State of Drupal Presentation  ## Metadata - Author: [[Dries Buytaert]] - Full Title: State of Drupal Presentation - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #drupal - #opensource - #cms Author: Dries Buytaert Source: Blog post Reference: https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024 date created: 2025-08-21 00:00 --- # Title: State of Drupal (Sept 2024): Drupal CMS progress, roadmap, and call to contribute ## Table of Contents: - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🚀 A four‑month progress report](#-a-fourmonth-progress-report) - [📆 Release schedule](#-release-schedule) - [🤝 Call for contribution](#-call-for-contribution) - [🙏 Thank you](#-thank-you) - [🗒️ Notes](#-notes) - [📖 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical validity](#-logical-validity) - [🔍 DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🔍 SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### References: - Drupal CMS initiative overview: https://drupal.org/starshot - New brand preview: https://new.drupal.org ## 📝 Summary: Dries’ DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 keynote updates the community on “Drupal CMS” (formerly Starshot), a no‑code oriented distribution of Drupal aimed at marketers, content creators, and site builders. Halfway into an eight‑month sprint, the initiative delivered: a refreshed brand and site, a WebAssembly-powered in‑browser trial, a recipe‑based installer, an Events recipe, Project Browser support for recipes, first end‑user docs, early AI agents for site building and content migration, an SEO recipe, 14 total recipes in progress with partners, a preview of Experience Builder, a React strategy for the future admin UI, and an “Adopt‑a‑Document” funding model plus a commitment to hire a Global Documentation Lead. Target dates: RC by DrupalCon Singapore (Dec 9–11, 2024) and general release on Drupal’s birthday (Jan 15, 2025). Strong call for contribution across development, AI, UX, testing, and docs, with broad gratitude to contributors and partners. ## 📖 Main Content: [Elaborate on the main ideas, concepts, or arguments found in the source material. Use your own words and examples.] ### 🚀 A four‑month progress report - Rebrand: Drupal.org is being refreshed for dual audiences—marketers and developers—previewable at new.drupal.org. - Try in browser: A WebAssembly-based one‑click trial runs fully client‑side, removing install friction for first‑time users. - Recipe‑based install: “Recipes” bundle modules, config, and content into shareable, repeatable feature sets that compress expert knowledge into a few clicks. - Early recipes: Events and SEO are available, with 12 more underway by Certified Drupal Partners, mapped to common marketing use cases. - Documentation uplift: First end‑user doc page created to model clarity and style; “Adopt‑a‑Document” proposed to fund comprehensive docs. - AI tooling: - Site‑building agents: Generate content types, fields, Views, and forms. - AI migration: Crawl source sites and map unstructured HTML into structured Drupal content types. - Responsible AI policy: Human‑in‑the‑loop, transparency, swappable LLMs, and clear guidance. - Experience Builder: Early demo of an OOTB tool for layout/page building, basic theming, and inline content editing. - Future admin UI: Strategy to modernize with React. Why it matters: Low‑code/no‑code, AI assist, and UX upgrades aim to broaden Drupal’s reach while preserving flexibility—lowering total cost of ownership and time‑to‑value for marketing teams without sidelining developers. ### 📆 Release schedule - Target GA: January 15, 2025 (Drupal’s birthday; shortly after Drupal 7 EOL). - RC goal: DrupalCon Singapore, Dec 9–11, 2024. - Near‑term focus: Coordinating milestones and shipping the first cohesive Drupal CMS experience. ### 🤝 Call for contribution - Opportunities: Recipes, Experience Builder, AI agents, tests, docs, and usability studies. - Onramp: Visit https://drupal.org/starshot to get started and find entry points aligned with your skills. ### 🙏 Thank you - Shoutouts to leadership, demo team, track leads, core committers, DA staff/board, and Certified Drupal Partners—underscoring the breadth of community collaboration. ### 🗒️ Notes - Vision: “Set the standard for no‑code website building” without compromising Drupal’s power. - Audience shift: Explicit outreach to marketers and non‑developers. - Key innovations: - new.drupal.org branding and messaging - WebAssembly trial (no server install) - Installer with recipes - Events/SEO recipes; 12 more in progress - Project Browser integration for recipes - First end‑user doc page; “Adopt‑a‑Document” - AI agents for building and migration - Responsible AI policy (HITL, transparency, LLM choice, guidance) - Experience Builder preview - React strategy for admin UI - Global Documentation Lead to be hired - Timelines: RC by Dec 2024; GA Jan 15, 2025. - Community energy: Strong positive feedback, especially on AI, Experience Builder, and recipes. ## 📖 References: - State of Drupal presentation (Sept 2024): https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024 - Drupal CMS (Starshot) participation hub: https://drupal.org/starshot - New brand preview site: https://new.drupal.org ## 🗣️ Paraphrase: 1) Original idea: “The goal of Drupal CMS is to set the standard for no‑code website building… without compromising on the power and flexibility that Drupal is known for.” - Paraphrase: Drupal CMS aims to be the benchmark for building sites without code, enabling marketers and creators to work independently while still retaining Drupal’s hallmark flexibility for complex needs. 2) Original idea: “AI will crawl your source website and handle complex tasks like mapping unstructured HTML to structured Drupal content types…” - Paraphrase: The migration AI can scan an existing site and convert loosely structured pages into clean Drupal content models, reducing manual field mapping and accelerating replatforming efforts. ## 📰 Newsletter: Drupal’s going full throttle on no‑code—and it might change how teams ship sites. In his latest keynote, Dries unveiled “Drupal CMS,” a streamlined, recipe‑driven build with a one‑click, in‑browser trial (thanks, WebAssembly). Think: install an Events or SEO recipe, click a few buttons, and you’ve got a working site. Early AI agents can spin up content types and Views, while a migration assistant crawls your old site to map content into structured types—goodbye, spreadsheet nightmares. There’s more: a refreshed brand at new.drupal.org, a preview of Experience Builder for layouts and editing, and a plan to modernize the admin UI with React. A Responsible AI policy emphasizes human oversight, transparency, and swappable LLMs. Target dates: RC by DrupalCon Singapore (Dec 9–11) and GA on Jan 15, 2025. If you want in, the contribution paths are wide open: docs, testing, AI, UX, recipes—start here: Drupal CMS initiative hub. WordPress folks: lots to learn about trial experiences, recipe packaging, and AI‑assisted migrations. Links: - State of Drupal overview: State of Drupal (Sept 2024) - Try the new brand direction: new.drupal.org - Get involved: Drupal CMS (Starshot) hub ## ✅ Action Items: Tailored prompt for your role (GoDaddy, WordPress, OSPO trajectory): - Purpose: For each article you provide, analyze how it advances open‑source advocacy, contributor engagement, and education within WordPress and the broader ecosystem, mapping insights to OSPO leadership practices. - Prompt: “Analyze how this article aligns with my mission as a Developer Advocate and aspiring OSPO director within the WordPress ecosystem: 1) Open‑source advocacy: Identify the narrative, policies, and program models (e.g., Responsible AI, ‘Adopt‑a‑Document’) that could translate to sustainable funding and governance in WordPress. Propose how to adapt them at GoDaddy and in community initiat - Summary: DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 DriesNote presentation - URL: https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024 ##### On this page * [A four-month progress report](https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024#0) * [Release schedule](https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024#1) * [Call for contribution](https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024#2) * [Thank you](https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-september-2024#3) DrupalCon Barcelona 2024 DriesNote presentation Approximately 1,100 Drupal enthusiasts gathered in Barcelona, Spain, last week for DrupalCon Europe. As per tradition, I delivered my [State of Drupal](https://dri.es/tag/state-of-drupal) keynote, often referred to as the "DriesNote". If you missed it, you can [watch the video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhPiL4g972A) or [download my slides](https://dri.es/files/state-of-drupal-september-2024.pdf) (177 MB). Some content could not be imported from the original document. [View content ↗](https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/nhPiL4g972A) In my keynote, I gave an update on [Drupal Starshot](https://dri.es/tag/drupal-starshot), an ambitious initiative we launched at [DrupalCon Portland 2024](https://dri.es/state-of-drupal-presentation-may-2024). Originally called Drupal Starshot, inspired by [President Kennedy's Moonshot challenge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_choose_to_go_to_the_Moon), the