Drupal 8 End of Life: A Guide to Next Steps

When Is Drupal 8 EoL?

When will Drupal 8 become obsolete? Drupal 8 reached its end of life on November 2, 2021. After the Drupal 8 EoL date appears, there will be no community support for it or bug fixes after that date. The reason for this, however, is quite simple. Everybody knows and enjoys Drupal, a universal CMS with specific third-party dependencies. There's no turning back now!

Symfony 3 EoL & PHP Framework 7.3 End of Life

Symfony is the biggest dependency of all currently. Drupal 8 is connected to the life cycle of Symfony 3, which is why it used to achieve End of Life in November 2021.
Nowadays, Drupal 8 could have been supported by Drupal if Symfony 4, the next version of Symfony, supported backward compatibility. However, since that is not the reason, Drupal also has to move to the next version - Drupal 9.
Generally, this official support of PHP version 7.3 is another component Drupal 8 depends on, which ended after December 6th, 2021. The same thing happened to CKEditor.
Nothing will immediately happen to your website. However, the framework can start to crack without significant support and bug fixes. After a while, it will reach the point when the bottom line starts being affected, or it may even lead to the cyber threat of data breaches and attacks.

Drupal 8 End of Life: What Does It Mean for Your Website?

When D8 is no longer supported, the Drupal community will stop providing Drupal security issues updates for this Drupal setup. This means getting D8 support extended support is possible. So, the selected vendors in the Drupal community can provide Drupal official updates for D8 over and above November 2022.
First of all, you should take a deep breath and relax. End of Life is just a period of the development of the software cycle, and it means that vendor support will be ending for a certain version - D8 EoL 2022, in our case. Vendor support provides security patches, bug fixes, feature improvements - generally everything that refers to the support.
It isn't a new process, but it is something we are likely to see more of in the future with the increasing frequency and complexity of major upgrades (e.g., Drupal 8 to Drupal 9) and the struggle to support older code. It's easy to fix - migrate before the deadline or contact your support team.

So, when the Drupal older version achieves its End of Life, the bugs aren’t fixed by the community, and critical vulnerabilities are not detected nor removed. That is why after achieving the End of Life, the Drupal website will be like the unanchored ship that floats in dangerous waters with the constant threat looming over it. That is why keep your website anchored, and upgrading will be better while you still have some time.

Benefits of Drupal 9: Why Consider Migration to Drupal New Version

Upgrading to Drupal 9 is more than just a version update — it’s a strategic move for modern software development. The release of Drupal 9 brings a cleaner, faster, and more secure platform, making it easier for businesses to stay ahead in a competitive digital landscape. If your website is still running on legacy Drupal versions like Drupal 6 or Drupal 7, or even nearing the end of support for Drupal 8, now is the ideal time to consider a Drupal migration.

Drupal 9 is designed to be compatible with Drupal content from previous versions, which makes the upgrade process smoother. Unlike older platforms that carry legacy code and cyber threats, the newer version eliminates deprecated code, adds new features, and focuses on improved performance, simplified maintenance, and long-term stability.

Addressing Drupal 7, Compatibility, and Security in Modern Web Development

Many websites still operate on Drupal 7, which presents growing security issues due to its unsupported Drupal status. Continuing to run on these versions puts your site at risk of security threats and vulnerabilities, compliance problems, and limited functionality.

The newer version, Drupal 9, provides:

• Full compliance with modern web development standards
• Easy upgrade paths that are compatible with content from previous versions
• Stronger defenses against cyber threats
• Continued support for Drupal 8 migration paths and smooth transitions from Drupal 6 and Drupal 7

By making the switch, your organization ensures that your website is ready for future releases of Drupal, remains secure, and leverages the full capabilities of the platform without worrying about outdated Drupal versions.

Migrating to version 9 positions your business to scale effectively, adopt the latest modules and features, and maintain a reliable online presence.

How to Migrate Drupal 8 to Drupal 10 and New Major Versions?

Step 1: Make the D8 website compliant with Drupal 9. You will need to install the minor Drupal 8 upgrade and make your Drupal 8 migration to 8.7, 8.8, or 8.9 versions that comply with Drupal 9.
Step 2: Upgrade the website themes, modules, and third-party integrations to reach them being compliant with Drupal 9.
Step 3: When you reach the core of D8.7 End-of-Life, D8.8 End-of-Life, or D8.9 End-of-Life and update all the modules and themes, set up the Upgrade Status module and observe for deprecated codes.
Step 4: When you have removed the deprecated you, you are ready to update D8 to 9.
Step 5: Upgrade the Drupal core to Drupal 10, and you are done!

Final thoughts

Keeping your website secure and protected is crucial regardless of which supported Drupal version you use. When the Drupal 8 version End of Life is reached, time is definitely of the essence, and we do not recommend commercial organizations use unsupported version.

Upgrade from Drupal 8 and make your site compatible with Drupal 9 and further with expert services by Drupfan. Most of the transition process involves patching contributed modules and minor updates to custom modules. The best to upgrade time is now. In case of questions, you can always get in touch with Drupfan,​​ a Drupal development firm with dedicated developers available for staff augmentation.