At DrupalCon Barcelona 2024, Dries Buytaert, the creator and project lead of Drupal, delivered his 40th DriesNote, in which he shared an exciting vision of where the platform is heading, with a strong focus on Drupal CMS (the product being developed as part of the Starshot Initiative). As part of the Starshot Initiative’s Leadership Team, I’m the Marketing Lead, working to align the positioning of the product with the needs of our target audiences: primarily marketers, content teams, and site builders, but also evaluators, designers, and developers.
The Drupal Starshot Leadership team, featuring Dries Buytaert as the Product Lead, Tim Plunkett as the Technical Lead, Pamela Barone as the Product Owner, Cristina Chumillas as the UX Lead, Lenny Moskalyk as the Delivery Manager, Gabor Hojsy as the Contrib Coordinator and Suzanne Dergacheva (that's me!) as the Marketing Lead.
I’m also excited to contribute along with my colleagues at Evolving Web— who are leading the Analytics track. We’re proud to contribute to Drupal CMS (formerly known as Starshot). With a focus on Drupal CMS, Experience Builder, AI innovations, and a commitment to responsible AI, Dries outlined how the platform is becoming more accessible to non-developers while pushing the innovation and flexibility that Drupal is known for.
If you missed the DriesNote, I will share some key takeaways below. Check out the recording for the preview demo of Drupal CMS and all the exciting features ahead directly from Dries.
Drupal CMS is being designed to make the power of Drupal more accessible than ever, offering preconfigured solutions that allows marketers, web designers, and organizations to easily build and manage their own websites.
It’s important to note that Drupal CMS isn’t some reduced-functionality, beginner-friendly version—it’s built on the robust foundation of Drupal Core. This means that while it is designed to make getting started with Drupal easier for new users, it still offers all the power, flexibility, and scalability that experienced developers rely on. Drupal CMS will open the door to greater adoption directly by marketers and non-developers, making it simpler to use without sacrificing any of the advanced capabilities that make Drupal such a powerful tool for complex websites.
In the DriesNote demo, Dries demonstrated just how easy it will be to get up and running with Drupal CMS, by showing how a fictional marketer named ‘Sarah’ could easily create a wine tour website with a calendar to highlight upcoming tasting tours.
A standout feature of Drupal CMS is the introduction of Recipes, which are pre-configured functionality, like SEO optimization or event management, that can be easily added to your website. They package content types and other configuration into easily reusable bundles.
The benefit is that you can add features quickly, use smart defaults that have been carefully selected by experts, and take advantage of best practices even if you’re not a technical user.
Dries demonstrated how Sarah used an Events Recipe to set up an interactive calendar and SEO-friendly pages for her wine tour website. With just a few clicks, Sarah was able to accomplish in hours what would previously take days.
The Recipes dashboard shows the status of the Recipes currently underway
One of the most exciting moments of the DriesNote was the unveiling of AI Agents, which automate many complex tasks in Drupal. These AI agents, embedded within Drupal CMS, allow non-technical users to rename content types, create custom fields, and enforce image quality standards—all through simple, plain-language commands.
Dries showed how Sarah leveraged AI to make critical site changes quickly. From migrating content from a non-Drupal website to setting up structured content types, AI simplifies traditionally cumbersome processes.
Additionally, Drupal’s AI is transparent and flexible. Users can see what language models are used and even swap out the default AI providers with their own models, offering an extra layer of customization and control.
As part of Drupal’s commitment to the open web, Dries announcedDrupal’s new Responsible AI Policy, which is built around the following principles:
This policy has been developed to not only drive the incorporation of AI features into Drupal CMS but to also encourage its adoption by other parts of the Drupal ecosystem including Drupal core and Drupal contrib.
Another major highlight from the keynote was a preview of Experience Builder, a React-based interface for modifying the UX and UI of a website. It provides content editors and marketers with a no-code builder that gives end-users the ability to add components, select styling options, and apply branding to the website without writing custom code. What really makes it user-friendly is how fast the interface is. Thanks to the fact that it’s React-based, clicks feel instant. This encourages users to experiment and makes the overall experience much more positive. It’s built using Single Directory Components (SDCs), making it familiar to front-end developers.
