Drupal 11 was released on 2nd August 2024. It builds on the strengths of Drupal 10 while introducing new tools and workflows designed to simplify development, boost performance, and make content management easier.
Drupal 11 brings several enhancements, like improvements to CKEditor integration, a revamp of the Field UI, performance improvements, and revisions for taxonomy terms.
Drupal 11 is the newest major release of the Drupal Content Management System. Drupal 11 enhances the developer experience, improves performance, and offers more powedrupalrful tools for content creators. With a focus on modern technologies and best practices, Drupal 11 makes sites more efficient, scalable, and easier to maintain.
The major features and enhancements of Drupal 11 are mentioned below.
One of the standout features of Drupal 11 is the introduction of Recipes. Recipes are pre-configured bundles of functionality. It allows developers to quickly set up common features without having to manually configure every detail.
Whether it's creating a blog, setting up an e-commerce site, or implementing a forum, Recipes provides a shortcut to getting started with the right set of modules, configurations, and templates. This feature will also be available with Drupal starshot.
Read more about the Drupal Starshot initiative and how Axelerant is actively contributing to it.
To use Drupal recipes, follow the steps given below.
For example, If an organization wants to set up a blog, the blog recipe will automatically install and configure the necessary modules, create content types, and set up views for blog posts.
The following table shows the possible use cases for some of the most common Drupal recipes.
| Recipe |
Use Case |
| Blog Recipe |
Set up a complete blog with all the necessary features |
| Ecommerce Recipe |
Configure a basic online store with product listings and shopping cart functionality |
| Forum Recipe |
Create a community forum with user roles and permissions |
Drupal 11 introduces Single Directory Components (SDC), a powerful feature that allows developers to package all related files (Twig templates, JavaScript, CSS, etc.) for each component into a single directory. This modular approach makes it easier to manage, reuse, and share components across projects.
The implementation of SDC will benefit the developers in the following ways.
For example, if an organization creates a component for a custom slider, all the necessary files (slider.html.twig, slider.js, slider.css) would be stored in one directory, making it simple to maintain and update.
Performance improvements are always a key focus in Drupal releases, and Drupal 11 is no exception. This version introduces several enhancements that make sites faster and more scalable, including better caching mechanisms, optimized database queries, and improvements in JavaScript and CSS handling.
A few major performance optimizations in Drupal 11 are:
The new and improved moderation workflows are more intuitive and easier to manage, allowing content creators to review, edit, and publish content with greater efficiency.
Drupal 11 introduces several enhancements over Drupal 10 and earlier versions, making it a more powerful and efficient platform.
| Feature |
Drupal 10 |
Drupal 11 |
| Recipes |
❌ |
✅ |
| Single Directory Components (SDC) |
❌ |
✅ |
| Content Moderation |
Basic |
Enhanced, more intuitive |
| Performance |
Improved over Drupal 9 |
Further optimized |
| Admin UI |
Modernized but limited |
Modernized & Enhanced |
The system requirements to run Drupal 11 are given below.
Organizations need PHP 8.3 for Drupal 11. Future Drupal 11 minor releases may increase the PHP requirement in line with PHP maintainers’ support.
The following Database versions are supported by Drupal 11.
The support for Windows is removed for production environments. Other web server requirements remain unchanged.
The organizations need Composer 2.7.0 or newer. It is mandatory due to a security fix in February 2024.
There is no change in browser support policy. Drupal continues to support modern browsers.
Drupal 11 supports the following JavaScript and PHP dependencies.
With the release of Drupal 11, several modules were removed from Drupal Core and moved to the Contributions Space. This move aims to reduce the Core's size and maintenance burden.
Drupal 10 long-term support is expected till mid-late 2026 until the release of Drupal 12. This is part of a new, two-year release cycle for Drupal, where each major version is supported for at least four years until two more major versions are released.
After the initial support period, Drupal 10 will receive maintenance support and security coverage for an additional two years.
Keeping your Drupal 10 website secure, updated, and high-performing can be a challenge. With over a decade of experience in the Drupal ecosystem, Axelerant’s Continuous Support services are designed to keep your platform secure, optimized, and ready to scale.
With Axelerant’s Continuous Support, you receive:
Need a more customized solution? Our Drupal experts are ready to craft a plan that fits your unique needs.
Lots of updates are currently in the works for Drupal 11.1. Expect improvements in Recipes, Project Browser, and Automatic Updates, along with the release of the first version of Experience Builder.
You can also reach out to Axelerant’s experts, who have been contributing to the Drupal community for over a decade, to know more about Drupal 11.