Drupal CMS is finally here!!

The much-anticipated new addition to the Drupal platform, Drupal CMS, was released on 15 January to much fanfare around the world. 

Drupal CMS will be a launchpad for marketing and content teams wanting to publish a website quickly and easily. It makes use of out-of-the-box configuration and features (or recipes, as they’re called in Drupal) and its user-friendly interface will be a game-changer for people who previously may have been intimidated by its developer-focused interface. 

The idea was the brainchild of Drupal lead Dries Buytaert, who introduced it to the wider Drupal community in his State of Drupal presentation in May 2024. 

Dries introduces the Drupal Starshot initiative to the Drupal community at DrupalCon North America in Portland, Oregon, in May 2024.

At the time, he explained that the project, which was then called Drupal Starshot, will be designed to have a great out-of-the-box experience. The goal was to enable ambitious site builders without Drupal experience to easily create a new Drupal site and extend it with pre-packaged recipes, all using their browser. 

“Drupal CMS is such an exciting initiative!” said Managing Director Stella Power. 

“We are delighted to have played a part in bringing this project to life. It’s thrilling to see how it came together within just a few months.” 

Our contribution 

Following Dries’s announcement, the Drupal community sprang into action, using their skills and experience to bring his vision to reality in just eight months. 

Annertech contributed to the project with expertise, leadership, development, and content and marketing skills. 

Managing Director Stella Power is on the Drupal Starshot Advisory Council, and also joined me in the UX and Marketing Track, where we helped with content and marketing efforts around the new project. 

Frontend Developer Tony Barker led the work around media management within the Drupal CMS. This was a massive task, and Tony did a stellar job. Not only did his work feature in the latest Driesnote, but he’s also spoken about his work at length, including on the Talking Drupal podcast and an interview with The Drop Times. 

Celebrations

The launch of Drupal CMS coincides with Drupal’s 24th birthday, and we joined the community around the world at some of the launch parties. 

The Drupal CMS Global Launch Party was streamed live on 15 January and there were numerous in-person gatherings around the world. 

Tony attended the Edinburgh launch party together with a few of the other track leads.

Aaron McHale, Tony Barker (media management track lead for Drupal CMS), Gareth Alexander (accessibility track lead), Billy Wardrop, and Emma Horrell (user experience track lead) gathered in Edinburgh to celebrate the launch of Drupal CMS. Photo by Aaron McHale

“This is a major development for Drupal, and will open up this incredible CMS to so many people,” said Stella. 

“It’s definitely a new dawn for Drupal. We’ll be following its progress very closely, and we can’t wait to put it to use ourselves.”