Experience Builder will be part of Drupal CMS but is also set to revolutionize the way that all Drupal websites are built. The plan is for it to eventually replace the current Drupal admin UI, providing a more intuitive way to edit all aspects of a Drupal website. During the keynote, Dries presented a demo of Experience Builder, showcasing its initial version, with drag-and-drop interface, as well as an overview of what it will look like in the future.
With 30 full-time developers working on it—making it the largest, fastest-moving initiative ever undertaken in Drupal—Experience Builder will significantly modernize how websites are built and managed in Drupal, eventually replacing the current Drupal admin interface.
A preview of what Experience builder will look like
A pre-release version of Drupal CMS is available to install so you can try it out and a hosted version is also available so you can try out the AI capabilities for yourself right from your browser. The first release of Drupal CMS will happen on January 15th, 2025—Drupal’s 24th birthday. A release candidate will be launched at DrupalCon Singapore, happening on December 9-11, 2024. Experience Builder will be included in version 2 of Drupal CMS sometime in 2025.
In addition to these technical advancements, Dries introduced the Adopt-a-Document program, a new initiative aimed at improving Drupal’s documentation, not only for Drupal CMS but also for Drupal Core. Organizations can sponsor sections of documentation to help ensure that Drupal remains well-supported and accessible for all users through a partnership with Drupalize.me. In addition, the Drupal Association is hiring a full-time documentation lead.
The message of Dries’ keynote was clear: Drupal CMS is not just about making web development easier; it’s about making the open web accessible to everyone. With AI-driven tools, intuitive page building, and a commitment to responsible technology, Drupal CMS is set to bring the power of Drupal to a whole new generation of users.
Whether you're a developer, a site builder, or a marketer, this is a great time to get involved and help shape the future of Drupal. Want to join us in pushing these initiatives forward? Get in touch or learn more at drupal.org/about/starshot.
DrupalCon is the biannual conference where leaders in Drupal gather to coordinate, collaborate and present the latest developments in digital and web technologies. This week 1xINTERNET attended DrupalCon Barcelona in full force. But this conference was like none before it, this was Starshots World Premier and it exceeded all expectations.
DrupalCon Barcelona Group picture by Bram Driesen (source)
Barcelona for me has a long history of Drupal. For Drupal Dev Days 2012 I organized a mapping sprint, we cycled to DrupalCon Barcelona 2015 as part of the #tourdedrupal report , pictures and it was nice to visit a more local event - Drupal Summer - in 2016 (report, pictures).
Coding beyond functionality. Altering technologies through artistic research by Mónica Rikić
This year, the focus was on Drupal CMS (previously known by its internal development name Starshot) which is all about bringing Drupal to the next level by creating an out-of-the-box experience including a new way to create layouts (Experience Builder), integrating AI features and many more features. If you like to dive deeper into Drupal CMS, check out the meta issue listing all work tracks as well as the landing page on Drupal.org.
Driesnote by Dries Buytaert
A similar, prepackaged version of Drupal already exists, handcrafted by many individuals and agencies. Recipes have recently been introduced to Drupal core. They allow to package configuration and content to pre-configure Drupal for common use cases like Search, SEO-optimization or an Event calendar feature.
Check out our blökkli starterkit that provides you will a fully-preconfigured setup that we use at Liip.
DrupalCon Crowd
We saw Drupal's wide adoption for Government at DrupalCon Barcelona.
Implementing AI solutions for the French government - in this session it was demonstrated how public services were improved. AI technology would support the public servants by pregenerating responses that would be validated and modified by the public servant. The use of AI technology cut down response times from an average of 19 days to 3 days and a plus of 11% found the received answers helpful.
Running a fleet of web sites with ease via LocalGov Drupal Microsites Platform showed a feature that we are also planning to roll out to one of our customers soon. You can easily manage multiple microsites in Drupal and configure on a per-site-basis the needed styling options in order to customize it to each site needs. By leveraging one CMS basis, the time-to-market and total cost of ownership for each microsite can be heavily reduced.
