drupal

After weeks of listening, prompting, and pattern-spotting, we’re entering a new phase. The big questions are becoming sharper. The conversation is shifting—from what might be to what must be true.

Our early exploration surfaced a wide range of motivations, risks, and hopes for a Drupal Site Template Marketplace. The signal was clear: there’s strong belief in the potential—if we build it in a way that strengthens the ecosystem, not fragments it.

As part of this shift from the breadth of exploration and to the depth of early structure, we’re moving to a biweekly share out cadence. This Share Out #5 update highlights what’s emerging from Slack Prompts #5 and #6, insights from Survey #3 on Governance and Fairness to inform first drafts of the Lean Business Model Canvas and Governance Framework—early scaffolding for what’s to come.

From Divergence to Convergence

In design thinking, there’s a natural rhythm between divergence—where we explore widely—and convergence—where we begin to shape and prioritize. We’re now entering that second phase.

The goal is not to lock down answers prematurely, but to begin assembling the scaffolding that can support real-world testing, feedback, and evolution.

We’re asking:

• What makes a template worth trusting?
• What makes one worth paying for?
• What kinds of governance and community signals need to be in place from day one?

What We’re Hearing: Trust, Value, and the Shape of a Marketplace

Standards Build Trust

In response to Slack Prompt #5, contributors agreed that establishing baseline quality, accessibility, and transparency standards is essential.

Automation was broadly supported—but not blindly. There’s growing recognition that automated checks are necessary but not sufficient, especially for more nuanced requirements like semantic markup or keyboard navigation.

Most scanners will find 200 security bugs in Drupal and maybe 1 is real. Human review is still required.”

“Let’s at least show the automated results transparently and let buyers decide.”

Contributors are also thinking ahead about user expectations:

Paid listings should absolutely meet higher standards—users will expect it.”

These insights inform the governance framework’s approach to certifications, self-attestations, and recurring review cycles for paid listings.

What Makes a Template Worth Paying For?

Slack Prompt #6 helped unpack the value exchange at the heart of the Marketplace. Why would someone purchase a GPL-licensed template?

The answer: time savings, trust in the “official” source, and ease of setup.

The confidence that comes from knowing the template came from an official, trusted source like the DA is huge."

"One-click demos for themes... that’s my #1 trust signal.”

Participants also cautioned that separating the template from hosting or support could confuse non-technical buyers, especially those coming from SaaS ecosystems.

“Too many hosting choices at signup may mirror Mastodon’s ‘pick a server’ confusion.”

This feedback is pushing us to consider default hosting pathways, bundled services, and better “first-use” experiences.

Fairness, Recognition, and Governance

Our third community survey zeroed in on values: fairness, recognition, and trust.

Contributors emphasized the importance of clear expectations and governance guardrails—especially when money enters the picture.

“Revenue must also support the ecosystem—modules, infrastructure, DA.”

Many participants supported the idea of tiered models, where certified templates provide extra confidence:

“Even free templates should meet basic accessibility and security requirements if they’re hosted on Drupal.org.”

Recognition also matters:

“Templates should be rated based on feedback… great to know why someone considers a product to be 1 or 3 stars.”

That insight is helping shape how we design review systems that are credible, transparent, and helpful—without opening the door to spam or bias.

Early Structures Taking Shape

Informed by three surveys, one RTC session, and six slack discussions worth of community research combined with competitive research and discussions with Drupal’s intellectual property attorney, the Marketplace Working Group is now in active development on two core artifacts:

• Lean Business Model Canvas
  Mapping how the Marketplace creates, delivers, and shares value—across contributors, agencies, end users, and the Drupal Association.

• Governance Framework (Draft)
  Outlining submission criteria, listing types, maintenance expectations, enforcement paths, and contributor recognition.

This scaffolding is not final—it’s a living structure meant to evolve through our continuing research, feedback and community review. Nonetheless, it does feel exciting to see it all start to take shape!

What’s Ahead

• Pilot Planning: Testing incentive and governance structures in collaboration with DCP and other agency participants in RTC #2 and beyond.

• Governance Draft: A public request for comment (RFC) on the governance framework will launch this summer.

• MVP Quality Standards: Defining a small, automatable set of checks for accessibility, security, and licensing for free templates.

How You Can Stay Engaged

💬 Join #drupal-cms-marketplace on Slack
Each week, there's a new prompt to explore a key question as we define this Marketplace.

🎧 Listen to Talking Drupal #504 
On this week's podcast, we discussed the vision, opportunities, and challenges of creating a trusted, high-quality Drupal Site Template Marketplace that supports adoption, contributor incentives, and community values without compromising open-source principles.

Thanks to all who are continuing to shape this work with insights, critiques, and care. What we build next will depend on the strength of the scaffolding—and the people who show up to co-create it.

