Drupal 7 hosting: What to do before End-of-Life hits
Drupal 7 is set to reach its End-of–Life (EOL) in November 2023. So, what should you do with Drupal 7 websites when the official upgrades and security patches cease? One of the major concerns is the impact EOL will have on the security and hosting of Drupal 7 websites.
But all is not lost! You do have some hosting options for Drupal 7 sites. So, if you're a Drupal 7 site owner, don’t panic. Salsa can help you create secure and reliable hosting solutions for your Drupal 7 website.
The challenge of finding Drupal 7 hosting options
Drupal 7 End-of-Life brings a unique set of challenges for website owners, particularly when it comes to hosting options. With the end of support for Drupal 7 closing in, many hosting providers will either stop offering Drupal 7 hosting altogether or provide limited support and services that may not be enough for your website.
Finding the right hosting option for your Drupal 7 site can be a difficult task, especially if you don't have the technical resources to manage it in-house. In addition, migrating to a newer version of Drupal (e.g. Drupal 10) may not be an option for some website owners because of heavy customisations, module dependencies or budget issues.
The need to find Drupal 7 hosting options is compounded by security concerns. With Drupal 7 no longer receiving security updates after 1 November 2023, websites running on this version of Drupal are more vulnerable to security breaches, which could have serious consequences for your business/organisation. You can find out more about EOL at our Drupal 7 End-of-Life (EOL) blog.
Innovative options for securely hosting Drupal 7 sites
Don’t let the End-of-Life deadline stop you from keeping your website up and running! There are two innovative ways that Salsa can help you keep your Drupal 7 site running and secure after the EOL date:
Leave it — Leave Drupal altogether by creating a static copy of your Drupal 7 site with no CMS to manage or maintain
Keep it — Keep your Drupal 7 website past the End-of-Life deadline (without security risks) by creating a static copy of your website for the public, and a locked-down Drupal 7 environment for your content editors to manage content
1. Leave Drupal 7 hosting by creating a static version of your site
Generate and host a static version of your site, with a simple content editor for basic updates, then decommission (leave) your Drupal 7 site and the need for a CMS permanently once the static site is all set up.
Outcomes and benefits:
- Keep your public site’s look and feel, content and functionality as-is*
- Drop Drupal and eliminate any CMS maintenance and patching obligations (and thus security risks)
This option is ideal for websites that won’t have any (or very few) content updates. It can also be used to buy time and defer the decision on your next major site build.
Leaving Drupal 7 by creating a static copy of your site also provides a secure hosting option for your site as the cyber attack surface is significantly reduced with static content.
*Note: Some functionality can't be made static and is not supported. We’ll assess your site to ensure this static option is possible.
Talk to us about leaving Drupal 7 using static
2. Keep your Drupal 7 site locked for content editing while creating a static version of your site for public visitors
Generate and host a static version of your site for your public site visitors, while keeping a locked-down version of your Drupal 7 environment for your content editors.
Outcomes and benefits:
Keep your Drupal 7 site as-is*
Enjoy the increased performance and security from your static site content
- Maintain your operational procedures and content management workflows in Drupal 7
This option is ideal if you’re happy with your site (don’t want to add new features) but you do need to keep creating and updating content regularly. It can also be an option if you want to buy time and defer your decision on the next major site build.
*Note: Some functionality can't be made static and is not supported. We’ll assess your site to ensure this static option is possible.
Talk to us about keeping Drupal 7 using static
Drupal 7 hosting
Salsa’s hosting services form a key part of our Drupal 7 End-of-Life solutions. We’re committed to providing secure and reliable solutions for your website. Most importantly, security is a core part of our hosting services.
We use to create a static version of your site coupled with Salsa’s secure and highly advanced hosting platform. Together, these products give you many benefits.
QuantCDN acting as a static web generator will:
- Improve site speed
- Increase security
- Reduce hosting costs
- Provide resilience and scalability
Salsa’s hosting platform offers:
- Locked-down Drupal
- Eco-sleep mode to reduce hosting costs
- Reduced footprint
What about Drupal 10?
Of course, the other option is to move your site to Drupal 10 so you don’t have to worry about Drupal 7 hosting. But going from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 is a total rebuild and so traditional approaches to design and build a bespoke website will typically take a lot of time and money.
If you’re keen to move to Drupal 10 and explore an easier pathway, you might want to consider Salsa’s unique Drupal 10 offering. We can build your new Drupal 10 site using the open source low-code design system and Drupal 10 theme, (designed and developed by Salsa). It will help you move from Drupal 7 to Drupal 10 quickly, easily and more affordably with its out-of-the-box, ready-to-use component library.
Next steps
If you’re facing the Drupal 7 End-of-Life dilemma, consider Salsa’s two innovative solutions for your Drupal 7 website and Drupal 7 hosting. Using QuantCDN for static services coupled with Salsa’s hosting can keep your Drupal 7 site running and secure.
Or, go straight to Drupal 10 with .
Contact us today to learn more about our Drupal 7 End-of-Life services and how we can help you secure your Drupal 7 site and Drupal 7 hosting.