Drupal 10 Features: What's New and Should You Upgrade?
Quick Answer: Drupal 10 brings CKEditor 5, Symfony 6, PHP 8.2+, the Olivero front-end theme, Claro admin theme, improved accessibility, and significant performance gains. If you're on Drupal 7 or 9, you should upgrade now — both are end-of-life.
⚠️ Important
Drupal 7 reached end-of-life in January 2025. Drupal 9 is also no longer supported. If you're still on either version, you're not getting security updates. Talk to us about migrating — the longer you wait, the riskier it gets.
⚡ Drupal 10 Key Features
- CKEditor 5: Modern content editing with real-time collaboration
- Symfony 6: Faster, more secure PHP framework
- PHP 8.2+: Better performance, type safety
- Olivero theme: Beautiful, accessible default frontend
- Claro admin theme: Cleaner, more intuitive admin UI
- Less jQuery: Lighter, faster page loads
- Better accessibility: WCAG 2.1 AA compliance baked in
The Big Changes (Explained Simply)
CKEditor 5: Content Editing That Doesn't Suck
CKEditor 4 was fine. CKEditor 5 is actually... good? The new editor feels modern, supports real-time collaboration, has inline editing, and doesn't look like something from 2010. Your content editors will thank you.
Symfony 6: The Engine Under the Hood
Drupal 10 runs on Symfony 6 (up from Symfony 4). What does that mean for you? Faster page loads, better security, and cleaner code. If you're a developer, you'll appreciate the modern PHP patterns. If you're a business owner, you'll appreciate the faster site.
PHP 8.2+ Requirement
Drupal 10 requires PHP 8.2 or higher. This isn't just a technical checkbox — PHP 8.2 brings real performance improvements (10-20% faster in many benchmarks), better type safety, and fewer bugs. Your hosting provider should already support it.
Olivero: A Default Theme That's Actually Good
Let's be real — Bartik (Drupal's old default theme) looked dated. Olivero is clean, modern, accessible, and actually usable as a starting point for real projects. It's responsive, meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards, and looks great out of the box.
Claro Admin Theme
The admin interface got a significant facelift. Claro is cleaner, more intuitive, and much less overwhelming for non-technical editors. Navigation is simpler. Actions are clearer. It just works better.
Should You Upgrade? (Probably Yes)
| Current Version | Action Needed | Effort | Urgency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drupal 7 | Full migration required | 8–16 weeks | 🔴 Critical |
| Drupal 8 | Migration to 10 | 6–12 weeks | 🟠 High |
| Drupal 9 | Upgrade to 10 | 2–6 weeks | 🟡 Medium |
| Drupal 10 | Stay updated | Ongoing | 🟢 Good |
Why You Can't Afford to Wait
- Security: Drupal 7 and 9 no longer receive security patches. Every day you wait, your site is more vulnerable.
- Modules: New contributed modules are being developed for Drupal 10/11 only. Old modules are being abandoned.
- Performance: Drupal 10 is measurably faster. Your users (and Google) notice the difference.
- Talent: Drupal developers are increasingly focused on 10/11. Finding talent for older versions is getting harder and more expensive.
What About Drupal 11?
Drupal 11 is now available and builds on Drupal 10's foundation. If you're doing a fresh project, go straight to 11. If you're on 10, the upgrade path to 11 is smooth — Drupal learned from the painful D7→D8 migration days.
Need Help Upgrading?
We specialize in Drupal migrations and upgrades. We've moved sites from Drupal 7, 8, and 9 to 10/11 — including sites with 50,000+ content items, complex custom modules, and strict compliance requirements.
Get a free upgrade assessment — we'll audit your current site and give you an honest timeline and cost estimate.