Jonathan Noack & Thom Nagy presenting about bs.ch
Large-scale content creation with Drupal — Delights, Pitfalls and support structures to help editors - in this session our customer Thom Nagy & our product owner Jonathan Noack presented their case study on relaunching bs.ch. I liked to see how a trustful collaboration with strong communication and stakeholder management combined with agile delivery and innovation led to an outcome all participants are proud about.
The website is our flagship showcase for blökkli, the interactive pagebuilder that has delighted many of our customers already and is available for the community under the open-source license.
Even though the canton is embedded in a typically restrictive government environment, they even launched the first AI-based assistant "Alva" that answers any questions the public might have about the canton in their own language using GPT-based technology.
Conferences that bring together folks from all over the world have a hard time being sustainable. I appreciate the efforts to promote sustainable transport for example when amongst the attendees traveling by train, a winner was selected.
The organizing team also worked with the sponsors to make sure they were taking sustainability into account for how they set up their booths and limit the swag they would give out to participants.
DrupalCon Barcelona Mascot watching the crowd
The next DrupalCon Europe has been announced to happen in Vienna October 14-17 2025. I am particularly excited for this location as I grew up in Vienna and have been part of the Drupal Austria community as an organizing member before moving to Switzerland.
As Vienna is at the heart of Europe, I encourage you to think about sustainable ways to get to the conference.
If you travel via Hamburg, Bregenz/Feldkirch, Roma/Blorence/Bologna or Amsterdam, you should even be able to sleep on one of the new generation nightrains that offers better comfort, single-cabins and wheelchair-accessible sleepers. You typically can book your train 6 months ahead. As they introduced dynamic pricing recently, it is recommended to book your tickets early.
The beach alongside DrupalCon Barcelona
I leave you with some pictures from this year in Barcelona.
Would you like to learn more about Drupal? Find an event near you. See you 2025 at one of my favorites Drupal Mountain Camp in Davos or at DrupalCon Vienna.
Horizontal recently completed building a Drupal 10 site for a major children's hospital. Drupal has long been a favorite choice in the healthcare sector. This post will introduce a module we contributed that we hope will make Drupal an even more appealing choice when hospitals are considering how to present themselves on the Web.Approximately 1,100 of Drupal enthusiasts gathered in Barcelona, Spain, this week for DrupalCon Europe. As a matter of tradition, I delivered my State of Drupal keynote, often referred to as the "DriesNote".
If you missed it, you can watch the video or download my slides (177 MB).
In my keynote, I gave an update on Drupal Sharshot, an ambitious initiative we launched at DrupalCon Portland 2024. Originally called Drupal Starshot, inspired by President Kennedy's Moonshot challenge, the product is now officially named Drupal CMS.
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 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:
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.
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.
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, marking the end of one era and the beginning of another.
The next milestone is DrupalCon Singapore, taking place on 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.
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.
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 (Lullabot), Gábor Hojtsy (Acquia), Lenny Moskalyk (Drupal Association), Pamela Barone (Technocrat), Suzanne Dergacheva (Evolving Web), and Tim Plunkett (Acquia).
A special shoutout goes to the demo team we assembled for my presentation: Adam Hoenich (Acquia), Amber Matz (Drupalize.me), Ash Sullivan (Acquia), Jamie Abrahams (FreelyGive), Jim Birch (Kanopi), Joe Shindelar (Drupalize.me), John Doyle (Digital Polygon), Lauri Timmanee (Acquia), Marcus Johansson (FreelyGive), Martin Anderson-Clutz (Acquia), Matt Glaman (Acquia), Matthew Grasmick (Acquia), Michael Donovan (Acquia), Tiffany Farriss (Palantir.net), and Tim Lehnen (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!
Today we are talking about Drupal’s Popularity & Dev Experience, what could be better, and things that are great with guest Nathan Dentzau. We’ll also cover Spam Master as our module of the week.
For show notes visit: https://www.talkingDrupal.com/469
TopicsNic Laflin - nLighteneddevelopment.com nicxvan John Picozzi - epam.com johnpicozzi Nate Dentzau - dentzau.com nathandentzau
MOTW CorrespondentMartin Anderson-Clutz - mandclu.com mandclu