Drupal maintenance and care
Drupal is a very flexible content management system (CMS for short) that has a modular structure and is often run on what is known as a LAMP stack. The term LAMP is used as an abbreviation for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP. Together, these four components (operating system, web server, database and programming language) offer a combined software package for the provision and use of high-performance web applications. Each individual component contributes different functions to the stack.
The desired appearance and functionality are ensured by the installation of the appropriate themes, the PHP scripts in the Drupal core system, numerous modules (some optional) and many CSS, Javascript and image materials. However, you can only make full and efficient use of the advantages of the content management system if you always keep your Drupal pages up to date. Because an outdated Drupal website will cause you major problems:
- Major security gaps and therefore an easy target for cyber criminals
- Limited access to functions and features
- Long loading times
To prevent such scenarios, it is essential to rely on professional Drupal care and maintenance with a reliable update service. However, this requires permanent monitoring, continuous presence on the web as well as in-depth specialist knowledge and, at best, many years of expertise. Hardly any website operator can guarantee all of this on their own. The solution: support from real Drupal specialists. As a competent and experienced Drupal agency, we take over the maintenance and upkeep of your website for you and ensure that it is always up to date.
Why you absolutely need regular Drupal updates
Changes take place almost every day in the digital world. New malware, security vulnerabilities or even new formats with their own security implications - the Internet is constantly changing. For website visitors, many of these changes may be small and insignificant, but for you as a website operator, even minor adjustments can be essential. As an experienced Drupal agency, we are fully aware of the importance of professional maintenance and upkeep of your website. Without this, you will quickly fall behind, especially if a Drupal update is missed or installed too late. This is especially critical when it comes to security updates, as it is precisely these situations that are exploited by hackers and other cyber criminals to gain access to mission-critical data.
The maintenance tasks and the need for effective update services are particularly relevant with Drupal and other content management systems. It is crucial to be aware that reliable maintenance and upkeep forms the basis for the smooth and error-free functioning of Drupal and therefore your entire website. Regular updates not only protect against security vulnerabilities, but also against unauthorized third-party access to sensitive data and misuse of your website for illegal activities.
Our expert solution for problems that arise
If you find yourself in a situation where a missed update has already caused problems, our Drupal experts are ready to assist you. We understand that in the digital world, quick action is crucial to minimize potential damage and restore the security of your website immediately. With our in-depth expertise and experience in dealing with Drupal, we can not only efficiently resolve the existing issue, but also implement preventative measures and security patches to minimize future risks.
The difference between a Drupal update and upgrade
You need to differentiate between a Drupal update and a Drupal upgrade. When we talk about updates, this refers to security features, the integrated theme, the functionality of modules and other small-scale improvements, for example. A Drupal upgrade, on the other hand, always refers to a Drupal core update, i.e. an update of the core system.
How to carry out a Drupal core update yourself
Regular updates are available for the Drupal CMS. The so-called Drupal core updates have a decisive character. These are preferably extensive security updates and updates to a new version. The procedure can be divided into several phases or stages.
Preparing a Drupal core update
A Drupal core update usually runs smoothly. Nevertheless, it is advisable to make a backup copy of your database beforehand. This can be done using the Backup and Migrate module, for example.
You should also set the respective website to maintenance mode before starting the update. You can activate this mode in the Configuration: Maintenance mode section.
To install the latest update, you also need the latest version of Drupal. Pay attention to the correct core version in this regard: If your site is running Drupal 7, for example, you do not need Drupal 8 in this case, but core version 7.43.
The modern way: Automatic Drupal 8 and 9 core updates with composer Composer is a command line tool that automatically handles all dependencies of technical components.
The necessary steps are:
- List available Drupal updates via composer outdated "drupal/*"
- Check if the project uses drupal/core-recommended or drupal/core composer show drupal/core-recommended
- Update Drupal core code if you are using drupal/core-recommended composer update drupal/core "drupal/core-*" --with-all-dependencies If you are not using drupal/core-recommended, but only drupal/core composer update drupal/core --with-dependencies
- Update to a specific version of the core composer require drupal/core-recommended:9.3.6 drupal/core-composer-scaffold:9.3.6 drupal/core-project-message:9.3.6 --update-with-all-dependencies
- Execute database update drush updatedb drush cache:rebuild
- Update the production environment (if applicable) Transfer the modified composer.json and composer.lock files to the production environment Run composer install --no-dev on production instead of composer update
Detailed instructions on how to update with Composer can also be found on Drupal.org.
Drupal 7 was a bit more complicated and Drupal Core updates were usually performed as follows:
- If you have set your website to maintenance mode and created a database backup, you can start with the Drupal Core update. We describe how to do this in the following instructions.
- Drupal is particularly easy to update via FTP. To do this, simply log in with your existing FTP account. Sometimes it is necessary to change to the root directory of Drupal afterwards.
- If you have already unpacked the new Drupal version and it is now available on your computer, delete (almost) all files and folders in the Drupal root directory. Exceptions to this are the robots.txt and .htaccess files as well as the sites directory, in which all installed themes and modules are stored. If you accidentally delete this directory, you will deprive your website of all its foundations.
- Next, upload all files of the new version of Drupal except robots.txt, .htaccess and sites from your computer to the corresponding server.
- As soon as the transfer is complete, open the following URL in your browser: http://IhreDomain.de/update. The system will now remind you once again of the particular importance of maintenance mode and database backup for the success of the update. You then only need to follow the instructions on this page to update Drupal Core correctly.
- If the update has been installed correctly, you will be informed by the system. You can now return to your actual site and exit or cancel maintenance mode.
You can watch the modern way to update Drupal Core in the following video.
We support you with Drupal maintenance and Drupal care
Whether classic updates of modules or major upgrades of the core system - it is possible to carry out all tasks and steps yourself, but this will be very time-consuming. This is because you have to familiarize yourself with many small details and must not make any mistakes. The complexity of the update issue quickly leads to frustration, as not a single point can be overlooked. This is why professional performance monitoring and a competent and reliable update service are a far better solution. We provide you with long-term support with our services and offer you maintenance contracts that can be terminated every month for professionally performed updates and core upgrades.
Here you can find more information about our services as a Drupal agency.