The Drupal organization launched Drupal 7 with varied features and improvements that have been released for both the developers and users for their efficient use of the content management system. Drupal 7 helped developers enhance their website’s themes, modules, multi-support, and more.
Drupal 8, on the other hand, was released by the Drupal organization with almost 200 new built-in features and advanced improvements. Drupal 8 was released with the new page editor and other optimized options to improve additional multi-language features and globalization. It has a simpler web services configuration, a wide range of field types, views, and content types, improving website loading speed, accessibility of the website, and more.
Today’s website development processes largely depend on Drupal 7 and Drupal 8. After all, it is the most secure and flexible of all CMS platforms. Businesses can create websites on Drupal irrespective of their size and niche. Therefore, today we will discuss the major differences between Drupal 7 Vs Drupal 8.
If you are new to website development processes, you may be confused wondering which Drupal technology version can help resolve your business expectations and demands. Continue reading to find out how one version differs from another and which version is ideal for your business.
Key technical differences between Drupal 7 Vs Drupal 8
Template engine
The major difference between Drupal 7 and Drupal 8 is the appearance of the new template engine Twig in its latest version. Previously, Drupal 7 used the PHP template by default. To write a template, it was mandatory to write PHP code.
Drupal 8, on the other hand, has a Twig engine based on PHP. As a result, programmers can now write templates using a simpler syntax quickly and efficiently than before. In simple terms, the template engine in Drupal 7 is a DIY project, whereas the template engine in Drupal 8 is simple, easy, and effective.
Symfony framework
Symfony refers to a modular framework that allows web developers to join the pieces of a project together. Drupal 7 lacked the Symfony framework. Therefore, codebase management is highly challenging in this version. However, developers can choose the Drupal 7 codebase irrespective of its difficulty levels to write complex functions.
Drupal 8, on the other hand, is already integrated with the Symfony framework at a high code security level. Therefore, it helps:
- To integrate the Drupal website with third-party apps and effectively display data in various formats
- To use routing and make all the URLs on the Drupal development services site, SEO-friendly
- To simplify the creation of multilingual websites using a built-in “Transition” component.
Responsive web design
Responsive design is a must-have criterion for a modern website. Responsiveness refers to the ability of a website to adapt to various devices for smooth functioning.
Drupal 7, however, doesn’t have any breakpoint media queries. It doesn’t mean that Drupal 7 websites are non-responsive. It simply means that the responsiveness is created without any breakpoint media queries.
On the other hand, Drupal 8 actively uses breakpoint media queries, which allows making the website as adaptive to multiple devices as possible.
Text editor
Convenience and simplicity play a crucial role in content management systems. But, in this key parameter too, Drupal 7 and Drupal 8 differ a lot.
Drupal 7 uses the contributed module for content management, which is not so smooth in functioning. The publishing and editing of content take a lot of time and effort.
On the other hand, Drupal 8 has a built-in CKEditor module in which the admin publishes content quickly and edits via WYSIWYG editing. It greatly simplifies the task, and users can immediately witness the changes on their webpage.
Summary
By now, you may have understood the various differences between Drupal 7 and Drupal 8. If you are still unsure whether to choose Drupal 7 or Drupal 8 for your upcoming website development project, we are here to help.
Hire Drupal developers from our well-renowned Drupal development company to ensure the best Drupal app development services on time to accelerate their business growth.
