This document discusses debunking myths about adopting Drupal 8. It provides an overview of Drupal 8 releases since launch in 2015 and common barriers to adoption, such as lack of contributed modules. The document debunks three common myths: 1) that no one is using Drupal 8 yet, highlighting many well-known sites using it; 2) that Drupal 8 is too hard to learn, providing learning resources; and 3) that contributed modules are not ready, noting over 40% are ready or have alternatives. It encourages contributions to help complete the ecosystem and adoption of Drupal 8.

1. D e b u n k i n g M y t h s t o D r u p a l 8
A d o p t i o n
Angie “webchick” Byron

2. T H A N K S !

3. Who the heck are you?

4. Agenda
• Recap of Drupal 8 from release until now
• Barriers to adoption
• Myths: Debunked
• What next?

6. November 19, 2015:
Drupal 8.0.0 ships

7. Over 3,300 contributors
(now almost 4,000)

8. Hundreds of release
parties worldwide!

9. Lots of great new features

10. …and new ones every 6
months!
Drupal 8.1.0
(April 20, 2016)
Drupal 8.2.0
(October 10, 2016)
•BigPipe module
•UI for migrations
•Better Composer support
•JavaScript Testing
•Content Moderation
•Improved admin UI
(SettingsTray+Place Block)
•Improved REST API
Drupal 8.3.0
(April 5, 2017)
•Field Layout module
•Redesigned status page
•WYSIWYG improvements
•Drag and drop images (QuickEdit)
8.1.x supported release
May
2016
June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr
8.2.x supported release
8.3.x supported release
May June July Aug Sep Oct
RC
RC
RC
Beta
βα
α β
Development
Development
Development

11. https://www.drupal.org/core/experimental
Core innovation++

12. https://www.drupal.org/drupalorg/blog/goodbye-project-applications-hello-security-
advisory-opt-in
Contrib innovation++

13. What’s not to love?

14. And yet…
Drupal 8.0.0

15. Barriers to adoption
• Drupal is for more “ambitious” projects; 30,000+ cat blogs are now on
Tumblr; affects “quantity” (not “quality”) in graph.
• Several top contributed modules not yet ready (or not “seen” as
ready)
• Drupal 8 now object-oriented, modern PHP; requires upgrade of skills
for D7 developers
• Upgrade of skills required to port modules is blocked on customers
asking for D8, which is blocked on unavailability of modules (chicken/
egg).
• Migration path from D7 => D8 still incomplete (D6 => D8 is better),
also largely blocked on customers asking for D8.

16. Myth #1: “No one” is using
Drupal 8 yet
http://buytaert.net/drupal-8-turns-one

17. NBA NASDAQ BURDA
JURASSIC WORLD WWF
AL JAZEERA HABITAT
YMCA
JACK DANIEL'S

18. Myth #2: Drupal 8 is too
hard to learn
http://redcrackle.com/blog/drupal-8/free-tutorials-list
https://www.ostraining.com/blog/drupal/200-drupal-8-videos/
https://drupalize.me/drupal-8
https://www.appnovation.com/blog/top-resources-getting-started-drupal-8
…and hundreds of others
There are lots of resources (many of them free) to
show you the Drupal 8 way!

19. https://www.drupal.org/docs/user_guide/en/index.html
NEW Drupal 8 User Guide
(en Español, too!)

20. https://www.drupal.org/docs/user_guide/en/index.html
IMPROVED api.drupal.org

21. Partial Myth #3:
Contrib isn’t ready yet.
* including a few D8-only modules that are either alternatives to obsolete D7 modules or newly required.
~40%

22. How “insiders” evaluate a
module’s readiness
1.
1. Well-known maintainer?
2. Recent commit activity?
3. Good issue queue
activity?
4. Did I try it and did it
work on my site?
5. Does Berdir use it in
production? ;)
6. …
2.
3.

23. How literally everyone else
evaluates module readiness
1. Does this module have
a stable release?
1.

24. Why?
• Alpha/Beta/RC not deemed as “production ready”
due to experience in literally all other software. :P
• Core leads the way here: goes very out of its way
to explain alpha is unstable, beta is “hopefully”
stable, etc. and not recommended for production.
• Stable releases not only denote “production ready”
but also grant security team coverage. This is
really important!

25. Which top 50 D7 modules
are outstanding?
Of particular importance:
• “API” modules that block other
modules from being stable (e.g.
CTools)
• “Ecosystem” modules that others
rely on (e.g. Rules, Media, Panels)
• Client-facing “Utility” modules in
frequent use (e.g. SEO modules
such as Redirect, Views Bulk
Operations)

26. But wait, there’s more!
Other important “ecosystem”
modules not yet stable:
• Drupal Commerce
• Search API
• OG/Group
• Mapping
• …

27. However, D8 is still
surprisingly ready!
https://www.drupal.org/project/lightning
https://www.drupal.org/project/thunder
https://www.drupal.org/project/df
http://www.md-systems.ch/en/projects/portfolio/np8
Distributions can help shortcut your D8 journey

29. If you own a D8 contrib module,
and it’s working fine for you…
…consider giving it the Shield of
Awesomeness!

30. Not quite perfect? Take a
cue from core:
There’s always the next
release for future polishing!

31. If it still needs work… tell us
how to help!
https://www.drupal.org/project/issues/contrib_tracker

32. Help fund development

33. Test the migration path!
If it’s not working, help with
(verifying) bug reports/patches

34. Let’s get that “Development”
number down by Baltimore!