Drupal CMS: Transforming the Drupal Experience for All Users

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Preview of "Drupal CMS: Transforming the Drupal Experience for All Users" blog post
Discover how Drupal CMS, developed by the Drupal Starshot Initiative, transforms the CMS experience with features like Recipes, AI tools, and an enhanced Page Builder called Experience Builder, making site building easier and more accessible for all users.

“Congrats, you have nothing!” is a well-known phrase in the Drupal community, capturing the essence of starting a new project with this Content Management System (CMS). When you begin, you're given a blank slate. This design embodies Drupal's commitment to freedom, allowing developers to build precisely what they envision without unnecessary constraints.

However, this flexibility can be overwhelming for non-technical users who may find the initial setup demanding, especially if they have different objectives and backgrounds.

To address this situation, earlier this year, Drupal introduced the Drupal Starshot Initiative, now known as Drupal CMS, aiming to transform the initial user experience.

Drupal CMS provides an enhanced out-of-the-box experience, making it easier for users without prior Drupal experience to create and manage websites. By becoming more accessible, user-friendly, and competitive in the CMS landscape, Drupal CMS seeks to bridge the gap between flexibility and usability.

Drupal CMS or Drupal Starshot Initiative? What’s the Difference?

To clarify, Drupal Starshot Initiative is the overarching project that focuses on creating Drupal CMS, the end product that users will interact with. 

The new Drupal CMS will be promoted as the recommended version for most website projects, with the current Drupal core becoming a secondary option. The official Drupal website will reflect this change, positioning the Drupal CMS as the flagship product endorsed by the Drupal Association.

The name "Drupal CMS" was chosen after user testing with both newcomers and experienced users. This name consistently scored highest across all tested groups, including marketers unfamiliar with Drupal.

By leveraging the strengths of Drupal core and integrating key components like Project Browser and Recipes–which we’ll review below–the initiative aims to provide an exceptional out-of-the-box experience.

Goals and Vision of Drupal CMS

Drupal CMS aims to streamline intricate workflows while promoting a strong sense of community collaboration. 

Here are some of the main goals of the project:

  • Simplify Site Building: Lower the barriers to entry by making Drupal easier to install, configure, and extend.
  • Enhance User Experience: Provide intuitive tools and interfaces for site builders and content editors.
  • Promote Best Practices: Leverage Recipes to share configurations and functionalities that adhere to industry standards.
  • Foster Community Collaboration: Encourage contributions from developers, designers, and site builders to continuously improve Drupal CMS.

What Is Not Drupal CMS?

On the other hand, there are certain misconceptions around what Drupal CMS is exactly. Here are some of the most common ones:

  • Drupal CMS Is Not a Fork or Rewrite: The initiative is neither a fork nor a rewrite of Drupal. It builds upon the stable foundation of Drupal core.
  • Drupal CMS Is Not a Distribution or Installation Profile: Unlike traditional distributions, Drupal CMS uses Recipes for greater flexibility and modularity.
  • Drupal CMS Is Not a Drupal Core Replacement: The initiative enhances Drupal core without replacing it, ensuring continuity and stability.

Why Adopt Drupal CMS? 6 Key Features of Drupal CMS

For a long time, Drupal site builders lacked an easy way to set up a new Drupal instance locally or on the cloud without following specific instructions or adopting a Drupal distribution. 

This is about to change thanks to the following 6 key features of Drupal CMS:

1. Drupal Recipes

The backbone of the new Drupal CMS is the concept of Drupal Recipes. Site builders can select from a variety of pre-packaged recipes tailored to specific use cases, such as blogs, e-commerce sites, or portfolios. Each recipe comes with the most popular contributed modules pre-installed, reducing the need for manual configuration and speeding up the development process.

Recipes are one of the features we leveraged when building Drupal Decoupled, our approach to simplifying and accelerating the decoupling process in this platform, with great results. 

2. Advanced AI Capabilities

Drupal CMS will incorporate advanced AI features to enhance the site-building experience further. These capabilities will assist users in tasks such as content creation, layout suggestions, and module recommendations, making the platform more intuitive for those with less technical proficiency.

3. Streamlined Launch Process

Another significant change is the shift from "Download" to "Launch" as the default option when starting with Drupal CMS. This reflects the platform's emphasis on ease of use, signaling to users that building a website with Drupal CMS requires less technical know-how than working with Drupal core.

