2023 in Review: Top Trends and Topics

Promet’s blog is powered by the collective brainpower of our company’s developers, solutions architects, web accessibility experts, marketers, account managers, SEO experts, Drupal trainers, and executive leadership. 

Week after week, we provide the Open Source communities that we serve with value added how-tos, resources, analyses, case studies, and previews to what’s new and next. In the process of doing so, we gain razor sharp insights into what matters to our audience and why. 

Here’s a recap of the 2023 blogs and topics got the most attention and the greatest readership last year.  

FAQs about the Nov. 1, 2023 Drupal 9 2023 End of Life

Drupal 9’s end of life – less than 11 months after the Dec. 2022 release of Drupal 10 – crept up on many in the Drupal community last year The accelerated migration time frame gave rise to lots of questions:

• What does it mean when a Drupal version reaches end of life?
• Will a Drupal 9 CMS still work after Nov. 1, 2023?
• What’s the risk of delaying migration?
• Why is Drupal now built on top of the Symfony PHP web application framework?
• How long does it take to upgrade a site from Drupal 9 to 10?
• And many more.

As last year’s Nov. 1 end of life date for Drupal 9 neared, Promet’s Senior Drupal Developer, John Lutz, took on the big questions concerning factors driving the Drupal 9 hard stop, along with recommended steps for Drupal site owners. His straightforward answers proved to be just what the Drupal Community was looking for as this blog ranked higher for readership than any other posted in 2023. 

Read: FAQs about the Nov. 1, 2023 Drupal 9 End of Life.
 

Exploring AI For Drupal Development

2023 emerged as the year that the concept of artificial intelligence catapulted past the futuristic speculations, and into the mainstream of life, work, and Drupal Development.

Readership was high on all of our AI-related blogs last year, beginning with, Solutions Architect Sonal Bendle’s: AI for Drupal Sites: To the Next Level and Beyond. Later in the year, Promet’s President, Andy Kucharski took the conversation to the next level with the publication of Government Sites Tap AI for Enhanced UX and Engagement. 

The December publication of Exploring AI for Drupal Development, by Senior Drupal Developer, Josh Estep, resulted in a higher rate of readership than nearly any other post in 2023, making the point eminently clear that AI as a web development tool is a hot topic that warrants continued coverage. Promet development team has a depth and breadth of knowledge and know-how on the topic, and AI is slated for robust coverage in the first quarter of 2024. 

Read: Exploring AI for Drupal Development.

Drupal vs. WordPress: Key Strengths of the Top CMSs

In the Open Source CMS world, Drupal vs. WordPress is a frequent topic of conversation – often with the objective of obtaining a definitive answer concerning which one is better. As Drupal Developer, Aaron Armstrong pointed out in this extremely popular post, there are no simple answers to the “WordPress vs Drupal” question.  Both WordPress and Drupal have evolved a lot since their introductions in the early 2000s, and Aaron sets forth essential facts and stats concerning both Drupal and WordPress. 

Read: Drupal vs. WordPress: Key Strengths of the Top CMSs.
 

More to Love: Big Site Builder Benefits of Drupal 10.1

The release of Drupal 10 in December 2022, was followed by the release of Drupal 10.1 in the first half of 2023 – demonstrating one of the most significant enhancements of Drupal 10: incremental enhancements. 

In a well received blog last summer, Drupal Trainer, Rod Martin, explored six overlooked but critical advantages that site builders can now count on in Drupal 10.1. 

Read:  More to Love: Big Site Builder Benefits of Drupal 10.1.
 

Are You Suffering from Drupal Upgrade Fatigue?

It can sometimes feel like a relief when someone simply calls out the elephant in the room, and within the Drupal Community the fact is this: the pace of new version releases has been fast in recent years. For many, keeping up has felt burdensome.

This post from early in the 2023 resonated with a lot of readers, while setting forth the factors driving the pace of new version releases and the imperative of keeping a site up to date.

Read: Are You Suffering from Drupal Upgrade Fatigue?

What lies ahead for 2024? The final days of Drupal 7 Community support, the scheduled release of Drupal 11, transformative AI-driven possibilities and much more.

We at Promet Source are committed to staying connected and sharing thought leadership, top trends, best practices, and in-the-trenches expertise to help you stay informed, engaged, and aware of what's new and next. We're always open to hearing your ideas and digging into the topics that matter most to you.

Let us know what we can do for you, and all of our best wishes for a powerful step forward into 2024.