Drupal 7 will go end-of-life on January 5, 2025
With the end-of-life, security updates for Drupal 7 will cease, leaving your CiviCRM website vulnerable to threats and potentially facing compatibility issues. It's crucial to understand your options and take action to ensure your site's security and functionality.
My CiviCRM Site Is Running Drupal 7. What Can I Do?
All is not lost! Organizations running CiviCRM on Drupal 7 still have viable options.
Before we dive in, understand these solutions are somewhat short-term. While they aim to provide extended support, allowing organizations to migrate away from Drupal 7 at their own pace, there may be limitations compared to the official support available during Drupal 7's active development phase. Additionally, transitioning to platforms like Drupal 10, Backdrop, or WordPress will give you access to the latest features, performance improvements, and security updates.
What Are My Options for Moving Forward?
- Work with an extended release service provider that offers extended security updates for Drupal Core and any (non custom) module as they are released. You’ll update Drupal just as you did in the past.
- Utilize a hosting provider that works with one of those service providers.
- Contact a CiviCRM partner who can lead this effort for you.
Extended Release Service Providers
- There are a few certified vendors vetted by the Drupal Association that are part of the Extended Security Support Provider Program. These include: Tag1, HeroDevs, and DropSolid.
- These firms will provide security updates for Drupal Core and any (non custom) module as they are released. You’ll update Drupal just as you did in the past.
- Of these three, Tag1 is our preferred option because it's low cost, simple and has monthly plans. Tag1 also provides this service to major hosting providers like Pantheon. Pantheon is our preferred Drupal hosting provider so using Tag1 made the most sense to BackOffice Thinking. However, you should investigate yourself.
- These firms also provide premium plans at much higher cost where they will apply all the updates for you.
Hosting providers providing Extended Release
- Pantheon and Aquia (and likely more) have contracted with vendors from the Extended Security Support Provider Program to provide this support as well.
- Although Pantheon is our preferred Drupal hosting provider, we don’t use it for sites with CiviCRM because of limitations and complications that I won’t get into here. However, if your site is hosted on Pantheon, they will provide security updates from Tag1 at no charge. You’ll update Drupal/CiviCRM just as you did in the past.
Important Note: To utilize any of these extended support options, your site must be running the latest version of Drupal, and all contributed modules should be current. If your site hasn't been regularly updated, this could present some challenges.
CiviCRM partners
- Some CiviCRM partners, such as BackOffice Thinking, collaborate with Extended Security Support providers and hosting services. They can guide you through this process or even take the lead for your organization.
About BackOffice Thinking
BackOffice Thinking has been providing CiviCRM and Drupal services for almost 20 years and works with nonprofit organizations of all sizes. We also support other CRM and CMS platforms as well as help organizations assess their technology. Partnering with BackOffice Thinking means you'll have a dedicated team committed to your organization's success. Our proven track record in nonprofit technology solutions ensures you're in capable hands.