In early April, 2025, I was a guest on the Talking Drupal podcast discussing Back-to-Basics, an idea I had to get more beginner-level presentations at Drupal events as a way to better support (and retain) our newer community members. As I am currently a bit overcommitted, this, regretfully, is not something that I have the bandwidth to lead.

I do feel that the idea, and getting it up and running as soon as possible, is a good one that can contribute greatly as one solution to the declining pool of Drupal developers that will sustain us into the future. So, here is my call: I am looking for someone inspired by the growing need to attract and retain Drupal newbies who is interested in taking the lead with the idea, adding their flair, and moving it forward.

As an incentive, know that I've talked with plenty of people who are willing to help, including the folks from the Drupal Open Curriculum Community Initiative. In addition, I'm more than willing to provide assistance, make introductions, and help where I am able to ensure success. 

Genesis

The idea for Back-to-Basics came from one of our Drupal Career Online alum during our weekly office hours. It was shortly after Florida DrupalCamp 2025 that the alum asked me if "there were any good Views-related sessions" from the event that they could watch. The answer was "no," unfortunately, and over the next few days this bugged me more-and-more. How are we expected to grow the community with new developers and contributors if our events offer little-to-nothing for them?

Goal

The goal of Back-to-Basics is to make it easy for Drupal event organizers to include solid beginner content for their new-to-Drupal attendees. The strategy makes available 6-8 Drupal pre-prepped event presentations that can be delivered by a vetted pool of experienced Drupal presenters. The presentations will be readily available to any Drupal event organizers along with the names of willing presenters. 

A sustainable solution

As a developer of curriculum, I know how challenging and time-consuming it can be to not only develop, but also (and, perhaps, more importantly) maintain training materials. Creating, maintaining and then donating 6-8 45-minute Drupal event presentations is a big ask. However, It also occurred to me that finding 6-8 Drupal trainers and organizations who would be willing to create and/or donate and maintain a 45-minute presentation in exchange for some promotion makes a bit more sense. This was quickly validated by the first 4 trainers that I spoke with.

The final element is ensuring that the actual presentations serve to not just educate, but inspire. It is critical then, that every presentation should be delivered by the best presenters available at each event. As the old adage says, we have only one chance to make a first impression. The most experienced Drupal developers and presenters providing beginner content is the kind of impression we want to make to newer Drupalists whom we want to get excited about Drupal. It just feels right. Again, this idea was validated by every single one of the experienced presenters I approached. 

Challenges

I have identified two main challenges that will need to be overcome:

1. Available presentation slots at Drupal events. Not many Drupal events have the luxury of open rooms or slots in their schedule. Putting some priority on these beginner sessions would need to be part of the event planners’ insights in that it would not only be in our community's long-term interest, but contribute to growth of their event in the future, if they made room for beginner content.
2. Presenter/session selection. Presenters who participate in the Back-to-Basics program (or develop their own) shouldn't be penalized for presenting beginner-level content when it comes to session selection. If the maintainer of a core subsystem wants to present beginner-level content, that shouldn't count against them if they are proposing an advanced session as well, in the normal flow of session selection for the same event. 

Is building Back-to-Basics your bailiwick?

If you are inspired, and considering making a go of leading the charge on this, I am sure you have some ideas on how to proceed.  Some fuel for thought; here are the basics of what I envision you'll need to do:

1. Reach out to Drupal trainers to confirm their participation. (I can help with that!)
2. Determine the list of 6-8 beginner-level topics that should be covered (the Open Curriculum folks can help with this!)
3. Develop guidelines for presentation slide decks, including promotion guidelines and common slides.
4. Figure out where the presentations will be stored.
5. Develop the list of Back-to-Basics presenters.
6. Develop an informal written agreement with trainers for presentation maintenance.
7. Work with the Drupal Event Organizers working group to help spread the word.

I'm sure you have more ideas to enhance the program, (like nifty t-shirts) and there will surely be some additional tasks as well, but I think this list covers the big ones.

Finally, know that I envision my role as that of a mentor for whoever decides to take this on. I'll be more than happy to provide guidance, answer questions, and make introductions.

Interested? Have questions? Connect with me (ultimike) on the Drupal Slack workspace or use our contact form. 
 

We’re excited to announce a big step forward for user experience in Drupal Core: the creation of the new UX Manager role within the core leads team. This is a foundational move toward UX-driven development, where user experience is embedded from the start, not added at the end.

Historically, UX responsibilities in Drupal Core were shared across different roles, often falling under product management. But in practice, UX input has often arrived late, focusing on small usability tweaks rather than shaping the overall experience.

By creating a dedicated UX Manager role, we’re making sure UX has a clear voice — from early feature discussions to final design decisions. This will help us build more intuitive, cohesive, and accessible experiences for everyone using Drupal. We’re also laying the groundwork for the future: supporting more UX practitioners to contribute to Drupal and from there, grow into decision-making roles, strengthening our design contributor community, establishing a stable UX testing process, and making onboarding easier for designers and researchers.

For now, this role will be co-led by Emma Horrell and myself, Cristina Chumillas.