4. Next-Generation Page Builder: Experience Builder

An integral component of the new Drupal CMS is the enhanced Next-Generation Page Builder, also known as the Experience Builder. This tool combines the optimized experience of Drupal's Layout Builder with the best features of Paragraphs, Single Directory Components, and basic theming capabilities.

5. Project Browser Initiative

Finding and installing modules has traditionally required several steps, some of which involve leaving the Drupal site to navigate to Drupal.org or using technical tools like Composer. The Project Browser Initiative aims to make it easier to find and install modules directly from the Drupal interface, especially for new users and site builders.

6. Automatic Updates Initiative

Applying Drupal core security patches has required familiarity with Composer and the command line, increasing the time between the availability of security patches and their application on live websites. The Automatic Updates Initiative seeks to introduce a secure system for automatically installing Drupal core patches and security updates.

Table of 6 Key Features of Drupal CMS that illustrates the text above.

How Drupal CMS Bridges the Gap Between Enterprise and Non-Enterprise?

Drupal CMS plays a vital role in making Drupal's powerful features accessible to non-enterprise users. By offering a more intuitive and user-friendly experience, Drupal CMS positions itself as a competitive option in the small to medium-sized business market. 

This is particularly significant and overdue given the stiff competition from proprietary Low-Code/No-Code platforms, like Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow, and other open-source CMS platforms, like WordPress.

These platforms are renowned for their ease of use, quick setup times, and user-friendly customization options. To compete effectively, Drupal CMS must not only match but exceed these offerings in terms of functionality, flexibility, and user experience.

That’s why Drupal CMS has a leadership team separate from Drupal core. The Drupal Starshot Advisory Council will advise on the project's general direction, representing various roles and personas within the community. 

This structure ensures that Drupal CMS can evolve in alignment with the needs of its diverse user base while maintaining a clear and focused vision.

Future Plans for Drupal CMS

Development of Drupal CMS is actively underway. Here are some of the most significant ones:

Release Timeline

Dries Buytaert, founder of Drupal, has announced that the first releases of Drupal CMS are expected to be available before the end of 2024. Achieving this ambitious timeline requires active participation from the community. Developers, site builders, designers, and other contributors are encouraged to get involved to help shape the future of Drupal CMS.

Release Frequency

Drupal CMS releases are not tied to Drupal core releases. This decoupling allows for more flexibility and agility in development. There may be new releases monthly or even more frequently, enabling faster innovation and the rapid introduction of new features and improvements.

Hosting and SaaS Offerings

As of now, Drupal.org has no plans to provide hosted Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings for Drupal CMS. However, there are and will continue to be offerings from companies that provide such functionality. The Drupal Association welcomes feedback in this area. Notably, the Drupal CMS Launch button is planned to be served with Drupal in the browser using WebAssembly, making it easier for users to try out Drupal CMS without setting up a hosting environment.

In short, by simplifying complex processes and fostering a collaborative community environment, Drupal CMS looks to appeal to both seasoned developers and newcomers.

What About Decoupled Drupal?

While Drupal has made significant strides in becoming more user-friendly, there’s always room for growth. Originally designed by developers, for developers, it’s been a journey to simplify the platform. Drupal CMS and the Drupal Starshot Initiative aim to reduce friction for newcomers and keep the innovation flowing.

Though traditionally a monolithic CMS, Drupal doesn’t have to stay that way. At Octahedroid, we believe in its potential as an API-first CMS, powering headless and decoupled architectures. 

That’s why we developed Drupal Decoupled, a one-click, pre-configured solution that unlocks Drupal’s full potential without the complexity. Built with best practices, Composer Project Templates, and Recipes–which we mentioned above–it enables teams to easily embrace decoupled architectures, regardless of their expertise.

As Drupal continues to evolve, we’ll keep this project updated, ensuring the community benefits from the latest features. You can learn more about Drupal Decoupled and try it for yourself here.

Not sure where to start with decoupled architectures or need help with a project? Our team, with years of decoupled architecture expertise, is ready to help. Let’s chat and bring your vision to life with the power of Drupal’s decoupled architecture, tailored to your business. Schedule a free consultation here.

Jesus Manuel Olivas

About the author

Jesus Manuel Olivas, Co-founder and CEO
Building solutions with GraphQL, Cloud Native, Automation, CMS integrations, NoCode/LowCode, and Edge Computing. With +10 years of experience contributing to Drupal to expand its capabilities and make them accessible to all users.

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