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.

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

The United Nations Digital Technology Network has recently adopted a new set of Open Source Principles to promote collaboration and drive open source adoption within the UN and around the world. These principles position open source as the default approach for digital projects, encourage contributions back to the ecosystem, foster inclusion and community building, and much more.
The Drupal Association is proud to endorse these principles. As the non-profit organization that supports the Drupal project, already the standard technology platform for the United Nations’ web presence, we wholeheartedly believe that these principles will advance both digital sovereignty and the long-term sustainability of the open source ecosystem.
The UN Open Source Principles

Open by default: Making Open Source the standard approach for projects
Contribute back: Encouraging active participation in the Open Source ecosystem
Secure by design: Making security a priority in all software projects
Foster inclusive participation and community building: Enabling and facilitating diverse and inclusive contributions
Design for reusability: Designing projects to be interoperable across various platforms and ecosystems
Provide documentation: Providing thorough documentation for end-users, integrators and developers
RISE (recognize, incentivize, support and empower): Empowering individuals and communities to actively participate
Sustain and scale: Supporting the development of solutions that meet the evolving needs of the UN system and beyond.

In June 2023, the Drupal Association adopted its own Open Web Manifesto, which guides both our non-profit operations and the Drupal open source project. The manifesto is grounded in five core principles and three essential requirements.
The principles are that the open web: 

is built on freedom: No permission is required to learn, build, or innovate. Anyone, anywhere, can contribute to its growth.
is defined by decentralization: No single person or entity controls the open web.
thrives on inclusion: Everyone, regardless of background, identity, ability, wealth, or status has a place on the open web as a user, creator, architect, or innovator.
requires participation: It is a shared resource and a shared responsibility, sustained through collective effort.
exists for empowerment: It is driven by humanity’s pursuit of knowledge, connection, and progress, and is strengthened by each individual’s right to choice, privacy, and security.

The requirements are that the open web must: 

protect — not exploit — personal data and public discourse
enable the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs to compete
be resilient to a changing world and not controlled by a select few. 

We believe the alignment between the Drupal Association’s Open Web Manifesto and the United Nations’s Open Source Principles is both strong and significant. As open source continues to power digital transformation globally, we look forward to a future where individuals, organizations, and governments invest in our digital public spaces with the same care and commitment as our physical ones.

Join us THURSDAY, May 15 at 1pm ET / 10am PT, for our regularly scheduled call to chat about all things Drupal and nonprofits. (Convert to your local time zone.)
We don't have anything specific on the agenda this month, so we'll have plenty of time to discuss anything that's on our minds at the intersection of Drupal and nonprofits.  Got something specific you want to talk about? Feel free to share ahead of time in our collaborative Google doc: https://nten.org/drupal/notes!
All nonprofit Drupal devs and users, regardless of experience level, are always welcome on this call.
This free call is sponsored by NTEN.org and open to everyone. 


Join the call: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81817469653


Meeting ID: 818 1746 9653
Passcode: 551681


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Dial by your location:
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Follow along on Google Docs: https://nten.org/drupal/notes

View notes of previous months' calls.

In our previous share out, we focused on why contributors might engage in a Marketplace and the kinds of value they’re looking for. Since then, we’ve turned our attention to something even more foundational—trust.
If we want the Marketplace to succeed, contributors, agencies, and end users must believe:

Templates are high-quality and secure
Contributors are treated fairly and transparently
There are clear, enforceable standards for what gets listed

That’s the work we’re deep in now.
What Builds Trust?
Across our first two surveys, last week’s Slack prompt, and the Hopes & Fears Jam conducted at the Quarterly Drupal Certified Partner Webinar, three critical trust signals have emerged:
1. Clear Quality Standards—Published and Enforced
Templates must meet defined standards for code quality, security, accessibility, and UX. Contributors want to know what “good” looks like before they invest time; end users want confidence before they adopt.
If the Marketplace becomes a dumping ground for mediocre or insecure templates, it will actually hurt Drupal.”
"Templates should be clearly rated on accessibility, code quality, and what modules they’re pre-styled for.”

