How do I keep my Drupal 7 website online after the D7 end-of-life?

On January 5th, 2025, Drupal will officially stop supporting Drupal 7. That means no more community-based updates such as bug fixes, new features, or security updates. Do you still have a D7 website that needs to stay online longer? If so, we'd be happy to help you out.

Dropsolid supports Drupal 7 until 8th december 2025 And Dropsolid is one of the leading official Drupal migration partners selected by the Drupal Association.
Drupal 7 support

My Drupal 7 website still needs to stay online after the EOL date, now what?

Drupal 7 is going "end-of-life," EOL. In the tech world, that means that certain software will no longer be sold, updated, or actively supported technically as of the EOL date. For Drupal 7, that means specifically that as of January 2025, the team behind Drupal will no longer develop new components or release security updates.

Drupal 10 has been around for a while now. Do you still need to keep your Drupal 7 website online? This could be for various reasons: your new website has been delayed, there is no budget, your organization is undergoing a transformation that is delaying your project... Or do you have another good reason to stay on Drupal 7 for a while? No reason to panic. We have the right solution for you. Our Drupal experts still support a lot of Drupal 7 websites for various European organizations. And they can do the same for you.
 

Why is an up-to-date Drupal 7 website so important?

We make sure that your website is supported beyond January 2025 and meets the necessary security requirements. 

An up-to-date platform is a secure platform, and that is an absolute must. The consequences of an unsupported Drupal version? Your website is no longer secure, you no longer enjoy updates, and you risk breaches that can have major consequences. A number of technical problems also arise. For example, modules are no longer supported, causing your website's SEO score to drop.  

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620 years of Drupal experience

Dropsolid has many senior developers who've worked with Drupal 7 for years. Unlike many young developers, they do have the necessary knowledge to keep your website secure and performing.

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Drupal is in our DNA

And that translates into our expertise: hosting, development, takeovers, training, support... In addition, we also have enormous knowledge about security and performance, for example.

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+10.000 Drupal contributions

Ever since our existence, we have focused primarily on Drupal. On this expertise of over 10 years we build together with our team. And that team also builds on each other. More than 50 Drupal experts push each other to the next level every day. 

How do we approach Drupal 7 support?

  1. We discuss your case personally and, together, draw up a future vision for your website.
  2. We make an action plan based on your wishes and needs: the Drupal 7 Maintenance Plan.
  3. We execute the action plan with PHP and Drupal 7 updates.

Such an action plan is always a plan per year. Why per year? Every year, Dropsolid evaluates whether to extend D7 support for another year. So we look at it year by year. Will Drupal extend the support? Then, we also offer a new action plan for the coming year.

At the moment, Dropsolid supports Drupal 7 until 8th December 2025

In exceptional cases, and if circumstances permit, the decision may be made to continue supporting Drupal 7 until 2027 as an ultimate deadline. Regardless of the support of the Drupal Association, and as long as the underlying technology, such as PHP and Linux versions, remain supported. if the Long Term Support program gets reinstated, we will join the program again.

Wat is a Drupal 7 Maintenance Plan exactly?

1. Drupal Audit

We always start with a Drupal Audit. This way we make the right estimate of the complexity and cost of further maintenance.

2. Drupal takeover

A takeover of your website is not always necessary. However, it is often more beneficial so that we have a good view of, for example, acute problems and security risks.

3. Hosting

External hosting is possible but discouraged as it causes more overhead and less control. Specifically when it comes to compatible software versions like PHP. This is a bigger issue for Drupal 7 sites, as they are more likely to be hosted on older servers with operating systems that may not easily support newer versions like PHP8.

4. Proactive Maintenance

Drupal 7 has a predictable roadmap and release schedule. Based on that, we make a monthly planning with required addtions to keep your environment secure.

Go to the Drupal 7 roadmap and release plan 

5. Incident Management

We follow-up for Public Service Announcements (PSA) and in case an urgent security issue gets announced, we evaluate the issue and make a mitigation plan.

Is staying on Drupal 7 a long-term solution?

Truthfully? Not really. A long-term solution, not quite. Definitely keep in mind a certain cost, and it's likely to get more expensive every year as it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain a Drupal 7 website. In addition, Drupal 7 expertise is gradually disappearing from the market because it is no longer actively supported and developers can no longer fully focus on it.

However, the Drupal 7 Maintenance Plan is a perfect temporary solution, whilst thinking about your next step. Is your new website behind schedule? Is there no budget? Or is your organization undergoing a digital transformation? Then the Drupal 7 Maintenance Plan is the perfect solution for you.

Calculate the cost of your Drupal migration

The choice between a limited maintenance cost and a larger investment in an improved digital platform depends on your business case. There are different factors and trade-offs to consider.

Are you curious about the cost of a Drupal 7-migration? We’ve designed a tool that helps you calculate the cost of your migration.

Download our migration calculator  

Frequently asked questions

Can I choose to stay on Drupal 7?

You can, and your website will keep working. Just keep in mind that your website will no longer meet security requirements and that Drupal will no longer support your current version. 

If you choose the Drupal 7 Maintenance Plan at Dropsolid, your D7 website will remain secure for at least one extra year. 

 

Can I migrate directly from D7 to D9 without switching to D8 first?

Yes, that’s perfectly doable. We recommend you see this migration as an opportunity to rethink your entire website experience. Drupal 9 offers new ways to maintain your website more efficiently – just take Layout Builder as an example.

Technology is moving faster than ever, and you should avoid taking legacy systems to your new website. Migrating relevant content to your new website is usually the best approach.

Will my current Drupal 7 website continue to work without an update?

Yes, your current website will remain online. However, you will no longer be able to enjoy necessary security updates, which has negative implications.

What does Drupal 7 Long-Term Support mean?

The so-called extended support program or Long-term Support was started in cooperation with the Drupal Association and the Drupal Security team. This was revised and discontinued again for various reasons. Currently, the Drupal Association still supports D7 until November 2023. 

Want to keep your website secure and performing after that? Then our Drupal 7 Maintenance Plan is the suitable solution. 

If the Drupal 7 Long-Term Support program will be revived in the future, Dropsolid will join the program again to guarantee the best possible support for our Drupal 7 clients.

Can I use custom Drupal 7 modules in Drupal 9?

Unfortunately, this isn’t possible. The underlying architecture of Drupal has evolved and D7 code needs to be ported to be compatible with later Drupal versions. However, your migration provides an opportunity to verify whether the functionality of your custom Drupal 7 code can be achieved with contributed modules for Drupal 9.

Your Drupal 7 website is in good hands with Dropsolid