Emma is the UX Research Lead for Drupal CMS and has shaped many aspects of the project through her work researching target audiences, testing features, and helping reduce “Drupalisms.” Her research expertise will continue to help us align Drupal with real user needs. Many thanks to the University of Edinburgh for supporting her continued contributions.

I’ve been the usability topic maintainer for years and currently serve as Product Design Lead for Drupal CMS and Drupal core Front-end Framework Manager. I’m looking forward to helping embed UX more deeply into how Drupal Core is defined, designed, and built.

This is just the beginning. If you’re interested in improving Drupal’s experience, join us in the #ux-working-group on Drupal Slack — and help us put UX at the heart of Drupal’s future.

Keeping your website looking consistent across all devices, browsers, and screen sizes is no easy task. 

Add in CMS updates, module changes, and third-party integrations, and the potential for visual issues multiplies quickly. Fortunately, there’s a solution: visual regression testing.

Still on Drupal 7? You’re not alone, but it’s time to plan ahead! Thousands of websites still run on Drupal 7. And while Dropsolid offers extended support, the reality is clear: Drupal 7 is at the end of its innovation cycle. The question is no longer if you should move, but how and when.

At Dropsolid, we guide organizations in making the best choice: whether that means extending support on Drupal 7, migrating to modern Drupal (currently Drupal 11), embracing the power of Drupal AI or a combination of this.

1. Roadblocks of Migrating to modern Drupal

Migrating from Drupal 7 to a modern Drupal version is a big step, and many site owners face challenges that delay that move. These are the most common migration roadblocks:

Technical Hurdles

• Complete theme redesign
• Complex content and media structure rework and data migration
• Custom modules and thrid-party integrations often require major rewrites

Organizational Barriers

• Limited development capacity
• Budget constraints
• Competing priorities across teams

We get it. These challenges don’t make migration simple. But don’t worry, there’s a solution that can bridge the gap and give you more time to prepare: Drupal 7 Extended Support (D7ES).

2. Extend Support - The Bridge

Drupal 7 Extended Support allows your team to maintain security and performance while planning a future-ready migration.

At Dropsolid, we provide Extended Support for your Drupal 7 website. Unlike many other firms, we have a large team of Drupal 7 experts on board with over 620 years of Drupal experience. And we are fully committed because we currently support a lot of Drupal 7 applications.

What we offer:

• Security patching and monitoring
• Infrastructure support and optimization
• Compatibility workarounds
• Time to prepare for a clean migration

We can offer you more time, which you can use to:

• Reassess your digital goals
• Inventory and audit your site components
• Explore D10 and Drupal AI

Note: At Dropsolid, we don’t consider Drupal 7 Extended Support as a permanent solution, but as a bridge to your next digital chapter. We can help you determine your Digital strategy and align this through our open DXP.

The Dropsolid Drupal 7 Extended Support Program is the perfect temporary solution for you. It allows you to consider your next steps and take away migration pressure.

3. From Drupal 7 to Drupal AI - The Future

As extended support is not a long-term solution, looking into migrating to modern Drupal is essential. Dropsolid offers expert Drupal migration services to bring your website up to date with modern standards and technologies, making it faster, more secure, and more scalable. We understand that every business is unique, and we tailor our migration approach to your specific needs and challenges.

Looking beyond modern Drupal? There’s an exciting future waiting with Drupal AI! This integration and automation into your CMS unlocks a new level of efficiency, personalization, and innovation.

What can Drupal AI do?

Imagine the power of AI-assisted content generation, smart tagging, and intelligent content recommendations—all within your CMS. Drupal AI has new tools to:

• Boost content velocity by generating drafts, suggestions, and ideas based on existing content and keywords.
• Improve UX by offering intelligent recommendations tailored to user behavior, interests, and needs.
• Automate routine time-intensive tasks such as tagging, categorizing, and content updates, reducing the manual effort your team needs to put in.

For example, on a Drupal e-commerce site, AI can dynamically adjust product recommendations based on user behavior, increasing conversions and personalization. Content editors could have AI-generated suggestions ready to publish based on traffic and preferences.

As your website evolves, embracing Drupal AI can be the next logical step after migrating to modern Drupal. It gives you the ability to stay ahead of trends and deliver an exceptional, personalized experience for your users.

4. Ready to Take The Next Step?

Not sure which path is right? You don’t have to decide alone. Whether you need more time on Drupal 7 or are ready to innovate, we help you:

• Stay secure on Drupal 7 (for now)
• Build a migration roadmap for modern Drupal
• Discover Drupal AI's potential

We also support organizations in redefining their digital strategy—integrating a full Digital Experience Platform (DXP) and even AI . This ensures your next digital chapter isn't just an upgrade, but a transformation.

Get in touch with us and have a call with our Drupal experts. We’ll assess your current setup, explore your goals, and help you choose the smartest path forward.

Contact us → https://dropsolid.com/en/contact