include new features for sanitizing file names that enable the clean-up of names for uploaded files. Media item revisions that provide a specialized user interface, and more.

With Drupal 10.2 features and upgrades, developers can enjoy a more efficient and productive development environment. Furthermore, businesses can leverage the platform to streamline content management, improve user experiences, strengthen security, and elevate online presence.

In this blog post, we’ll learn about the many benefits of Drupal 10.2 that provide opportunities for developers and businesses to improve their application’s experience, performance, and flexibility.

Here Are the New Features and Upgrades in Drupal 10.2

1. Easier Content Management: Drupal 10.2 enhances user experience for managing various types of content. It enables field types for new fields to be visually presented rather than just being in a simple select list. All settings for fields are consolidated into a single form for easier management.

Additionally, there’s a new dedicated option for adding child items to menu items and taxonomy terms, simplifying the process of item placement. For media items, a specialized user interface has been introduced for reviewing and managing past revisions. Finally, the CKEditor’s language selector has been updated to only display languages that are supported on the site, streamlining content creation in different languages.

2. Flexible Block Placement: Drupal 10.2 introduces an improved feature for block placement, enabling blocks to be shown or hidden based on the HTTP response status of a page. This means site administrators can set specific blocks to appear only for certain situations, like a 404 (Page Not Found) or 403 (Access Denied) error. This enhancement enables greater flexibility in customizing how content is displayed, depending on the user’s context. It includes showing helpful links or information on error pages to improve the overall user experience.

3. Built-In File Name Sanitization Option: Drupal 10.2 introduces built-in file name sanitization options, streamlining file management by automatically replacing whitespace, transliterating non-Latin characters, and converting filenames to lowercase. This enhancement improves compatibility and organization, making file handling more efficient and standardized across various platforms.

4. Faster Permission Management: Drupal 10.2 provides enhanced permission management by adding a filter to the permissions page, enabling quicker and easier location and adjustment of specific permissions. This upgrade significantly streamlines and simplifies the administrative workflow.

5. Performance Improvements: Drupal 10.2 brought several performance enhancements, focusing on content rendering and HTTP response efficiency. It also introduces improvements to caching APIs, which contribute to faster webpage loading and a more responsive user experience, particularly in dynamic content scenarios. These updates aim to optimize website speed and overall performance.

6. PHP Improvements: Drupal 10.2 is already compatible with the newly released PHP 8.3, and it adopts PHP attributes for plugin annotations. However, the modern language feature of PHP attributes enhances the developer experience and enables the contributed & custom code to utilize this modern API for plugins. Furthermore, now the Block and Action plugins can be converted to the new APIs.

7. Built-In Project News and Updates: Drupal now includes a stable ‘Announcements Feed Module’ by default for project news updates. Additionally, the ‘Help’ topics functionality, previously experimental, is fully integrated into the core ‘Help’ module for comprehensive support and guidance.

8. Improvements in Developer Experience: Drupal 10.2 enhances developer experience with various improvements. These include PerformanceTestBase for automated testing, DeprecationHelper for cross-version compatibility, and PHP Fibers support in BigPipe/Renderer for asynchronous operations. These also include expanded configuration validation, Symfony’s autowiring for service creation, and updated HTML utility classes for HTML5 syntax, elevating overall efficiency and flexibility.

How to Migrate to Drupal 10.2

1. Preparation: The migration process starts with a thorough preparation phase. This includes taking a comprehensive backup of your current site, covering all files and databases. Following this, it’s critical to update your Drupal site to the latest version of Drupal 9. This step is crucial because it smooths the path toward Drupal 10.2, ensuring that your site is up-to-date with the latest features and security enhancements that are compatible with the next major release.

2. Environment Check: After preparing your site, the next step is to conduct an environment check. This involves verifying that your hosting environment meets the specific requirements of Drupal 10.2. Furthermore, key components such as PHP, MySQL/MariaDB, and other server software need to be evaluated and updated as necessary.

3. Update Dependencies: Check and update any third-party dependencies your site may have. This includes libraries, modules, and themes that are compatible with Drupal 10.2. Removing or replacing any incompatible components is essential to ensure functionality and security in the new version.

4. Use the Upgrade Status Module: Install and use the Upgrade Status module on your Drupal 9 site to identify any compatibility issues with modules, themes, and the core before migrating. This tool provides a detailed report on what needs to be updated or fixed to proceed with the migration.

5. Execute the Migration: With preparations complete, dependencies updated, and compatibility issues addressed, you can now proceed with the migration. This can be done through the Drupal UI (for simpler sites) or using Drush (for more complex sites), following Drupal’s migration guide for step-by-step instructions.

6. Test Thoroughly: After migrating, thoroughly test your site for any issues. This includes checking the functionality of modules, themes, and custom code, as well as ensuring that all content has been correctly migrated. Pay special attention to performance and security aspects to ensure that your site operates optimally on Drupal 10.2.

7. Launch and Monitor: Once testing is complete, and you’re satisfied with the site’s functionality and performance, go ahead with launching your newly upgraded site. Post-launch, it’s important to continuously monitor the site for any issues and stay updated on any new releases or patches for Drupal 10.2 to maintain security and performance.

Wrapping Up

Now you know that migrating or upgrading to Drupal 10.2 involves steps like evaluating the current site infrastructure, updating modules and themes, and testing to ensure compatibility. However, to implement the migration process seamlessly, choosing a suitable Drupal development partner can be pivotal. They will not only provide expertise in technical aspects to enable a smooth upgrade but also ensure continuous support post-migration.

Want to Upgrade or Migrate Your CMS to Drupal 10.2? Let’s Talk!