product is now officially named [Drupal CMS](https://dri.es/drupal-cms-the-official-name-for-drupal-starshot). The goal of Drupal CMS is to set the standard for no-code website building. It will allow non-technical users, like marketers, content creators, and site builders, to create digital experiences with ease, without compromising on the power and flexibility that Drupal is known for. ##### A four-month progress report A preview of Drupal.org's front page with the updated Drupal brand and content. While Kennedy gave NASA eight years, I set a goal to deliver the first version of Drupal CMS in just eight months. It's been four months since DrupalCon Portland, which means we're halfway through. So in my keynote, I shared our progress and gave a 35-minute demo of what we've built so far. The demo highlights how a fictional marketer, Sarah, can build a powerful website in just hours with minimal help from a developer. Along her journey, I showcased the following key innovations: 1. **A new brand for a new market:** A brand refresh of Drupal.org, designed to appeal to both marketers and developers. The first pages are ready and available for preview at [new.drupal.org](https://new.drupal.org/homepage), with more pages launching in the coming months. 2. **A trial experience:** A [trial experience](https://project.pages.drupalcode.org/drupal_cms) that lets you try Drupal CMS with a single click, eliminating long-standing adoption barriers for new users. Built with WebAssembly, it runs entirely in the browser – no servers to install or manage. 3. **An improved installer:** An installer that lets users install recipes – pre-built features that combine modules, configuration, and default content for common website needs. Recipes bundle years of expertise into repeatable, shareable solutions. 4. **Events recipe:** A simple events website that used to take an experienced developer a day to build can now be created in just a few clicks by non-developers. 5. **Project Browser support for recipes:** Users can now browse the Drupal CMS recipes in the Project Browser, and install them in seconds. 6. **First page of documentation:** New documentation created specifically for end users. Clear, effective documentation is key to Drupal CMS's success, so we began by writing a single page as a model for the quality and style we aim to achieve. 7. **AI for site building:** AI agents capable of creating content types, configuring fields, building Views, forms, and more. These agents will transform how people build and manage websites with Drupal. 8. **Responsible AI policy:** To ensure responsible AI development, we've created a Responsible AI policy. I'll share more details in an upcoming blog, but the policy focuses on four key principles: human-in-the-loop, transparency, swappable [large language models](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_language_model) (LLMs), and clear guidance. 9. **SEO Recipe:** Combines and configures all the essential Drupal modules to optimize a Drupal site for search engines. 10. **14 recipes in development:** In addition to the Events and SEO recipes, 12 more are in development with the help of our Drupal Certified Partners. Each Drupal CMS recipe addresses a common marketing use case outlined in our product strategy. We showcased both the process and progress during the [Initiative Lead Keynote](https://youtu.be/z1zXXdavwgs) for some of the tracks. After DrupalCon, we'll begin developing even more recipes and invite additional contributors to join the effort. 11. **AI-assisted content migration:** AI will crawl your source website and handle complex tasks like mapping unstructured HTML to structured Drupal content types in your destination site, making migrations faster and easier. This could be a game-changer for website migrations. 12. **Experience Builder:** An early preview of a brand new, out-of-the-box tool for content creators and designers, offering layout design, page building, basic theming and content editing tools. This is the first time I've showcased our progress on stage at a DrupalCon. 13. **Future-proof admin UI with React:** Our strategy for modernizing Drupal's backend UI with React. 14. **The "Adopt-a-Document" initiative:** A strategy and funding model for creating comprehensive documentation for Drupal CMS. If successful, I'm hopeful we can expand this model to other areas of Drupal. For more details, please [read the announcement on drupal.org](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.drupal.org/about/starshot/blog/adopt-a-document-new-fundraising-program-to-bring-drupal-documentation-to-the-next-level). 