The Week #5 prompt in #drupal-cms-marketplace dives directly into this question:
“What accessibility, security, or coding standards should be required for free and/or paid site template listings—and how should they be verified?”
We’d love to hear your thoughts!
2. Trustworthy Governance and Accountability
Policy alone doesn’t build trust—clear enforcement and transparency do. People want to know someone is actively ensuring fairness and protecting the ecosystem.
Governance modeled after the Security Team would give me confidence someone’s watching the store.”
"What’s the dispute process if I think something’s plagiarized or violates guidelines?”

The Marketplace Working Group met last week to begin shaping a draft governance model grounded in your feedback. While still early, this work is focusing on:

Who might set and enforce Marketplace rules
How listings might be reviewed and approved
How disputes and appeals may be handled

What may be required to maintain a listing over time


3. Transparency Around Recognition and Revenue
The Marketplace must offer both recognition and a fair value exchange. Contributors want clear attribution, visibility for upstream maintainers, and thoughtful revenue models that strengthen—rather than undermine—Drupal’s open-source values.
I don’t mind people making money—but I want to know how it flows back to the people maintaining the ecosystem.”

Progress on Governance: Turning Feedback into Structure
The Marketplace Working Group’s emergent governance framework is designed to create a Marketplace that is socially, technically, and financially responsible—and deeply aligned with Drupal’s open-source mission.
The scope of the framework includes:

Submission and Review Guidelines: Clear public standards for what qualifies as a free, certified, and/or paid template—including accessibility, security, and code quality.
Monetization and Revenue Sharing Models: Exploring how paid listings can fairly compensate contributors while also supporting module maintainers, the DA, and the ecosystem as a whole.
Security and Quality Assurance: Establishing review processes to certify templates and flag those that are outdated or poorly maintained—ensuring users can clearly see the trust signals they need.
Dispute Resolution and Appeals: Drafting a lightweight, transparent approach to handling conflicts fairly and consistently.
Transparency and Community Feedback: Creating a clear process for proposing and reviewing policy changes with full community input.

This work is just beginning, and ongoing feedback will help shape what comes next.
How You Can Get Involved
Your input is critical to shaping a Marketplace that reflects Drupal’s values and strengthens our ecosystem. Here’s how to get involved this week:

Take Survey #3: Marketplace Governance and Community Values.
Help us understand your expectations for fairness, openness, and revenue models.
Join the Slack Discussion – Share your views on Slack in #drupal-cms-marketplace: 
“What accessibility, security, or coding standards should be required for free and/or paid site template listings—and how should they be verified?”
Participate in the Ecosystem Roundtable – Participate in the Drupal Certified Partner and Agency Roundtable to share your perspective directly:  15 May 2025 | 15:30 UTC Register now.

Over the last few weeks, the Marketplace Initiative has been mapping assumptions, surfacing motivations, and exploring real-world expectations for a Drupal Site Template Marketplace. The initial rounds of feedback were designed to surface motivations, beliefs, unknowns, and frame what success might mean. That work has helped ground the initiative in shared purpose and direction.
Now we’re starting the work of transforming those broad ambitions into working models of value, governance, trust, and experience. We're beginning to sketch what the Marketplace does, how it creates and protects value, and what contributors and users can expect from it.
Why a Drupal Site Template Marketplace?
Across survey feedback, community prompts, and RTC themes, several consistent value propositions have emerged — answering the question: Why build a Drupal site template Marketplace?
For Contributors
A trusted, visible channel to distribute, monetize, and showcase high-quality site templates that reflect your expertise — and generate leads, recognition, and revenue.

For Agencies & DCPs
An ecosystem catalyst that drives qualified leads, lowers implementation costs, and helps you deliver faster, better Drupal experiences to more clients.

For End Users (Builders, Subject Matter Experts, Evaluators)
A library of trustworthy, ready-to-launch Drupal sites — professionally built, continuously vetted, and provided by the Drupal community.

For the Drupal Project & Drupal Association
A sustainable marketplace that strengthens the ecosystem, generates new revenue, and reflects the values of open source through governance, quality, and inclusion.

