Drupal 10 End of Life in 10 Key Questions

1. Will our website continue to work on December 9?

Yes, your website can keep running after December 9, 2026. What ends that day is the Drupal project’s support for Drupal 10 itself. If a new security flaw turns up after that, the project will no longer release a Drupal 10 update to fix it. Yes, that’s a problem. 

You should start by finding out which of your websites the notice covers. Your main site may already have an upgrade date, while a separate conference site or customer portal still runs on Drupal 10. Ask your web partner to check each one. Now you know the scope of the project. 

2. We’ve kept up with updates. Do we still need to upgrade?

Yes. Routine updates keep your current version of Drupal patched. An upgrade moves your site to the next major version. Of the Drupal 10 releases, only the 10.6 series still receives security updates, and that coverage ends on December 9. If you’re on 10.5 or earlier, ask your web partner to address that gap right away. 

If you have administrator access, look under Reports → Status report to find your version number. Otherwise, ask whoever maintains the site to send it to you. A monthly invoice that says “updates completed” can cover routine work even when the major upgrade still needs approval.

3. Who should we call first?

Call the person or company that maintains your website. Ask whether this upgrade is on their calendar, whether your maintenance agreement covers it and what approval they need from you. If one company hosts the site and another built it, find out which one will lead the work and who will coordinate with the other.

On your side, give one person responsibility for following up. “Our developer is sending Maria an estimate on Friday about the Drupal upgrade” gives everyone a clearer next step than a forwarded email with half the office copied.

4. Should we move to Drupal 11 or wait for Drupal 12?

Plan the move to Drupal 11 now. Drupal 12 is scheduled for the same week Drupal 10 support ends, and an existing Drupal 10 site goes through Drupal 11 on its way to 12. Waiting until December still leaves you with that first upgrade to do. 

If you have to justify the expense, there’s a useful detail for the budget conversation. The good news is that Drupal 11 has official support until December 2028 (two years!), provided you keep up with its supported releases. That gives you time to schedule the move to Drupal 12 around your own calendar.

5. Do we need a whole new website?

Probably not. Usually, you can upgrade the site you already have. Ask your developer to check whether its design, added features and hosting will work with Drupal 11. If something needs to be replaced, have them name it and explain what visitors or staff would notice. An events calendar might need a new tool behind it even if visitors can keep signing up for events much as they do today.

If a redesign is already under discussion, ask for separate prices for the upgrade and the design work. You can then approve the work needed for December while your team takes the time it needs to decide on the redesign.

6. How much should we budget, and how long will it take?

It depends. Ask for an estimate based on a review of your site. A company with twenty pages and a custom quote calculator may need more attention than an organization with hundreds of pages that all work the same way. Ask which features account for the most time and what the estimate includes. If you get a wide price range, ask what the developer still needs to learn to narrow it.

Get two dates along with the price. When can your staff try the upgraded site, and when can it go live? If purchasing needs two weeks to approve the work, tell the developer that now.

7. What does our web team need from the rest of us?

Tell them what would cause a problem if it stopped working tomorrow. Your events manager knows which members get early registration. The clerk who handles permits knows that an applicant’s address determines which office receives the form. Neither detail is obvious from looking at the home page.

Invite the people who answer the phones or handle the submissions. Give each person the same prompt. “I know this part of the site is working when…” Their answers give your developer specific things to check, and they give you a short list of people who can tell you whether the upgrade is ready.

8. How can we tell whether the upgraded site works?

Ask for a private test copy and try a few tasks from start to finish. Register for an event as a member and check the price on the receipt. Before you test a form, ask where the test emails go. Then submit a request for a quote and confirm that the expected inbox receives the details a salesperson needs to follow up.

Give someone a turn on a phone. If residents use your site to report a missed trash pickup, for example, have a colleague try entering an address and attaching a photo from the sidewalk. That’s a more revealing test than opening the form on an office computer.

9. Will visitors be able to use the site during the upgrade?

Your developer can tell you whether visitors will be able to submit forms or make payments during the switch and whether staff will need to pause edits. Share the dates that matter to your organization. Tuesday morning might look quiet to the developer, but it’s a poor time to interrupt donations if your fundraising email goes out at nine.

If there will be a pause, agree on what visitors will see, when they should try again and who they can contact if they have a deadline. Before launch, confirm who will back up the site and how the team would handle any orders or applications received if it needs to restore that backup.

10. What if we can’t finish before December 9?

Ask your web partner for a written plan that explains what’s holding up the upgrade, how they’ll reduce the risk while the site is outside official support, and the earliest date they can finish. Ask them to spell out what risk your organization would still be taking during that gap.

Then take the obstacle to someone who can clear it. A budget approval belongs with the person who can sign it. Two hours of testing may be as simple as asking the membership director to free up a colleague on Thursday. Give each outstanding item a name and a date so you know exactly whom to call next.

If you need help figuring out what your upgrade will involve, New Target’s Drupal development team can review your site and help you plan the work. Talk to New Target about your Drupal website.