15. **Global Documentation Lead:** The Drupal Association's commitment to hire a dedicated Documentation Lead, responsible for managing all aspects of Drupal's documentation, beyond just Drupal CMS. The feedback on my presentation has been incredible, both online and in-person. The room was buzzing with energy and positivity! I highly recommend [watching the recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhPiL4g972A). Attendees were especially excited about the AI capabilities, Experience Builder, and recipes. I share their enthusiasm as these capabilities are transformative for Drupal. Many of these features are designed with non-developers in mind. Our goal is to broaden Drupal's reach beyond its traditional user base and reach more people than ever before. ##### Release schedule Our launch plan targets Drupal CMS's release on Drupal's upcoming birthday: January 15, 2025. It's also just a couple of weeks after the [Drupal 7 End of Life](https://www.drupal.org/association/blog/drupal-7-end-of-life-officially-announced-for-5-january-2025), marking the end of one era and the beginning of another. The next milestone is [DrupalCon Singapore](https://events.drupal.org/singapore2024), taking place from December 9–11, 2024, less than 3 months away. We hope to have a release candidate ready by then. Now that we're back from DrupalCon and have key milestone dates set, there is a lot to coordinate and plan in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for updates. ##### Call for contribution Ambitious? Yes. But achievable if we work together. That's why I'm calling on all of you to get involved with Drupal CMS. Whether it's building recipes, enhancing the Experience Builder, creating AI agents, writing tests, improving documentation, or conducting usability testing – there are countless ways to contribute and make a difference. If you're ready to get involved, visit <https://drupal.org/starshot> to learn how to get started. ##### Thank you This effort has involved so many people that I can't name them all, but I want to give a huge thank you to the Drupal CMS Leadership Team, who I've been working with closely every week: [Cristina Chumillas](https://www.drupal.org/u/ckrina) (Lullabot), [Gábor Hojtsy](https://www.drupal.org/u/g%C3%A1bor-hojtsy) (Acquia), [Lenny Moskalyk](https://www.drupal.org/u/lenny-moskalyk) (Drupal Association), [Pamela Barone](https://www.drupal.org/u/pameeela) (Technocrat), [Suzanne Dergacheva](https://www.drupal.org/u/pixelite) (Evolving Web), and [Tim Plunkett](https://www.drupal.org/u/timplunkett) (Acquia). A special shoutout goes to the demo team we assembled for my presentation: [Adam Hoenich](https://www.drupal.org/u/phenaproxima) (Acquia), [Amber Matz](https://www.drupal.org/u/amber-himes-matz) (Drupalize.me), [Ash Sullivan](https://www.drupal.org/u/burnashburn) (Acquia), [Jamie Abrahams](https://www.drupal.org/u/yautja_cetanu) (FreelyGive), [Jim Birch](https://www.drupal.org/u/thejimbirch) (Kanopi), [Joe Shindelar](https://www.drupal.org/u/eojthebrave) (Drupalize.me), [John Doyle](https://www.drupal.org/u/_doyle_) (Digital Polygon), [Lauri Timmanee](https://www.drupal.org/u/lauriii) (Acquia), [Marcus Johansson](https://www.drupal.org/u/marcus_johansson) (FreelyGive), [Martin Anderson-Clutz](https://www.drupal.org/u/mandclu) (Acquia), [Matt Glaman](https://www.drupal.org/u/mglaman) (Acquia), [Matthew Grasmick](https://www.drupal.org/u/grasmash) (Acquia), [Michael Donovan](https://www.drupal.org/u/michael-x-donovan) (Acquia), [Tiffany Farriss](https://www.drupal.org/u/farriss) (Palantir.net), and [Tim Lehnen](https://www.drupal.org/u/hestenet) (Drupal Association). I also want to thank the Drupal CMS track leads and contributors for their development work. Additionally, I'd like to recognize the Drupal Core Committers, Drupal Association staff, Drupal Association Board of Directors, and Certified Drupal Partners for continued support and leadership. There are so many people and organizations whose contributions deserve recognition that I can't list everyone individually, partly to avoid the risk of overlooking anyone. Please know your efforts are deeply appreciated. Lastly, thank you to everyone who helped make DrupalCon Barcelona a success. It was excellent! — Dries Buytaert [Dries Buytaert](https://dri.es/about) is an Open Source advocate and technology executive. More than 10,000 people are subscribed to his blog. Sign up to have [new posts emailed to you](https://app.goodbits.io/e/e7fa5967-3e71-4666-bb9b-573ef20a807f) or [subscribe using RSS](https://dri.es/rss.xml). Write to Dries Buytaert at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Calendar icon September 30, 2024 Clock icon 4 min read time Tag icon, State of Drupal Presentation, Dries Buytaert, 01j94wnk5e00kgd42abp8sjqzm.