What Makes Contribution Worthwhile?
In Slack, surveys and our real-time collaboration session we asked contributors directly: “What would make it worthwhile for you to contribute a template?” Key themes emerged from the discussion:

Compensation matters. Contributors suggested price points between $300–$1,000 per site template, depending on complexity. Some see templates as a viable business; others view them as strategic loss leaders.
Lead generation is an incentive. Access to user contact info or opportunities to offer services was cited as a powerful motivator—even more than direct revenue in some cases.
Recognition and visibility also surfaced as important non-financial incentives, especially for those aiming to grow brand or project awareness.
Licensing clarity and IP protection remain concerns—contributors want guardrails to discourage cloning and unauthorized redistribution.
Marketplace features—such as demo previews, rich media listings, and clear tech specs—can enhance both contributor experience and buyer confidence.

We also heard loud and clear what gets in the way of contribution:

High (Uncompensated) Support Expectations: Ongoing maintenance, support, and clarity of lifecycle.
Lack of Clarity: Around what qualifies, what gets featured, and how disputes are handled.
Governance Gaps: Without rules, the risk is chaos — too many low-quality or misaligned submissions.
Misaligned Incentives: Contributors worry about monetization models that exclude or exploit.

What’s Coming Next
Here’s what we’ll be working on over the coming weeks:

Governance Sketching: From submission flow to trust signals and appeals.
Contributor Workflow Design: What the path from idea → listing → maintenance actually looks like.
Quality & Review Criteria: What “good” looks like across code, content, accessibility, and UX.
Revenue & Recognition Models: How value is created, shared, and sustained.

How You Can Contribute Now
We’re still in active input-gathering mode, and your voice matters.

Survey #2 is still open – If you haven’t yet shared how a Drupal CMS Marketplace might help you or your business, take it now.
Survey #3 just launched – This one explores expectations around fairness, openness, and revenue models. Take the survey here.
Join the weekly Slack prompt in #drupal-cms-marketplace
Up this week: What would make you trust a site template listing?
Participate in our Drupal Certified Partner and Agency Ecosystem Roundtable 15 May 2025 UTC 15:30. Register here.

Open source projects thrive because of the people and institutions that nurture it behind the scenes empowering innovation, collaboration, and digital freedom. One impactful institution is the Oregon State University Open Source Lab (OSL). The Drupal community owes much of our success and growth to Open Source Lab when they supported the project in 2005 by hosting our servers.
Today, OSL needs our support.
About Open Source Lab
The Oregon State University Open Source Lab is a nonprofit organization with a powerful legacy in the open source ecosystem. For years, it has provided secure, reliable hosting services to some of the most widely used and mission-critical open source projects like Apache, CentOS, Debian, Django, Docker, Eclipse, Mozilla Firefox, GNOME, Go, KDE, Node.JS, OpenBSD, OpenSSL, postgreSQL, Rust, sqlite, The Tor Project, Yum, and yes, Drupal.
Open Source Lab helped shape Drupal’s journey
In 2005, when a surge of interest melted down the shared server that was being used by Dries to host Drupal.org, Sun Microsystems donated a server but there was nowhere to host it. Open Source Lab stepped forward providing managed data center services, offering not only hosting but also long-term support through its student mentorship model. This commitment shaped the careers of many open source leaders, including former Drupal Association Infrastructure Manager Rudy Grigar and current Infrastructure Manager and Tag1 CTO Narayan Newton, both Open Source Lab alums. 
While the Drupal Association has now moved to a hybrid cloud architecture, we still operate some critical infrastructure at the Open Source Lab, including pre-production environments, mail transport, and legacy systems that are still mid-migration, and will be repurposed for things like our testing infrastructure. It is our hope for Drupal to continue to be present at the Open Source Lab for years to come.
A Critical Moment for Open Source Lab
In recent years, the Open Source Lab has faced a steady decline in corporate donations, leading to an operational deficit. Today the Open Source Lab is under threat, placing Open Source Lab’s future in jeopardy.
Unless they secure $250,000 dollars in commitments by 14 May 2025 they will have to close their doors.
If Open Source Lab shuts down, we lose a backbone of the open source world and a value-driven infrastructure provider. It would ripple across dozens of projects and thousands of contributors, setting back years of progress and community building.
Together, we can keep Open Source Lab alive
This is an opportunity for all of us to come together to support an unsung pillar of open source.
Here’s how you can help:


Your donations are vital to keep this precious resource for the public good open. Consider making a donation to support Open Source Lab’s future. Donate today.


If you are able to make a major gift, you can also reach out to: donations@osuosl.org 


Help raise awareness by sharing this post within your network and with anyone you think could help support Open Source Lab.


The Open Source Lab has played an important role in supporting the open source community, now it’s our turn to give back. By contributing today, you’re helping secure the future of open source innovation and sustaining essential digital infrastructure. It's time to come together to ensure the Open Source Lab’s legacy continues to thrive.

As the digital landscape evolves, organizations relying on Drupal 7 (D7) face a pivotal decision: opt for Extended Support or embark on a migration to Drupal 10 (D10)?
Both options have their pros and cons, depending on your timeline, budget, and long-term digital strategy. Let’s break it down so you can make the best decision for your organization.
Option 1: Extended Support – A Temporary Safety Net
Extended Support ensures your D7 site remains secure and functional beyond the official end-of-life deadline, giving you extra time to plan a migration.
Benefits of Extended Support:

No rush – Your site remains secure, with critical security updates and patches, without having to migrate immediately
Budget flexibility – Spread out costs instead of making a big investment all at once
Strategic breathing room – More time to evaluate your business goals and plan a migrations in the future

Drawbacks of Extended Support:

Not a permanent fix – In the long run you’ll need to migrate
Potential rising costs – Maintaining older technology can become more expensive over time
Limited innovation – You won’t benefit from the latest features and improvements in D10

Option 2: Migrating to Drupal 10 – The Future-Proof Solution
Migrating to D10 is a long-term investment in security, performance, and innovation. While it requires upfront effort, it ensures that your digital platform is modern, scalable, and ready for future growth.
Benefits of Migration to D10:

Future-proof technology – Stay ahead with the latest security updates and performance enhancements
Better User Experience (UX) – New features, improved accessibility, and a more flexible design
Long-term cost efficiency – Reduce maintenance costs for outdated technology

Drawbacks of Migration to D10:

Upfront investment – Migration requires planning, resources, and budget allocation
Complexity – The process can be challenging, especially for highly customized sites
Learning curve – Teams may need time to adjust to the new system

Dropsolid: Your Partner in Both Extended Support & Migration
At Dropsolid, we understand that not every organization is ready to migrate immediately. That’s why are part of the Drupal 7 EOL program.
What sets us apart?
Only 3 companies globally qualify for the EOL program and offer Extend Support for D7. We are the only partner in Europe, with offices in Europe and the US. This makes us the go-to-expert in the region for maintaining your D7 site securely while you work on a seamless transition to D10.
At the same time, we know that migration is inevitable—and when you’re ready, we can evolve your D7 and can help you migrate to D10 too.
What we offer:

We keep your D7 site secure with ongoing updates and maintenance
Migration to D10: customized migration roadmap, tailored to your business needs, covering everything from technical setup to team training
Future-proof growth: our roadmap ensures that your site isn’t just D10-ready, but also DXP-ready, seamlessly integrating with your existing tools

Find all info about our related services here.
Key considerations: How to Decide?
When choosing between Extended Support and Migration to Drupal 10, ask yourself:

What’s your timeline? Do you need more time, or are you prepared for transition?
What’s your budget? Can you invest in migration now, or do you need to spread costs over time?
What are your long-term goals? Do you want to future-proof your site, or is short-term maintenance enough for now?
How complex is your current setup? A highly customized site may require extra planning before migrating.

Final Verdict: Should You Extend or Migrate?

If you need more time to plan and budget, Extended Support can provide a temporary solution.
If you’re ready to future-proof your digital platform, migrating to D10 is the smart choice.

Either way, Dropsolid has your back—whether it’s keeping your current site secure or guiding you through a seamless migration. Let’s make the right move together.
Ready to explore your options? Get in touch with us today!